Nonprofit executive Tim Smith joins 3rd Congressional District race

FORT WAYNE — Nonprofit CEO Tim Smith on Wednesday launched his campaign for Indiana's Third Congressional District, running as a Republican with decidedly conservative messaging. The district covers the state's northeast corner.

"In Congress, I will put a stop to the radical left's agenda that is threatening the very freedoms that we value as Americans. I'll fight for our values, the lives of unborn children, secure our Southern border, uphold law and order, and expose government waste, fraud and abuse," Smith said in a news release. "My focus will be to end wokeness and expand freedom."

Smith grew up in New Haven and earned a law degree from Indiana University's McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis before moving back to Fort Wayne. He lost a campaign for Fort Wayne mayor in 2019.

Smith spent more than 25 years at malpractice insurance company MedPro Group. In 2020, he began at Lasting Change, Inc., a Christian nonprofit that provides administrative and management services to several other nonprofit groups, according to its website. He became CEO in 2022.

Smith's campaign billed him as a "conservative outsider," describing him as a "businessman who isn't beholden to the elite, or the Washington establishment."

"We've seen the power of an outsider in office — someone who will fight for the people," Smith said, seemingly in a nod to former President Donald Trump. "It's the difference between unprecedented economic prosperity and securing our nation, and what we see now — what we have now: inflation, rising crime and global uncertainty."

Smith would also focus on cutting spending and the national debt, according to the news release.

The campaign also emphasized his family ties: Smith has long been married to his wife, Angela, is a father to five and a grandfather to 17.

He joins a range of other candidates — nearly all Republicans — according to Federal Election Commission filings.

They include former U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman, former Allen County Circuit Court Judge Wendy Davis, State Sen. Andy Zay, Auburn lawyer Chandler Likes, Warsaw maintenance technician and military veteran Mike Felker and Jon Kenworthy, a military veteran and former political staffer.

The seat is up for grabs after GOP incumbent Rep. Jim Banks announced earlier this year that he would instead run for a U.S. Senate seat in 2024. The Senate seat is being vacated by Republican Sen. Mike Braun, who announced late last year that he's throwing his hat in the Indiana governor's race.