Victoria Martz

Victoria Martz was born in Manassas, Virginia. She graduated from Batesville High School. She earned a bachelor's degree from Purdue University in 2015 and a law degree from Indiana University McKinney School of Law in 2018. Martz's career experience includes working as a criminal defense lawyer. [1][2]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Victoria Martz is a criminal defense attorney and a mom. Victoria grew up right here in Southeastern Indiana on a small family farm out in Milan, Indiana where she and her family grew organic produce and sold it at the local farmer's markets out in Osgood and Batesville. Victoria was homeschooled for eight years, and then attended Batesville's Community School Corporation for the remainder of her grade school education. Victoria is an alumni of Purdue University and Indiana University's McKinney School of Law. Victoria holds constitutional rights to the highest degree of importance, which fuels her in her practice of criminal defense as she ensures her clients' rights are upheld and honored throughout the process of every criminal case. In her free time, Victoria likes to volunteer her time in the community, go on runs, enjoy the beautiful nature paths in her town, and be outdoors.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Worker's Rights. Victoria is here to fight for worker's rights in Indiana in all the many facets that requires. Once elected one of Victoria's top priorities is to repeal Indiana's Right to Work Law, which currently requires union representatives to cover all workers whether they pay union dues or not under threat of a criminal charge. In addition, Victoria plans to gather support to pass a bill raising Indiana's minimum wage - which remains $7.25/hr. since it was last raised in 2009 - to a living wage, and provide a subsidy for Small and Family owned Businesses in the process to cover the difference between the hourly wage they currently pay and the new minimum wage, to maintain their current prices.Prioritize Tax Funds for Public Infrastructure. Once elected, Victoria will push her fellow legislators to prioritize public dollars for public resources. Victoria believes public schools should be fully funded, and plans to significantly scale back Indiana's School Choice Voucher Program to a reasonable low income level of accessibility for families, and eventually repeal the program altogether to ensure public dollars stay in public schools. Victoria will seek to legalize cannabis in Indiana to bring in new tax revenue to the Hoosier state. Victoria plans to gather rural support for legalization by securing a share of the tax revenue to be returned to rural communities where it is grown to support public roads and fire departments.Protect Natural Resources and Agricultural Land. Once elected one of Victoria's top priorities is to pass a statewide ban on the construction of hyper scale data centers due to the grave threat to soil, air, and water quality they present. Victoria understands it is essential to keep electricity costs affordable to consumers to ban any further construction of hyper scale data centers, as they drive up consumer electricity costs and make existing power grids unreliable. Victoria believes public lands should remain accessible to the public, and plans to prioritize tax funds to ensure the Indiana Department of Natural Resources remains fully funded to keep state parks and recreational areas fully staffed, and accessible to the public.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Victoria is passionate about rebuilding public trust in those who make the decisions that govern us all, like how our tax money is spent. Victoria is passionate about rebuilding trust in our State Governance by ensuring she is a voice for the people of Indiana House District 55, regardless of typical party affiliation. Victoria has been speaking to voters across the region since fall 2025, and hears overwhelming support from across the political spectrum for the issues that affect us all - Worker's Rights, Public Infrastructure, and Public Lands - and knows that carrying the people's voice forward on these issues, is how we build a brighter future for our children and ourselves.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to leaders who have led our country through extremely difficult times like Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Senator Daniel Inouye. I admire each of these individuals for the extremely difficult times they took leadership during, the bravery they exhibited, the devotion to upholding the will of their people, and to pursuing the greater good of all people they represented in the actions they took while in office.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity and common sense.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To uphold the will of the people.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to leave behind a heightened expectation in how we are represented by our elected officials - with bravery, and the focus always on the best interests and desires of the people. I want to leave behind well trained individuals of the next generation who feel better equipped to pursue public office themselves, and a belief that "career" and "politician" do not belong in the same sentence together.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked at helping on my family farm from the age of about 10 or 11 years old on, and worked several odd cash jobs before reaching the age of legal employment. The cash jobs I worked varied from testing beds at the Hill-Rom company, to taking memorials at the funeral home across the street from the middle school I attended in my eighth grade year. My first official job was as a student assistant at the Batesville Memorial Public Library where I worked part-time during the school year and full-time in the summers, until I eventually graduated and left for college. Libraries have always held a special place in my heart because I spent so much time finding wonderful adventure stories in them all throughout my youth, but also because of the years I spent working in one. Working in a public library really encouraged my love for my fellow community members every day as I got to engage with everyone from the elders of our community to the little kids participating in the summer reading programs, and everyone in between - hearing their stories of love, life, and loss, and helping everyone I could with the wonderful resources our library provides.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

I believe that if a compromise will help accomplish the will of the people, if it may sometimes be necessary in policy making, but if someone is asking for a compromise that undercuts the will of the people, the spending of their tax dollars, and provides no real benefit to our state's many residents, then it is not a compromise, it's a loss of a backbone and a voice for the people.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 700

