Kip Tom, a Leesburg farmer, is seeking the third district congressional seat currently held by Marlin Stutzman.
Stutzman is not seeking the congressional seat, but is instead running for senate.
Tom said he filed Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission for the seat. He is chairman of the board of Tom Farms and resigned his presidency this week to run for the seat.
Other Republican candidates seeking the congressional seat include Pam Galloway, Warsaw; Liz Brown, Fort Wayne; and Jim Banks and Scott Wise, both of Columbia City. Democrats seeking the seat are Todd Nightenhelser, Huntington, and Tommy Schrader, Fort Wayne.
Tom provided the following press release:
“I am taking the steps necessary to run for Congress in the 3rd District of Indiana and expect to make a formal announcement next month.
“Because our Congressman, Rep. Marlin Stutzman, will be vacating this seat to run for U.S. Senate, we have an opportunity to elect a conservative leader who has experience dealing with the most pressing issues facing our country, and specifically the challenges we face daily right here in northeast Indiana.
“Many Hoosiers have reached out encouraging me to make this run and I appreciate their confidence. I have spoken with family, friends and key stakeholders from across the state and district. Last month, I stepped down from running our family business – we have been farming in Northeast Indiana for seven generations – and I’ve been proud of our growth. Together, we have grown Tom Farms into an industry leader. Now I want to direct my energy into helping our nation grow again.
“I’ve also had the opportunity to serve my state and community for ten years as a member of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, where our singular focus was bringing good-paying jobs to Indiana and I’m happy to say these efforts have helped Indiana break records for job creation and attraction nearly every year. My top priority will always be making sure that the families who call the 3rd District home will have the kind of economic opportunity that is the foundation of a strong America.
“Over the past several months I have met with and listened to our neighbors. Like them, I believe Congress needs a lot more conservative citizen leaders who have created jobs, met a payroll and helped improve their communities.”
As one of Indiana’s larger grain commodity production businesses, Tom Farms has become a leader in agriculture and seed corn production, operating across seven counties in Indiana, according to the release.
Tom started as a production technician in the family business and worked his way up to assistant director of production and supply management, where he lead the company’s growth and expansion of production.
In 1985, Tom led Tom Farms’ engagement into seed production and in a little over a decade, grew Tom Farms into one of the largest U.S. contract seed producers while bringing seed production opportunities to other farmers across Northern Indiana. By 1992, he began seed corn production consulting services in Latin America by working with companies to improve yields, increase efficiencies and shorten the timeline in the supply channel in Southern Hemisphere Seed Production, the release states. In 2000, he led the efforts to found a company in Argentina to produce seed.
Today, Tom Farms is one of the larger seed producers and also has provided in the past products and services to other Indiana companies such as Red Gold and Weaver Popcorn.
Tom says he helped bring jobs to Indiana as a member of the Board of Directors of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. He is involved in several philanthropic organizations that focus on food security issues domestically and globally and has traveled to and worked in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kenya, Tanzania and other developing nations.
Tom is also a former member of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
At Purdue University he serves on the Deans Advisory Council. The Family business has been awarded the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Northern Indiana in 2002, according to the release.
Tom has an associate’s degree from Texas A&M in Ag-Economics.
(Story By The Times Union)
