Reardon to Indiana GOP: Don't replace Jackie Walorski with Curtis Hill

The daughter of one of the four women who brought allegations of groping against former Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is urging Indiana Republicans not to vote for the embattled former Elkhart County prosecutor in Saturday's caucus to replace the late Congresswoman Jackie Walorski.

Victoria Reardon, daughter of former State Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon, is raising concerns about Hill's candidacy to replace Walorski after the Indiana Supreme Court found the former attorney general violated professional conduct rules while in office. Victoria has authored an open letter to Indiana 2nd district Republican committee members urging them not to vote for Hill in a planned caucus Saturday.

The caucus has been called to select a party nominee to represent Republicans in this November’s elections after Walroski's death earlier this month. Hill is one of a dozen Republicans seeking their party’s nomination, which will be decided Saturday at Grissom Middle School in Mishawaka. The caucus voting will be available to watch live on Facebook on the Indiana Republican Party’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ingop. 

2nd District Caucus:What you need to know about Saturday's vote

Victoria says she’s sent the letter — which asks committee members “not to replace a committed public servant like Jackie Walorski with a deeply flawed Curtis Hill” — to multiple media outlets in hopes of reaching the committee members expected to take action this weekend.

"I want people to want to take action and to not want Curtis Hill's name to even be considered," Victoria said. "It's very unfair to the victims, having to hear that the man who did this to you, who sexually harassed you, he might be again in this position of power."

The Tribune has published the letter in full as a Viewpoint column.

Viewpoint:An open letter to Republican precinct committee members

The Indiana Supreme Court found in May 2020 that Hill had violated professional conduct rules and committed the criminal act of battery after the four women — three Democrats and one Republican — said the then-attorney general groped them in an Indianapolis bar in March 2018. The court's finding, coming after multiple investigations and a federal lawsuit, resulted in a 30-day suspension of Hill’s law license.

Victoria's mother, one of the four women, served as a state representative through 2020 representing the Munster area until launching a bid to succeed former 1st District Congressman Pete Visclosky. Victoria said her mother, who lost her 2020 congressional bid to Frank Mrvan, now works for the Biden administration in Washington D.C.

"It's very upsetting," Victoria said. "And then the fact that (Hill) might be in Washington D.C. at the same moment that she is, I don't feel that is morally right to allow him — for it to even be considered."

The Tribune has reached out to Hill's campaign and the Indiana Republican Party for comment.

Email South Bend Tribune education reporter Carley Lanich at clanich@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @carleylanich