Matthew Peiffer

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Matthew Peiffer

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 7, 2024

Personal

Birthplace

Las Vegas, Nev.

Religion

Christian

Profession

Social work

Contact

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

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Matthew Peiffer (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Indiana's 5th Congressional District. He lost in the Republican primary on May 7, 2024.

Peiffer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Matthew Peiffer was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. His career experience includes working as a police office and in social work. Peiffer has been affiliated with the Optimist Club.

Elections

2024

See also: Indiana's 5th Congressional District election, 2024

Indiana's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (May 7 Republican primary)

Indiana's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (May 7 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Indiana District 5

Incumbent Victoria Spartz defeated Deborah A. Pickett, Robby Slaughter, and Lauri Shillings in the general election for U.S. House Indiana District 5 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Victoria Spartz (R)	56.6	203,293
		Deborah A. Pickett (D)	38.0	136,554
		Robby Slaughter (Independent)	2.7	9,790
		Lauri Shillings (L)	2.7	9,567

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 359,204
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 5

Deborah A. Pickett defeated Ryan Pfenninger in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 5 on May 7, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Deborah A. Pickett	59.5	11,858
		Ryan Pfenninger	40.5	8,082

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,940
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jeremy Lee Edom (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 5

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 5 on May 7, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Victoria Spartz	39.1	31,674
		Chuck Goodrich	33.2	26,865
		Max Engling	9.7	7,841
		Raju Chinthala	7.1	5,742
		Mark Hurt	5.5	4,431
	Submit photo	Larry L. Savage Jr.	1.9	1,569
		Matthew Peiffer	1.7	1,379
		Patrick Malayter	1.0	800
		Lonnie Powell	0.9	729

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 81,030
= 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

• Scott King (R)
• Scott Goad (R)
• Rodney Cummings (R)
• Jonathan Brown (R)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Peiffer in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Matthew Peiffer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Peiffer's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

As a abused child from Grant County I got into foster care and started advocating for children at age 16 helping push legislation and policy aimed at child abuse, foster care , and adoptions. I lost my younger sister to suicide a mo the ages she aged out of care and decided I needed to to share with the world the forgotten population of people in our society. I've received national attention from Congressional Awards and national awards. I have been a strong leader in many circles. I am currently a police officer and run a non-profit helping children.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I want to make sure everybody feels included in discussions with me.
• I want to ensure I represent my district not just my own beliefs.
• I want to work for the people and not for myself.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Foster care, child abuse, adoptions, healthcare, schools.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I really look up to Abraham Lincoln you said."A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand" it rings true in today's society with so much turmoil and people divided its crazy how things get done. I won't do what will get me votes. I promise to do things because it's the right thing to do.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Dear Ivan. By Jimmy Dean is a great song to listen to and realise life is simple don't stress the big things. Come up with solutions talk as people not me versus you. So many things so many of us have in common. Find common ground and build from there. I don't have all the great qualities that some other candidates might have or experience. But I am driven to make things happen. Just was never really in a position to do anything. The amount of year's and times I've tried to meet with local politicians and get things done and be brushed aside people need to know their issues they are passionate about are important!

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, integrity, not "I am going to do this and this" more like " I am going to do my best to ensure this and this happens" no broken promises.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Drive, compassion, and willingness to serve others at 100% effort.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To represent everybody from all walks of life. Not just the people that donate the most or voted for them.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Once where I made a difference and changed somebody life just once. Knowing that maybe I saved somebody life when I couldn't save my sisters.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Foster care was a big turning point in my life that helped me understand life in a new perspective. Being abused for so many years and sheltered I didn't really have a good grasp of some of the normal walks in life.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Worked three jobs Cashier at Walmart where I progressed rapidly, server at steak and shake and a worker at subway. Riding a bike to and from work until I was 20 and found somebody to help me get my drivers license hours.

What is your favorite book? Why?

I don't read often. But as a child I always enjoyed Boxcar Children

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Try a little kindness Glen Cambell

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Being alone against the world. The world doesn't care as much as I do about issues concerning children and foster care and such. That's been the biggest issue I've faced.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The house is made of of people from all walks of life. With so many people with so many great ideas. It's a chance to come together and bring those ideas into reality.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

No sometimes the best people are the ones with no experience. They won't sugar coat things and tell you what you want to hear.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Everybody being so divided. As a young person growing up I don't understand why we can't all sit at the table and hash things out and come up with a middle-ground solution. When my sister committed suicide we had to do that. Sit at the table and come up with compromises. And in today's world. It just doesn't seem like we are able to do that. Let's come back together and do what's right for the American people and stop trying ti make ourselves look good.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

I believe 2 years is right.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I believe term limits are good once I get old and don't have the experience that a younger generation would have I there's no need for me to continue serving when somebody else can do a much better job.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

N/A

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

I hear from foster youth all the time. So many stories from parents and children get me so passionate to come up with the solutions to fix so many issues.

Tell us your favorite joke.

How do you spell silk and what do cows drink. Most people will say milk.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Of course as I addressed before. It's viral to get things done for the American people. Do stand alone bills don't slide everything into one bill when it doesn't make sense.

How should the U.S. House use its investigative powers?

Yes no outside influence should interfere with a investigation. With so many different people it's almost like a jury but you must remain with a open mind. I always try to put myself in somebody else shoes. And that's how every investigation should work.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

N/A

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 finance summary

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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.

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Matthew Peiffer campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House Indiana District 5	Lost primary	$0	N/A**
Grand total			$0	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also

2024 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

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Footnotes

[show]

Indiana's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Jim Banks (R)

Todd Young (R)

Representatives

District 1

Frank Mrvan (D)

District 2

Rudy Yakym (R)

District 3

Marlin Stutzman (R)

District 4

Jim Baird (R)

District 5

Victoria Spartz (R)

District 6

Jefferson Shreve (R)

District 7

André Carson (D)

District 8

Mark Messmer (R)

District 9

Erin Houchin (R)

Republican Party (9)

Democratic Party (2)