FORT WAYNE – Days before a Republican caucus to select his replacement, former Rep. Mark Souder scripted a lengthy, 14-point message about the GOP candidates and what led to his public disgrace.
The message – it fills more than two printed pages – was sent Sunday evening to two Noble County Republicans, and they sent a copy to a number of other Republican officials across northeast Indiana and members of the media Monday afternoon.
Randall Kirkpatrick, Noble County GOP chairman, and Stave Clouse, Noble County prosecutor, both confirmed Monday they had received the message from Souder via Facebook.
Souder confirmed that he sent the message and that he considers it private. In an e-mail response, Souder described the message as “mostly pro-Marlin Stutzman,” but he would not comment further.
The message includes another apology for Souder’s affair with a female staffer that prompted him to resign. And while the message does pick Stutzman, a state senator, as the favorite in the caucus, it also hints that Stutzman played some role in Souder’s affair becoming public.
“Though I am frustrated at Marlin (more in a minute), he’s probably best qualified and basically a very good man for all his over aggressive ambition,” Souder wrote in the message.
Kirkpatrick said he and others had previously heard almost everything that was in the message before receiving it Sunday. Neither he nor Clouse could explain why Souder would send such a message directly to them.
Another local Republican insider, who did not wish to be identified, said the content of the message was almost exactly the same as what Souder had told the person directly.
Stutzman could not be reached for comment Monday evening.
Part of Souder’s decision to resign was to protect his family from ongoing scrutiny, he said. The public release of his message, however, puts him back into the fray, especially because it mentions his affair, potential campaign finance violations and the race to replace him.
The message predicts that Stutzman will win the caucus, although it says newscaster Ryan Elijah is pressing him. It calls Fort Wayne City Councilwoman Liz Brown a sleeper pick, but doubted she would get 10 percent of the early vote.
When talking about his affair with Tracy Jackson, a former staff member, Souder seems to offer contradictory statements. In one paragraph he says that Stutzman knew nothing of the affair and therefore couldn’t have blown the whistle. In another paragraph, it mentions that Stutzman or a political consulting firm leaked information of the affair to Fox News after getting information from Jackson’s husband, Brad Jackson, a Kosciusko County commissioner.
While the message was sent directly to Clouse and Kirkpatrick, they both said they believed it important to release its contents so voters in the Saturday caucus have all the information they can get before making a decision.
Neither said he is supporting any candidate, and neither had any idea how releasing the message Monday would affect caucus voters.
“We knew there was something there that people who are selecting our candidate should have access to,” Clouse said, adding the message he forwarded was not edited.
About 520 precinct officials from across the 3rd District will meet in Columbia City to select the Republican nominee for the congressional seat. The winner will face Democrat Tom Hayhurst in the fall.
Journal Gazette Washington Editor Sylvia A. Smith contributed to this story.
