Editor's note:

Today, May 5, we're profiling the four candidates for Indiana's Second District U.S. House seat, Republicans Jackie Walorski and Greg Andrews and Democrats Brendan Mullen and Dan Morrison.

The two winners in Tuesday's primary — Walorski and Mullen have the clear edge gauging by organization, funding and party support — advance to next November's general election.

Scroll to the end of the story for more info on the geography of the Second District.

ELKHART — The public is clamoring for an independent voice to break through partisan gridlock in Washington, D.C., and Jackie Walorski, in vying for the District 2 seat, says she's the candidate to deliver.

“I have a solid voting record of being an independent voice and standing up to my party and standing up to the Democrats,” she says, alluding to her three terms in the Indiana House as the District 21 representative. That sort of mindset is “critical” at the federal level “because both parties have failed.”

At the same time — though a conservative (and a tea party favorite) — the Republican is capable of bipartisanship, she maintains. She returns to the theme of being independent several times and alludes to her efforts as an Indiana lawmaker helping push through legislation to help autistic children, teaming with a legislator from across the aisle.

“That's what has to happen at the federal level. It's gridlock,” she says, speaking to The Elkhart Truth.

The independent and bipartisan claims notwithstanding, she isn't immune from making digs at the Democratic administration of President Barack Obama and his initiatives.

Speaking of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, she faults Obama's foreign policy experience. He “showed our hand” and put U.S. troops in jeopardy by publicly discussing the nation's exit strategy. She would “defer to the generals and we don't seem to be doing that.”

Though avoiding direct criticism of Obama or Democrats, she says the the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the president's 2010 health care initiative, should be completely repealed, a common Republican refrain. “We're finding out every day that this is not what the American people thought it was,” she says, also noting Congressional Budget Office estimates of its high cost.

She favors a balanced budget amendment to keep federal government spending in check and proposes an initial 1 to 2 percent reduction, not just a freeze, in the U.S. debt. Maybe that cut could generate momentum for larger reductions.

Measures implemented in Indiana to keep spending in check — auditing of state departments to reduce excess employees and spending, for instance — could serve as a model at the federal level. “I think the American people agree the size of federal government has to be reduced,” she says.

The United States is “an energy powerhouse yet to be unleashed,” she says, expressing support for increased domestic energy production.

Walorski, 48, ran for the District 2 spot in 2010, losing narrowly to Democrat Joe Donnelly, who currently holds the spot. Donnelly isn't seeking re-election to the seat, instead he's vying for the U.S. Senate.

Walorski was born and raised in South Bend and now lives in the Jimtown area with her husband. Her initial run for office, a spot on the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners, ended in defeat in 1996, but she followed in 2004 by winning the District 21 Indiana House seat.


Indiana's Second District

The Second District, located in north central Indiana, has been redrawn per the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau population count and the new boundaries take effect next year. Elkhart County, which has been divvied between the Second and Third districts, will now be entirely within the Second District.

The revamped district will also include St. Joseph, Starke, Marshall, Pulaski, Fulton, Miami and Wabash counties and parts of LaPorte and Kosciusko counties.

Joe Donnelly, a Democrat, currently represents the district, but he's running for the U.S. Senate this cycle.