Howey Politics Indiana - Bock Surveys His Race Against Walorski

News Article

By Matt Butler

Despite record low approval ratings for U.S. Congress and a general anti-incumbent mood pervading the entire American political spectrum, it has been evident for months that Indiana's congressional delegation will be quite safe come November. Every incumbent is seeking reelection and none had to face a serious primary challenger. All incumbents have a sizable campaign war chest, not to mention lead over their respective opponents. At first glance, no seat is in play.

Last month's HPI's Horse Race assessed all nine district contests and rated all of the incumbents "safe,' except one, the 2nd Congressional District. Seeking reelection for the first time, 2nd CD freshman U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski is still considered the favorite but will, unlike her delegation colleagues, face a contest this cycle. It's been a very competitive district the past two election cycles which Walorski should know quite well. She was a three-term state representative from 2005-2010 for the suburbs between South Bend and Elkhart (HD21) before she ran
for the 2nd CD seat
in 2010. Then U.S. 
Rep. Joe Donnelly 
bested her by only 1 
percent. The second
 go around was very
 close again, but a 
victory. Walorski 
beat Democrat Brendan Mullen by only 1 percent in 2012.

Democrats see an opportunity this cycle. As of today, Walorski had raised roughly $1.5 million, adding $335,000 in the second quarter. As of June 16, her challenger, Joe Bock of South Bend, had raised $334,000. Yes, it's a substantial margin, but Bock has raised by far the most of any congressional challenger across the state. In June the Democratic Campaign Committee tapped Bock for its Emerging Races program. "Joe Bock is showing he can put this race in play with his commitment to breaking the gridlock in Washington, and Joe is holding Congresswoman Walorski accountable for her votes to shut down the government and protect her own taxpayer-funded perks like health care for life," said the DCCC.

Interestingly, the candidates' backgrounds share elements in common. Bock has also served time as a state representative but in Missouri 25 years ago. He brought his family to Indiana in 2007 to assume a teaching professorship in global public health at the University of Notre Dame. Both candidates have foreign aid work experience. During the early 2000s Walorski lived in Romania leading a foundation providing medical assistance to children in poverty. Bock has led numerous humanitarian and disaster relief efforts in Haiti, Pakistan, and elsewhere.

Considering how politically contentious the district has been, Bock is arguing Walorski's brand of conservatism is out of step with the district. "This is a congressional district that is a swing district and by definition that means the representative needs to be moderate," Bock told HPI. "Jackie Walorski is not moderate; she is an extremist, therefore the needs of the district and its current representation are out of alignment."

Bock argues that in contrast he is moderate and pragmatic. Not only does he believe a moderate would be more reflective of the north-central region, but such
 a representative would be more productive in Washington. "I would also like to add that her first literature drop in this campaign was done by Americans for Prosperity, the Koch Brothers organization," Bock told HPI. "If people need any more evidence that she is part of the Tea Party, they've got it."

Heading into the final months before November, Bock has kept a steady schedule of events in the district and social media presence. "We keep gaining momentum because of our grassroots and financial support from people all over the state," Bock told HPI, "which is why Sen. Donnelly is going to spend a day campaigning with me in August." Bock also added that he has consented to a debate request from WNIT-TV. Walorski's campaign has told HPI it is weighing all debate options.

In our conversation on the campaign and issues, Bock spoke about the challenges facing the 2nd CD and how they relate to job creation, agriculture, the minimum wage, the ACA, climate change and, generally, how he believes House Republicans, Rep. Walorski especially, have put ideology and partisanship before problem solving.

Here are some highlights from our exclusive discussion:

HPI: Why is the 2nd CD the only race considered worth watching in Indiana?

Bock: I think there is a general sense that it's in play and, for a lack of a better way of putting it, that we have a viable chance of winning and the seat could change hands. That's why people are so interested in focusing
 on it. There are others where seats are safe and that's a reflection of the consolidation of voting blocs through gerrymandering. But this one [2nd CD] is still a swing district.

HPI: The district itself aside, your candidacy must be an important reason the seat is in play, no?

Bock: Well, I think political experience is important. That certainly is something that comes up when I speak with people. Given the fact that I have been working here at the University of Notre Dame for seven and a half years, I think people feel really comfortable in having me as the candidate.

HPI: The DCCC selected you recently for their Emerging Races designation. What did they see in your campaign and what does that mean going forward?

