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“Whether it’s bringing job-creating investments to the district, standing in solidarity with workers and organized labor, or lowering costs for families, no one puts their head down and gets to work like Congressman Frank Mrvan. While Frank’s top priority is making it easier for the middle class to get ahead, Randy Niemeyer has spent his career putting his own profits and power over workers. There’s only one candidate in the race who’s working to deliver for Indiana families, and that’s Frank Mrvan,” said DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene.
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To: Interested Parties
From: Mallory Payne, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: May 7, 2024
Subject: The Case Against Randy Niemeyer
Tonight’s GOP primary sets up a contest between Congressman Frank Mrvan, who puts middle class families first every day, and Randy Niemeyer, who has been, and will continue to be, a disaster for Indiana.
Living in Northwest Indiana his entire life and serving as the North Township Trustee for more than 15 years before being elected to Congress, Frank understands the challenges families are facing and knows that too many people are struggling to get ahead.
That’s why Frank is standing with organized labor and investing in communities to grow the economy, lower gas and grocery costs, and bring good-paying jobs to Northwest Indiana. He has a proven record of bringing critical projects to the district that are rebuilding infrastructure, improving public safety, and creating jobs, including 16,000 new jobs at a hydrogen production hub. As Vice Chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus, Frank is prioritizing local union workers and securing infrastructure investments that benefit the region’s steel industry.
Frank brought down health care costs for families by passing legislation to lower prescription drug costs, including life-saving drugs like insulin. And he’s standing up to big corporations that are making record profits while raising prices on Indiana families.
As Washington politicians relentlessly push to ban abortion nationwide, Frank is championing reproductive freedom, co-sponsoring legislation to restore the protections once guaranteed by Roe v. Wade and voting against every anti-choice bill that comes up.
Randy Niemeyer, on the other hand, has put working and middle class families last at every opportunity. He has consistently put his own interests before workers, refused to protect Social Security and Medicare, and pushed an anti-abortion agenda while Chair of the Lake County GOP.
Indiana families know Frank Mrvan has their back. That’s why he won handily in 2022 and why voters will send him back to Congress this November.
NIEMEYER IS A DISASTER FOR UNIONS AND MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES
Niemeyer’s total disrespect toward workers and unions proves just how unfit he is to represent Northwest Indiana in Congress. Niemeyer insists that just because his company is non-union “doesn’t mean that [he doesn’t] take care of” his workers. But his own workers disagree; former employees have said the company is “greedy” and “work[ed] [them] crazy.” Former workers even reported that Niemeyer endangered them by failing to keep company vehicles they operated up to safety standards.
Not only has Niemeyer mistreated his own employees, but he’s also turned his back on members of law enforcement. As a part of the negotiation team handling union contracts for Lake County employees, Niemeyer fought the Lake County Police, holding up their contract negotiations for nearly a year by refusing to pay officers what they deserved, threatening their benefits, and even shutting down negotiations. It’s also part of a pattern for Niemeyer– in 2022, he was the only member of the town council to vote against hiring an additional law enforcement officer for Cedar Lake.
Niemeyer has also proven he can’t be trusted with his constituents’ hard-earned tax dollars. His company didn’t pay back a government loan for nearly half a million dollars. On the Cedar Lake Town Council, he used taxpayer dollars to improperly fund a local project, according to the state auditor, and he even used the funds to hire an out-of-state company instead of supporting Indiana businesses.
Finally, you can add Indiana’s seniors to the list of people Niemeyer doesn’t have time for. He claimed a vote on legislation opposing cuts to Social Security and Medicare wasn’t “necessary or impactful,” and skipped it altogether. As his party repeatedly proposes cuts to retirement programs that seniors have paid into their entire lives, Niemeyer will continue to fall in line with party leaders and not think twice before putting Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block.
NIEMEYER WILL BAN ABORTION NATIONWIDE
Niemeyer’s record makes clear that he will side with his party and support a national abortion ban with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the woman’s life. As the Chair of the Lake County Republican Party, he championed a platform that supported the overturning of Roe v. Wade – eliminating the right to an abortion with no exceptions. The platform was similar to national efforts to ban abortion that could even ban contraception and IVF.
Niemeyer has been mentored and backed by anti-abortion extremists. His campaign has received more than $90,000 from anti-choice crusaders who co-sponsored a bill that would ban abortion nationwide with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the woman’s life and would also effectively ban IVF and fertility treatments for women trying to start a family.
There’s a reason Randy Niemeyer has refused to talk about his radical position on reproductive freedom on the campaign trail: he knows his anti-abortion agenda is out of touch with Indiana families.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Northwest Indiana Times: Mrvan secures $16M in federal funds for Northwest Indiana projects [Northwest Indiana Times, 3/11/24]
Northwest Indiana Times: Multi-billion-dollar hydrogen hub project in Whiting likely to be biggest in state history, employing 16,000 construction workers [Northwest Indiana Times, 2/16/24]
La Porte County Herald-Dispatch: Purdue Northwest wins $7M federal grant to help develop cleaner steelmaking [La Porte County Herald-Dispatch, 1/30/24]
The Post-Tribune: Burns Harbor receives federal transportation safety grant to reduce fatalities, injuries [The Post-Tribune, 1/14/24]
Chesterton Tribune: Porter County Sheriff gets tech grant [Chesterton Tribune, 5/6/24]
The Post-Tribune: Fed grant for $127M will help pay for measures to make Borman Expressway safer [The Post-Tribune, 12/20/23]
The Post-Tribune: Porter County receives $400K grant to enhance technology to combat crime [The Post-Tribune, 12/18/23]
Northwest Indiana Times: USW, Mrvan hail Protecting the Right to Organize Act as good for unions, workers [Northwest Indiana Times, 3/10/21]
PATH TO VICTORY
After Rep. Pete Visclosky decided to retire in 2020, Frank Mrvan brought his 15 years of proven leadership to the race. In 2022, he won re-election despite being outspent by almost $1 million. Now, his record in Congress of delivering for the middle class speaks for itself.
This time, he faces a deeply flawed challenger in Randy Niemeyer, who runs a non-union shop and faces allegations of having employees work “crazy” hours under unsafe conditions. From holding up police union contract negotiations, to refusing to oppose cuts to Social Security, to pushing a dangerous anti-choice agenda, Niemeyer is out of step with Northwest Indiana’s values.
Meanwhile, Frank has spent his time in Congress investing in Northwest Indiana and standing in solidarity with the union workers who have proudly long anchored the industrial Midwest and are leading the way in America’s manufacturing renaissance. The Region won’t be fooled by a cheap imitation when they already have the real thing.
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