Rudolph Chester Yakym III (born February 24, 1984) is an American politician and businessman who is the member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

representing

Indiana's 2nd congressional district Indiana's 2nd congressional district is an electoral district for the U.S. Congress in Northern Indiana. It includes South Bend and Elkhart. On November 8, 2022, Republican candidate Rudy Yakym won both the special election, to complete the re ...

. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Education

Yakym earned an associate degree in business and a Bachelor of Science in finance and business administration from the

Indiana University South Bend Indiana University South Bend (IU South Bend) is a public university in South Bend, Indiana. It is the third largest and northernmost campus of Indiana University. History Indiana University began offering classes in South Bend in 1922 as an ...

. In 2019, he earned a Master of Business Administration from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

Career

In 2010 and 2011, Yakym worked as a sales manager for Omnicity, a broadband company. In 2011 and 2012, he was the finance director for

Jackie Walorski Jacqueline Renae Walorski (, August 17, 1963 – August 3, 2022) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Indiana's 2nd congressional district from 2013 until her death in 2022. She was a member of the Republican Pa ...

's congressional campaign. From 2013 to 2019, he was a vice president at the Bradley Company, a commercial real estate business. In 2015, then-Governor

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...

nominated Yakym to serve as a member of the

Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission The Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission, which also serves as the Indiana Judicial Qualifications Commission, is a panel consisting of the Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court and six other members chosen by those admitted to practice law i ...

. Since 2019, Yakym has been the director of growth initiatives at Kem Krest, a logistics and supply chain organization.

U.S. House of Representatives

After Walorski died in a car accident in August 2022, Yakym declared his candidacy in Indiana's 2nd congressional district special election to succeed her. He was selected as the Republican nominee by the district's GOP precinct committee members to serve both the remainder of Walorski's term and a full two-year term beginning in January 2023. Winning the nomination on the first ballot amid a field of 12 candidates, Yakym defeated contenders including former

Indiana Attorney General The Indiana Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Indiana in the United States. Attorneys General are chosen by a statewide general election to serve for a four-year term. The forty-fourth and Attorney General is Todd Roki ...

Curtis Hill Curtis Theophilus Hill Jr. is an American prosecutor from the Republican Party who served as the 43rd Attorney General of Indiana from 2017 to 2021. A graduate of Indiana University and Indiana University School of Law, Hill was a lawyer in pri ...

and state representatives

Curt Nisly Curt Nisly (born June 11, 1972) is an American politician who has served in the Indiana House of Representatives from the 22nd district since 2014. Early life Nisly was born in Goshen, Indiana. Career From 1998 to 2005, Nisly worked as a de ...

and

Christy Stutzman Christy Stutzman (born 1973) is an American politician, businesswoman, and newspaper columnist. Education Stutzman earned a bachelor's degree in music, voice, and opera at Pensacola Christian College in 1995. Career Stutzman is a freelance ...

. He defeated the Democratic nominee, Goshen teacher Paul Steury, and

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

nominee William Henry in the general election with over 64% of the vote.

Personal life

Yakym is married to his wife, Sallyann, a teacher at Elkhart Christian Academy. They have three children. He is a practicing

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

and serves as the head usher at the New Life Baptist Church in

Osceola, Indiana Osceola is a town in Penn Township, St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 2,463 at the 2010 Census. It is part of the South Bend– Mishawaka, IN- MI, Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Osceola was platte ...

Electoral history

;2022

References

External links

Official website

Campaign website
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Yakym, Rudy 1984 births 21st-century American politicians Baptists from Indiana Indiana Republicans Indiana University South Bend alumni Living people Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana University of Notre Dame alumni