Indiana 2nd Congressional District candidates' debate affordability, Iran war and data centers

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Two of the three candidates running for Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District took the stage for a debate on Tuesday night.

Democratic candidate Jamee Decio and Libertarian candidate William Henry attended the debate, while Republican incumbent Rep. Rudy Yakym was absent.

ABC57 reached out to Yakym several times to invite him to participate alongside Decio and Henry but did not receive a response.

Yakym’s absence became one of the central topics of the debate, with both candidates criticizing the incumbent for not engaging with constituents.

“We don't know why Rudy is doing what he is doing,” Henry said. “We don't know his thought process because he's not attending these. He's not answering the hard questions that people are bringing him.”

Decio also criticized Yakym’s record of constituent engagement, saying she has held 18 town halls while the incumbent has held none.

“He hides from his constituents. I embrace them,” Decio said.

Both candidates also criticized Yakym’s support for the ongoing war in Iran, arguing that the conflict is putting additional strain on the economy.

Decio said the war raises concerns about the executive branch’s authority and the federal government’s responsibility to uphold the Constitution.

“Rudy, what is he doing? He hasn't stood up for the rule of law,” Decio said. “We're losing who we are because people are violating the Constitution all over the place. They don't seem to grasp that they have certain duties.”

Henry said Congress should focus on developing domestic resources rather than relying on imported refined fuel, arguing that expanding U.S. refining capabilities could help lower costs for consumers.

“If we would expand that money, not on trying to figure out how we could import refined fuel but actually use Congress to start to build our own resources here in the United States to be able to refine those petroleum products, saving the taxpayers and the citizens buying those products lots of money,” Henry said.

The candidates also pointed to the war as an example of Congress failing to exercise its authority and allowing too much power to remain with the executive branch.

While the candidates agreed on several issues, they differed on how much authority should remain with state governments.

On abortion, Decio called for restoring the protections established under Roe v. Wade, with restrictions.

“They should restore Roe versus Wade with the restrictions,” Decio said. “It's as simple as that. It is an issue between the woman, her doctor, her family and her faith.”

Henry said abortion policy should remain a state issue, arguing that states have been developing their own policies since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

“I believe it needs to remain a state issue,” Henry said.

The candidates also discussed the growing number of data centers in Indiana.

Decio called for a federal moratorium on data center development, emphasizing the need for community involvement, transparency and union labor.

“Right now, there's 59 data centers in Indiana, 12 more that are being built and 29 more to be built,” Decio said. “That's almost 100. The communities need to be involved. We need to have transparency. We need to use union members to build these.”

Henry disagreed with Decio’s call for federal oversight, saying decisions about data center development should be made at the state and local levels.

“Those local resources and those local decisions need to stay local,” Henry said.