Independent candidate looks to make Ind. 3rd District race a 3-way contest

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - A Fort Wayne man aiming for a spot on the November ballot has filed a petition of signatures with the Secretary of State and says he has met the requirements to run in the race for 3rd District Congressman.

Nathan Gotsch on Wednesday said he met state requirements by submitting “well over the required number of signatures for an independent candidate.”

In Indiana, someone running for Congress as an independent must secure signatures meeting a threshold that changes periodically. The requirement is linked to the number of votes cast in the most recent Secretary of State election.

Gotsch says he turned in 7,001 signatures gathered from counties that make up the 3rd District -- enough to appear on the ballot this fall.

If that happens, he will be an independent alternative to incumbent US Rep. Jim Banks, a Republican, and Democratic nominee Gary Snyder.

“I’m incredibly grateful to our amazing team of signature-gatherers, and to the thousands of Northeast Indiana voters who want another choice this November, and were willing to sign their name to it,” Gotsch said in a news release. “Because of the hard work of a lot of people, that will now happen.”

Gotsch is a Fort Wayne native with experience in the fields of education and media (his biography notes that he launched “Fort Wayne Observed,” “a website covering news in the city”). On his platforms page, he lambasts the party-centric nature of government, and criticizes Banks for “attempts to downplay” the January 6 insurrection.

Gotsch also takes on what he calls a “broken” tax code and says additional policy positions will be posted in the future.

Banks is seeking a fifth term in Congress in a district that was only slightly altered by redistricting and that has traditionally favored Republicans. He was unopposed in the primary. Snyder, a former talk show radio host and -- like Banks -- a veteran, easily secured the Democratic Party nomination in May.