Jackie Walorski

Jacqueline R. Walorski (/wəˈlɔːrski/, August 17, 1963 – August 3, 2022) was an American politician. She was the U.S. representative for Indiana's 2nd congressional district from 2013 until her death in 2022. She was a member of the Republican Party. She was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 2005 to 2010.

Jackie Walorski
Jackie Walorski 117th Congress portrait.jpg
Official portrait, 2020
Ranking Member of the House Ethics Committee
In office
January 3, 2021 – August 3, 2022
Preceded byKenny Marchant
Succeeded byMichael Guest
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Indiana's 2nd district
In office
January 3, 2013 – August 3, 2022
Preceded byJoe Donnelly
Succeeded byRudy Yakym
Member of the Indiana House of Representatives
from the 21st district
In office
January 5, 2005 – November 16, 2010
Preceded byRichard W. Mangus
Succeeded byTimothy Wesco
Personal details
Born
Jacqueline R. Walorski

(1963-08-17)August 17, 1963
South Bend, Indiana, U.S.
DiedAugust 3, 2022(2022-08-03) (aged 58)
near Nappanee, Indiana, U.S.
Resting placeSouthlawn Cemetery,
South Bend, Indiana, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Dean Swihart (m. 1995)
EducationLiberty University
Taylor University (BA)

Early life

Walorski was born in South Bend, Indiana, on August 17, 1963.[1] She studied at Liberty University and at Taylor University. In 1995, she married Dean Swihart.

Walorski began her career as a television reporter in South Bend from 1985 to 1989. Walorski moved to Romania in 2000 to focus on charity work and Christian missionary work for children there.[2] She returned to the United States in 2004.[3]

State Representative

In 2004, Walorski ran for the Indiana House of Representatives. She ran for Indiana's 2nd District. Walorski beat Democrat Carl H. Kaser in a landslide victory with a 64% to 36% vote margin.[4] In 2006, she won a second term with 53% of the vote.[5] In 2008, she won a third term without anyone running against her.[6]

U.S. House of Representatives

In January 2009, Walorski announced her candidacy to run against Democratic U.S. Representative Joe Donnelly. She won the Republican primary in May 2010.[7][8] She lost the general election with a 48% to 47% vote margin.[9]

Donnelly decided not to run for reelection in the U.S. House, instead wanted to run for the U.S. Senate in 2012.[10] In May 2012, Walorski won the Republican nomination for the U.S. House seat.[11] Walorski would go on to win the general election with a 49% to 48% vote margin.[12][13]

In June 2017, she was honored with the Commander of the Order of the Star of Romania in Romania for her charity work there in the early 2000s.[14][15]

2020 election

Walorski voted against the second impeachment of Donald Trump[16] and voted to not approve the certification of the 2020 United States presidential election.[17][18]

In December 2020, Walorski was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives who supported Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court.[19] This was an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 United States presidential election, in which Joe Biden beat Donald Trump.[20]

Death

Walorski was killed in a car crash near Nappanee, Indiana on August 3, 2022 at the age of 58.[21] Three other people were killed in the accident including her communications director, Emma Thomson, and her district director, Zachery Potts.[22] The accident was caused when Walorski's car crashed with another car on State Road 19.[23] Her funeral was held on August 11 in Granger, Indiana and she was buried at Southlawn Cemetery in South Bend.[24][25][26]

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said flags would be at half-staff at the United States Capitol in her honor.[27] House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy,[27] Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg,[27] former Vice President Mike Pence,[27] former President Donald Trump,[27] and President Joe Biden released statements after her death honoring her.[28]

