(La Porte, IN) - La Porte Mayor Tom Dermody has been contacted about his interest in running for the seat in Congress vacated by the death of Jackie Walorski in a motor vehicle crash.
Dermody said becoming a candidate for the open seat is not something he’s considered because of his grief over the loss of Walorski, who he described as a friend.
“It’s just such a tragedy, and that’s where the focus needs to be, but I have appreciated the calls,” Dermody said.
Dermody is a former five-term state representative who spent time with Walorski in the Indiana State Legislature when the Elkhart County woman was a state representative for two terms before taking her seat in Congress in 2013.
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb on Tuesday called for a special election to be held on November 8 to fill the vacant 2nd District congressional seat.
Whoever is elected will fill the balance of Walorski’s term, which expires on January 3.
Dermody said he couldn’t imagine doing anything else than being mayor. However, he did not shut the door entirely on a possible run for the seat.
“I got the best job in the world, so I think that would be very difficult to sway me to enter into a race when we’ve done so much in La Porte, and we got so much more to do. This is my hometown, and I love this job, but I think everybody should take a breath, step back and wait before talking about this,” Dermody said.
There’s been considerable speculation since Dermody became mayor in 2020 that he would seek a higher elected position at some point. But, Dermody maintains that he’s intent on finishing his term as mayor, which ends in 16 months.
According to police, Walorski and two staff members were in a vehicle that crossed the center line and struck an ongoing vehicle head-on.
Everyone involved in the crash, including her campaign manager, Zachery Potts, 27, a New Prairie High School graduate, was killed in the August 3 accident outside Nappanee.
