Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
K. Richard Fitzlaff
K. Richard Fitzlaff (Libertarian Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Indiana's 8th Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Fitzlaff completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
K. Richard Fitzlaff was born in Chicago, Illinois. He earned a high school diploma from Mount Carmel High School. His career experience includes working in business development.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Indiana's 8th Congressional District election, 2024
Indiana's 8th Congressional District election, 2024 (May 7 Republican primary)
Indiana's 8th Congressional District election, 2024 (May 7 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Indiana District 8
Mark Messmer defeated Erik Hurt and K. Richard Fitzlaff in the general election for U.S. House Indiana District 8 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Mark Messmer (R) | 68.0 | 219,941 |
 | Erik Hurt (D)  | 29.5 | 95,311 | |
 | K. Richard Fitzlaff (L) | 2.6 | 8,381 | |
| Total votes: 323,633 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 8
Erik Hurt defeated Edward Upton Sein, Michael Talarzyk, and Peter Priest II in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 8 on May 7, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Erik Hurt | 45.1 | 8,204 |
 | Edward Upton Sein | 22.5 | 4,087 | |
 | Michael Talarzyk | 20.9 | 3,796 | |
| Peter Priest II | 11.5 | 2,098 | ||
| Total votes: 18,185 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Kellie Moore (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 8
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 8 on May 7, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mark Messmer | 38.5 | 30,668 |
 | John N. Hostettler | 19.7 | 15,649 | |
 | Richard Moss | 14.1 | 11,227 | |
 | Dominick Jack Kavanaugh | 11.8 | 9,397 | |
 | Kristi Risk | 9.2 | 7,350 | |
 | Luke Misner | 2.9 | 2,287 | |
 | Jim Case | 2.6 | 2,107 | |
 | Jeremy Heath | 1.2 | 944 | |
| Total votes: 79,629 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jon Schrock (R)
- Larry Bucshon (R)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Fitzlaff in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
K. Richard Fitzlaff completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Fitzlaff's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
- I believe it is time once and for all to End Deficit Spending. Hoosiers and Americans as a whole cannot afford a government that is not accountable to its employers- the American people. For generations we have created debt that many future generations must work and pay for in an unsustainable way. If government must exist it must live within the confines of the will of the people who elect it.
- Lower Federal Taxes for all people of every economic background. Hoosiers deserve integrity. They deserve someone who isn't afraid to vote no on a 5,000 page bill loaded with frivolous pet spending projects to appease a corporation across the country. Public servants should act as such and be good stewards of the money entrusted to them.
- Defend The Constitution. For generations the Constitution has been stripped of its meaning and the rights guaranteed to all people has been marginalized and misappropriated. The Constitution was not a list of privileges granted to you by government to be taken away when they saw fit. It is and always should be a list of protections that shall not be infringed. Congress should realize their duty and oath to the American people to defend those rights and freedoms no matter the cost.
As such they are responsible to the will of those that elected them while holding fast to defending the rule of law and the Constitution.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Fitzlaff's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Lower Taxes For All The current federal income tax system is clearly broken — unfair, overly complex, and almost impossible for most Americans to understand. But there is a reasonable, nonpartisan alternative before Congress that is both fair and easy to understand. A system that allows you to keep your whole paycheck and only pay taxes on what you spend.
Important to note: the FairTax is the only tax plan currently being proposed that includes the removal of the payroll tax. Social Security For the past several years there has been a growing consensus about the need to reform Social Security. Now, however, the debate has advanced to the point where it becomes important to move beyond generalities and provide specific proposals for transforming Social Security into a system of individual accounts. Under this proposal:
We expect this plan to restore Social Security to long-term and sustainable solvency and to do so at a cost that is less than the cost of simply propping up the existing program. And it would do far more than that. Younger workers who chose the individual account option would receive benefits substantially higher than those that could be paid under traditional Social Security. At the same time, the plan would treat women and minorities more fairly and allow low-income workers to accumulate real wealth. Most importantly, this proposal would reduce Americans’ reliance on government and give individuals greater ownership of wealth, as well as responsibility for and control over their own lives. It would be a profound and significant increase in individual liberty. End Deficit Spending Our nation's budget continues to climb at an unprecedented rate leading to high inflation, crushing debt, and economic uncertainty. It's time to stop mudslinging and offering pie-in-the-sky proposals. Hoosiers deserve honest and real solutions to the burdens we have created for ourselves and future generations. I would work to end the daily waste, fraud, and abuse in Washington. By endorsing bills such as H J Res 81 proposed by Rep. Amash we could "Starve the Beast" and leave us with a truly balanced budget. Veterans Care The V.A. and Washington have failed their obligations to veterans with their medical care. I believe that we can do better on our promises to veterans and their care. They served us and now it is our turn to give them the best available medical care. My Veterans Care proposal allows wasteful spending of the V.A. to be redirected into the Veteran's Personal Care Account (VPCA). The VPCA will function similarly to a health savings account. A portion of V.A. funds would go directly to the VPCA and allow veterans to get whatever care they need, wherever is most convenient for them, and from a doctor of their choice. The second portion of funds would be allocated to long-term and substantial medical needs. Examples would include cancer, chronic illnesses and kidney transplants among other issues. These funds would be readily available with a doctor submitting a simple need-of-care application. Abolish The Selective Service America's all-volunteer military is not a self-inflicted weakness. It's a sign of strength—a free citizenry's confidence that they will know when to fight. The Selective Service is a vestige of fear. It should be abolished, not made more equitable and efficient. Repeal FISA 702 & The (Un)Patriot Act Just six weeks after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Congress adopted the USA PATRIOT Act. Enacted with the best intentions and in response to a serious threat, the PATRIOT Act passed under intense time pressure and without serious debate. Certainly, our government needs tools to prevent terrorism. And to the extent laws unduly tied the hands of those who protect us, those laws needed to be amended. But as so often happens in time of crisis, the pendulum swung too far. The PATRIOT Act didn’t just encourage information sharing so intelligence agencies could “connect the dots” to prevent the next attack. The Act gave the Executive Branch broad discretionary powers that are not needed in the fight against terrorism and serve only to infringe on Americans’ fundamental liberties. Term Limits America can ill-afford a Congress that is simultaneously distant from the people and protected by the advantages of incumbency. This has resulted in a ruling class that doesn’t listen to the voters, and blocks new talent from entering the system. The re-election rate in Congress is well over 90 percent, meaning incumbents are practically unbeatable. Term limits would reverse this trend by ensuring that open-seat races are held on a regular basis. The best and brightest minds in our states, currently blocked from serving in Congress by tenured politicians, would finally have the opportunity to move upward and make their case to the American people. Term limits also address the top-down power structure in Washington by allowing for less senior members to hold leadership roles. This means Congress won’t only get an infusion of new talent, but that all of its members will be empowered to make a difference. Studies have found that term limits laws have increased legislative diversity, and had a statistically significant, positive impact on increasing women’s representation in legislatures. The President has term limits. As do 36 governors and 15 state legislatures. When a foreign leader attempts to rescind his own limits, we are the first nation whose diplomats stand up and object. This idea, with roots as old as democracy itself, has become part of our national fabric. It is time to bring term limits to Congress.[2] |
” |
| —K. Richard Fitzlaff's campaign website (2024)[3] | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 9, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ K. Richard Fitzlaff's campaign website, "Policies," accessed September 25, 2024