Jackie Walorski Media

References

  1. "WALORSKI, Jackie (1963–)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  2. Jackie Walorski (R). March 10, 2013. http://projects.wsj.com/campaign2012/candidates/view/jackie-walorski--IN-H. Retrieved May 2, 2018. 
  3. Howey, Brian A. (March 16, 2006). "HOWEY Political Report: GOP's Finest Hour? Walorski's world travels brought her to the precipice of change" (PDF). HOWEY Political Report.
  4. "Our Campaigns – IN State House 021 Race – November 2, 2004". Ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  5. "Our Campaigns – IN State House 021 Race – November 7, 2006". Ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  6. "Our Campaigns – IN State House 021 Race – November 4, 2008". Ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  7. "Election results". Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
  8. "State Rep. Jackie Walorski wins 2nd Congressional district GOP primary". Wndu.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
  9. 2010 Election Results, CNN.com; accessed November 9, 2016.
  10. Shear, Michael D. (May 9, 2011). "Donnelly to Run for Senate in Indiana". New York Times. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/09/donnelly-to-run-for-senate-in-indiana. Retrieved August 3, 2011. 
  11. "News From The Associated Press". ap.org. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  12. "2012 election result report from Politico". POLITICO. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  13. "Fall General Election – 11/04/2008; State Senate, District No. 20". Wisconsin State Elections Board. November 24, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 20, 2011. Retrieved April 19, 2011.
  14. "Klaus Iohannis a decorat opt congresmani americani cu Ordinul Steaua României în grad de Comandor". adevarul.ro (in română). June 9, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  15. Peia, Florentina; Iacob, Simona (June 9, 2017). Purcarea, Vicentiu; Pandea, Razvan-Adrian (eds.). "President Iohannis and U.S. congressmen discuss Romania's inclusion in Visa Waiver programme". Agepres. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  16. Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601 (2021-01-13). "Roll Call 17 Roll Call 17, Bill Number: H. Res. 24, 117th Congress, 1st Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  17. Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601 (2021-01-06). "Roll Call 10 Roll Call 10, MOTION, 117th Congress, 1st Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  18. Stevens, Harry; Santamariña, Daniela; Rabinowitz, Kate; Uhrmacher, Kevin; Muyskens, John (January 7, 2021). "How members of Congress voted on counting the electoral college vote". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2021/politics/congress-electoral-college-count-tracker/. Retrieved August 3, 2022. 
  19. Blood, Michael R.; Riccardi, Nicholas (December 5, 2020). "Biden officially secures enough electors to become president". AP News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  20. Diaz, Daniella (December 11, 2020). "Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court". CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/10/politics/read-house-republicans-texas-supreme-court/index.html. Retrieved December 11, 2020. 
  21. Beavers, Olivia; Ferris, Sarah (August 3, 2022). "Indiana GOP Rep. Walorski, three others die in auto accident". POLITICO. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  22. Beavers, Olivia (2022-08-03). "Indiana GOP Rep. Walorski, three others die in auto accident". Politico.
  23. Ansari, Talal (3 August 2022). "Indiana Rep. Jackie Walorski and Two Staffers Killed in Car Crash". Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/jackie-walorski-indiana-congresswoman-killed-in-car-crash-11659557515?mod=hp_lead_pos10. Retrieved 3 August 2022. 
  24. "Funeral for Rep. Jackie Walorski set for Thursday". Fox News. August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
  25. "Indiana funeral set for congresswoman killed in crash". Yahoo. August 5, 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  26. "US Rep. Jackie Walorski Swihart laid to rest at Southlawn Cemetery". ABC News. August 11, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  27. 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 Griffiths, Brent D.; Rojas, Warren (August 3, 2022). "Tributes pour in for Rep. Jackie Walorski from Pete Buttigieg, Kevin McCarthy, Mike Pence, and others after her death in a car crash. Capitol flags to fly at half-staff.". Yahoo! News. https://news.yahoo.com/tributes-pour-rep-jackie-walorski-202839263.html. Retrieved August 4, 2022. 
  28. "Statement from President Biden on the Passing of Congresswoman Jackie Walorski of Indiana". whitehouse.gov. August 3, 2022. Archived from the original on August 4, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.

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