INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A longtime attorney and former assistant to Sen. Dan Coats said he is the only candidate in the race for the Fifth District with the federal experience the job requires.

Mark Hurt is one of at least eight Republicans vying to succeed Congresswoman Victoria Spartz, who represents a district that includes Hamilton, Madison, Delaware, Grant, Howard, and Tipton counties. Spartz has expressed strong dissatisfaction with Congress and has not taken any steps toward a reelection campaign, though she has not outright said she is leaving and has even hinted she might decide to run after all.

Hurt is a longtime attorney who worked for Sen. Dan Coats when Coats was in Congress. In an interview with News 8 for “All INdiana Politics,” he said this experience would allow him to hit the ground running if elected. Hurt said the Fifth District is very complex because it includes Hamilton County’s white-collar economy and the agricultural and industrial base of the other five counties.

Hurt said his estate law practice, supplemented with part-time prosecutorial work, has given him a window into the nation’s mental health crisis in particular. He said the country needs to invest more in community-based mental health care and engage the private market as opposed to relying on government programs. He said he’d also like to give small businesses a way to pool their resources to buy health insurance plans at lower rates.

On immigration, Hurt said he wants to see more surveillance and barriers along the border and to redirect more Department of Homeland Security personnel to the border. He said he also wants to see a modernized work visa program and a pathway to citizenship for people who have been here for at least 10 years. Hurt said he wants to end birthright citizenship.

“Even our mayors. New York, other places that have been receiving migrants on these buses, they want reform,” he said. “They see the need. That’s a national security issue.”

“All INdiana Politics” airs at 9:30 a.m. Sunday on WISH-TV.