Charles Bookwalter has announced a congressional run for Indiana’s 4th Congressional District in 2024 - challenging incumbent Republican Jim Baird.
Bookwalter’s announcement was made at an event Sunday.
Bookwalter made headlines ahead of the 2022 election after he was struck from the Republican primary ballot.
Indiana law requires that candidates vote in two previous party primaries or receive a waiver from the local party chair -- neither of which applied to Bookwalter.
He said he’s opposing Baird because he doesn’t represent the district. Bookwalter claims that many constituents rarely see the congressman.
“As I’ve been out meeting with people they either say ‘I don’t even know who my congressman is,’ or if they do know who the congressman is they say ‘well I don’t know much because I haven’t seen my congressman in a long time,’” he said.
A spokesperson for Congressman Baird did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
Bookwalter said he also feels that Baird doesn’t represent the kind of small government approach that most Republicans in Indiana’s 4th Congressional district want.
“Big government Baird is a big government Republican,” he said.
Bookwalter said he also takes issue with Baird's support of COVID spending.
Baird did vote in favor of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES Act, during the Trump administration. But he has opposed some pandemic spending – including $1.9 trillion of COVID relief under the Biden administration.