Controversial Ukrainian wins US Congress elections again: Victoria Spartz’s dossier
6 November 2024 13:22
Ukrainian-born Congresswoman Victoria Spartz will be re-elected to the U.S. Parliament in this year’s elections, reports "Komersant Ukrainian". According to the American media, the politician is winning by a significant margin in the Indiana district against Democrat Deborah Pickett, a former member of the US Army.
Election campaign
Spartz has built her campaign platform on traditional Republican, and sometimes even Trumpian, values of limited government and the protection of constitutional rights. She particularly emphasizes the importance of protecting the right to bear arms (Second Amendment to the US Constitution) and the fundamental rights to life, liberty, and property.
In the economic sphere, Spartz positions herself as a fiscal conservative, advocating for cuts in government spending and opposing tax increases. She considers the current level of public debt unacceptable and proposes to reduce it by optimizing spending rather than increasing the tax burden. She also supports free enterprise and is in favor of reducing regulatory pressure on business.
Her position on migration, in her own words, is based on her own experience of going through the American immigration system. Spartz acknowledges the need to reform the legal immigration system, pointing to its excessive bureaucracy, high cost, and lengthy processes. She suggests creating a more efficient work visa program and simplifying legal immigration routes. This should help to curb illegal immigration.
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In the social sphere, the candidate focuses on two key areas: healthcare and education. In the healthcare sector, she advocates for increased transparency and competition, which should lead to lower healthcare costs. In education, Spartz, drawing on her experience as a mother and educator, proposes to give states more authority over secondary education and reform the system of higher education funding.
An important component of her program is the issue of transparency and accountability in government. Spartz advocates simplifying legislation, auditing government agencies, and cutting bureaucracy. Significantly, she supports term limits for congressmen and pledges not to serve more than three terms, emphasizing that politics should be a service to society, not a career.
According to Spartz’s website, she has gained the support of the Small Business Association, pro-life organizations (advocating for a ban on abortion), and gun owners’ associations.
Political background
Victoria Spartz (née Kulgeiko) is an American politician of Ukrainian descent, born on October 6, 1978, in the city of Nosivka, Chernihiv region. She became the first ethnic Ukrainian woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress, where she represents Indiana’s 5th District as a member of the Republican Party.
Her Ukrainian roots run deep – until she was five years old, she lived in Nosivka, Chernihiv Oblast, with her parents and grandparents. Then the family moved to Chernihiv, where Victoria graduated from Lyceum #15 with a gold medal. She completed her higher education at the Kyiv National Economic University, graduating with honors. In 2000, she moved to the United States, where she became an American citizen in 2006.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Spartz took an active pro-Ukrainian position. She called Russia’s actions “war crimes” and “an insane genocide of the Ukrainian people.” At the time of the invasion, her family was in the Chernihiv region, which was under siege, and her 95-year-old grandmother’s house was damaged by Russian bombing.
Spartz, along with Senator Steve Daines, was the first U.S. official to visit Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion. She is the only U.S. lawmaker to visit the frontline areas. Between April and May 2022, she visited Ukraine six times, including visits to Bucha, Lviv, Kyiv, and Odesa.
However, her position on supporting Ukraine was not unequivocal. In Ukraine, Spartz was accused of sabotage and lack of support. She voted against the allocation of $12 billion for Ukraine in October 2022, and in February 2024, she opposed a bill to allocate $60 billion in military aid, although she called for weapons to be provided to Ukraine. In April 2024, she submitted five amendments aimed at reducing the aid package to Ukraine and voted against the allocation of aid. Spartz’s Facebook page does not currently have any photos that would indicate her commitment to Ukraine.
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