Bock: It puts us into a national spotlight. We are now one of 40 in the country
that is profiled by the DCCC and I think that
that is a really positive development for us and this congressional district. They have already been providing some support, but actually the Indiana Democratic Party, as well as the local here in the 2nd CD, has been working with 
us in terms of our targeting. It's hard to know how much they will help. My view on that is don't count on it, but be pleasantly surprised if they do. At this point we're largely focused on working with the people here. Certainly that's a positive endorsement but not as significant as the substantial enthusiasm among Democrats for our race locally. And Independents I should add, as well as some Republicans.

HPI: What are challenges facing the 2nd CD and what are its strengths?

Bock: The biggest challenge, of course, is the need for high-quality jobs and for those to be consistent. Over in Elkhart County it's been a phenomenal economic upswing that they have encountered as gas prices have gone down and the automobile industry has bolstered their economy. I think that's fantastic. But I do know, speaking with business leaders in Elkhart County, they're concerned about the cyclical nature of the RV industry. They would like to get more consistent demand in play so that its sporadic nature is mollified. On the other side, the business leaders in St. Joseph County are pushing hard to get into a more high-tech role. Some of them sense that we might be focusing too much on that and need to work more at an interim solution, whether it be manufacturing jobs in the near term, and moving more toward high-tech jobs including nanotechnology in the future. In some of the other counties, certainly agriculture is a big issue. A lot of the small farmers I speak with feel that the larger enterprises, the corporate farms, are getting a substantial amount of help from the federal government and that's a bias that needs to be corrected.

HPI: Speaking of agriculture, the farm bill was delayed over an attempt to remove SNAP benefits from it. Did you hear from your district on that and what is your stance?

Bock: At my Catholic church we have a food pantry and people with whom I speak were concerned about the food stamps. My own view is, as a legislator I will do everything I can to keep politics out of the business of the American farmer and hungry people. I will not allow politics, as far as I can control it, to get into the mix. I think what people want is not food; they want jobs. They want a hand up not a handout.

HPI: You've called for a raise in the federal minimum wage. How is that resonating in your district and how do you think it would help the district?

Bock: It resonates well in the district. Small business owners are concerned about it and I believe that we need to accommodate them so that it's not overly difficult for them to move in that direction, whether that's a tax credit over a couple of years or some other way. The federal government and CBO and those who have done studies
 on this say that it will not negatively impact employment and, in fact, might increase it. I think that's probably true in an aggregate sense but not in a micro sense from the standpoint of small business. Certainly some of them will be affected negatively so we need to accommodate them somehow. Generally, I think people feel it's reasonable that the minimum wage be raised to maintain its pace with inflation.

HPI: Considering your expertise in global health and health care, how would you gauge the impact of the ACA on the 2nd CD?

Bock: The bottom line with the ACA is that we need to keep what is good and fix what is bad. And certainly it has both of those in it. People are most supportive of the fact that preexisting conditions are something insurance companies have to cover. Second, people are really happy their children can stay on their policies until they are 26 years old. Those seem to be the two most popular parts. From the standpoint of what needs to be fixed, a lot of businesses in the eastern part of this congressional district are involved in the development
of medical devices and people are unhappy with the new tax on those devices. Second, there is the issue of how many hours an employee works from the standpoint of them needing to get insurance from their employer and their time being cut back. That's the inverse of what the law was trying to do and that needs to be fixed as well.

HPI: It seems like we've had ample time in which to fix specific aspects of the ACA, yet it could be argued the politics of the U.S. House led to futile gestures of trying to fully repeal the law. Do you think House Republicans and, perhaps, your opponent have put politics before working out solutions?

Bock: They have put politics in front of solutions. If they don't like something in the bill, then the thing to do is to fix that. To simply repeal the whole thing and to be simply obstructionist with various legislation because of the symbolism of it, in my view, is irresponsible. When Jackie Walorski votes 53 times against the ACA, that's highly irresponsible and inappropriate. Our country has had a broken health care system for decades; if you want to repeal the attempt to fix it, you have a moral obligation to offer an alternative. Don't ignore the fact that we had 128 million people in our population nationwide with preexisting conditions who were not covered and were subject to bankruptcy if they became ill. That's something that had to be fixed. As far as I'm concerned, every time people voted to repeal the ACA they were saying I don't care that those 128 million people don't have coverage and I don't care if they go bankrupt.

