Victoria Spartz

Biography & Campaign Analysis

Background

Victoria Spartz was born Victoria Kulheyko on October 6, 1978, in Nosivka, in the Chernihiv Oblast of Ukraine, which was then part of the Soviet Union. She lived with her grandparents until the age of five and then moved to Chernihiv, where she studied at a lyceum and graduated with a gold medal.

Spartz earned a bachelor of science degree and a master of business administration degree from Kyiv National Economic University.

She immigrated to the United States in 2000 at the age of 22, became a U.S. citizen in 2006, and later earned a master of accountancy from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

While in college she met her husband, Jason Spartz, on a train from Moscow to Kyiv; they married in 2000, have two daughters, and live in Noblesville, Indiana.

Career

Victoria Spartz held Indiana licenses as a real estate broker from 2003 to 2020 and as a certified public accountant from 2010 to 2021.

She was a founding member of the Hamilton County, Indiana Tea Party, served as chief financial officer in the Indiana Attorney General's office, taught as an adjunct faculty member at the Kelley School of Business in Indianapolis, and has owned real estate and farming businesses.

In 2017 she was appointed to the Indiana Senate from the 20th district after Luke Kenley resigned.

Spartz entered the U.S. House on January 3, 2021, as the first Ukrainian-born person to serve as a member of the United States Congress. In the 118th Congress she sat on the Committee on the Judiciary.

Her tenure was marked by high staff turnover, and in June 2024 the House ethics committee opened a probe into allegations about her treatment of staff.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, she traveled to Ukraine twice in April 2022, including an unannounced visit to Bucha with U.S. Senator Steve Daines, and in 2024 she voted against a $60 billion aid package for Ukraine.

2026 race

Indiana's 5th congressional district covers suburbs north of Indianapolis, including Carmel, Fishers, and Noblesville, along with the cities of Muncie, Marion, and parts of Kokomo.

Victoria Spartz, who was re-elected with 56.6% of the vote in 2024, won the 2026 Republican primary with 59.9% against Scott King, who received 40.1%.

In the general election on November 3, 2026, she faces Democrat J. D. Ford, a state senator for the 29th district since 2018, who won a seven-candidate Democratic primary with 42.5% of the vote.