HPI: House Republicans would argue they have proposed alternatives, namely packages advocating "consumer-driven" health care reforms.

Bock: I'm certainly in favor of any solution that will work. The main theme of this campaign is that we need to put pragmatic problem solving in front of partisan posturing. If it's pragmatic and it's going to work I'm all for it, I could not care less what party it comes from.

HPI: Gov. Mike Pence has proposed to expand Medicaid via the vehicle of HIP 2.0. Your thoughts on the proposal?

Bock: The bottom line is that people need health care and if some people want to get credit for putting their stamp on the health care program, as some say, better late than never. I think it's unfortunate we have foregone the opportunity earlier. Frankly, that's playing politics and that's inexcusable. It's unfortunate that Indiana is paying more tax revenue than it's getting back. This is a great example of the people of Indiana getting the short end of the stick. The administration needs to correct that problem.

HPI: Last year the very conservative base of
 the 2nd CD, such as Curt Nisly, spouse of Elkhart County Republican Chair Mary Nisly, vocally considered primarying Rep. Walorski for not being conservative enough. Nisly said he backed off from filing after Walorski sided with more conservative Republicans to maintain last October's government shutdown. Do you think the hard-line base or Tea Party influences Rep. Walorski too much?

Bock: Congresswoman Walorski is very much aware that she has a threat on the far right of her party and at the same time she tries to convey in public statements that she works on both sides of the aisle. Frankly, there really is no evidence that she works on both sides of the aisle. She has been quite concerned and careful to prevent a primary and to prevent the onslaught of people who are the more conservative in her party. From what I hear in the district, people see through the false statements that she is bipartisan. They are clear in the understanding that she is an extremist. Therefore, I think that the ploy that she is bipartisan isn't going to work for her. This is a congressional district that is a swing district and by definition the representative needs to be moderate. Jackie Walorski is not moderate; she is an extremist, therefore the needs of the district and their current representation are out of alignment.

HPI: Rep. Walorski is getting more and more recognition for her work on stopping military sexual assaults and reforming the VA. Do you see any of that as partisanship?

Bock: No, I think the issue of military sexual harassment is something that both parties are concerned with. I wouldn't necessarily call Congresswoman Walorski a national leader in dealing with that. A lot of the leadership has come out of the Senate. From the standpoint of the VA scandal, it's important for people to recognize that Jackie Walorski over a year ago voted to block the Veterans Backlog Reduction Act. The idea that people like Congresswoman Walorski acting like this is a new revelation is hypocrisy, because the VA has been telling Congress for years that they've got a problem with the backlog. To act like it's a big surprise, I don't care if you're a Republican or a Democrat, is just not acceptable.

HPI: In unison the Indiana Republican congressional delegation denounced the recent EPA carbon emissions proposals. What's your stance on climate change mitigation and solutions, especially vis-à-vis your opponent?

Bock: My biggest concern with the new EPA rules and regulations is that it could hurt people who are on fixed incomes. It could hurt the middle class. I certainly believe we need to deal with climate change. The science is solid that there is climate change and climate change
is a problem. Congresswoman Walorski, in contrast, is a climate change denier. What's really unfortunate about this is that our country
 is the leader in research and development and we should focus on the jobs 
we can develop and the exports we can
 provide in response to climate change. If we put our heads in the sand and
just ignore it, just like Congresswoman
 Walorski is ignoring people with preexisting conditions, we're going to lose 
the opportunity for a lot of high-quality 
jobs. Imagine factories here in northern 
Indiana that produce batteries. Imagine companies that finance the energy 
conservation we need to do. We have a huge opportunity here. We've got some great universities in Indiana, some here in northern Indiana. We are poised to turn this problem of climate change into a business opportunity.

HPI: U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman ran for House Whip as a conservative "from a red state" and was vocally supported by Rep. Walorski. How do you read into that in terms of her politics?

Bock: It's another example of where Congresswoman Walorski really is. It's inconsistent that she behaves as if she is a moderate who works on both sides of the aisle and then does something like that.

HPI: Do you feel Congress could institute so-called common sense gun reforms, such as closing loopholes and bolstering background checks?

Bock: Yes, I do. That is something that I do
hear from people in the district. There is an overwhelming agreement that we need to plug the loopholes when it comes to background checks.

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