Pat Gentry of Union County, Liberty, Indiana

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Victoria is a criminal defense attorney living and practicing out of Batesville, Indiana, in the Southern and Central Indiana areas. Victoria was born in Manassas, Virginia, but lived and grew up in Southern Indiana from 2002 - 2012. Victoria received her Bachelor's Degree from Purdue University in 2015 with a major in public relations and rhetorical advocacy and a minor in French, and her Juris Doctorate Degree from Indiana University McKinney School of Law in 2018. Victoria passed the bar exam in May 2019 and first began her legal career as a Deputy Prosecutor at the Marion County Prosecutor's Office where she worked until August 2020. Victoria left her position at the Marion County Prosecutor's Office to begin her own private practice in Criminal Defense. Victoria currently works with the Law Office of Jesse K. Sanchez in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Victoria stands for the protection of our natural resources and the beautiful natural habitats of Indiana. Victoria will vote no on laws seeking to diminish protections of our State's lands - wetlands, forests, and other natural habitats. Victoria will help to write and pass laws that will repeal previously passed laws that did away with protections for our natural wetlands.Victoria stands for equal access to the ballot. Victoria will help pass laws that will do away with requirements of voting straight party ballots to get on the ballot for one of the major political parties. Victoria will also sign on to laws that seek to make getting on the ballot equal between Independent and Libertarian candidates as it is for the two major political parties. Victoria believes we are all benefited the more diverse array of voices we have at the table. Victoria seeks to get more young voters involved in the political process to raise engagement in performing our civic duty, state-wide.Victoria seeks to make the referendum process easier. Right now it takes a majority vote for two years in a row in each of the two chambers of the House before a constitutional amendment question can go to the people. This is one of the most restrictive state procedures of its' type nationwide, and Victoria will put forth and seek to get passed a constitutional amendment that would open up this issue to be more accessible to Indiana's voting public so major public interest issues can be voted on by a referenda to the people more easily - such as legalizing marijuana and protecting women's rights to their own autonomy.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I represent people and present their stories to others every day for my current job - I would love to do this for the people of Southeastern Indiana to bring their stories forward to garner support for laws that will actually improve our citizens' day to day lives. The area I come from down here has been especially ravished by the opioid crisis, and I would seek funds from the State budget to build drug treatment and veteran's treatment court programs similar to those available in the major city areas, and to promote the development of more homeless shelters and sober living homes in our area, as we continue to recover our communities from the opioid epidemic.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

It is essential that an elected official hold themselves to a high standard of ethics and behavior with their fellow representatives and those they represent. It is also important to be able to speak with persons you may not see completely eye-to-eye with in a manner that condones equal humanity on all persons regardless of background or identity.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

I believe the ability to exercise critical thinking and to ask astute questions such as "What impacts could this have" when considering whether to vote yes or no on any given law, is essential. It is important be able to know how and where one can access scholars on the topics one may be seeking to pass laws in relation to, to ensure the law is best suited to treat the issue at hand and ensure the full legislature has a thorough understanding of any given issue from someone who knows the issue in-depth and is qualified to speak on it before making a vote. I also believe it is essential one be timely and courteous while going about their work in the legislature. It is essential we keep everyone's focus on the laws at hand while in the legislature. Last, I think it is essential a representative of either house have skilled abilities at public speaking and writing for the day-to-day performance of the job.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first major historical event that I remember in my lifetime so far was the Y2K scare of New Year's Day 2000. My family was at a New Year's Eve party that night and when the clock struck midnight and the ball just dropped in Time's Square, all the home power went out. Everyone freaked out for maybe a minute, and then the jokesters flipped the lights back on and everyone laugher much longer than they had been startled for.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My very first job was a cash job at the age of about 14 years old where I would take memorials at funerals for a funeral home in my local area. That was a very interesting first job. My first job where I received real paychecks and part-time to full-time (in the summer) hours was working as a student worker at the Batesville Memorial Public Library where I worked until I graduated high school in 2011.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

The governor should not be providing opinions on laws being actively debated by the legislature to any public means - journalists, legislators, or otherwise public declaration of such opinions. I believe the Governor should exercise good ethics and judgment in all things, and if a law passes both the State Senate and House, and it is clear such law will not cause harm to any group of the State's public at large, then such law should be passed by the governor, as well. I see the governor's ideal relationship with the legislature as a general overseer and watcher of the goings ons of the House Chambers, but as someone who should not stand in the way of or seek to influence the passage of laws unless such law will clearly inflict harm.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

I see regaining women's rights to their individual and personal autonomy is now going to be an ongoing issue for a few years more as we seek to reestablish that right in our State's Constitution since the Supreme Court erased that right at the federal level when they issued their opinion in United States v. Dobbs, overruling decades of hard won civil rights and a constitutional norm. We will never start fighting, but this will take some time. Right now the fastest route to this resolution could be around 3 years on the shortest end with the current constitutional requirements as they stand. I'm open to any ideas on addressing this issue more quickly, but at present getting a majority of Representatives on board for a constitutional amendment on how easily the public can propose and agree on a constitutional amendment or public law by individual vote - a referendum - and doing this for two years in a row would be necessary to open this process up to the public more easily so a change in law regarding women's rights could be brought forth and voted on by a majority vote of the public.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

I believe it's beneficial for anyone to have prior experience in the job they are seeking employment for, but I also believe everyone has to start a job for their first time to be able to say they have prior experience in the future, as well, and I believe the most beneficial representative is the one who will actually bring forth the voice of the people on laws that most affect their daily lives.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Yes, because not every legislator is automatically for or against any given issue simply because of their political party identity - I believe it is important to be able to befriend legislators of all backgrounds to know who will be willing to join your vote on the laws you put forward and/or support.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

I would most like to be a State Legislator before any other positions are considered as I can think of no better way to affect the laws of our State than being one of those helping to write, vote on, consider all opinions, and then vote on than being a legislator! I would consider other political office positions maybe at the federal or local level someday, but if I were to be elected to this position, I'd likely want to consider after that point what position I feel I feel best suited for next.

What committees interest you?

I am interested in the Courts and Criminal Code, Education, Environmental Affairs, House Elections and Apportionment, Public Health, Statutory Committee on Ethics, and Ways and Means Committees.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

I believe it is essential for there to be transparency to our constituents on how and where their tax payer money is being spent. I believe we should implement reasonable term limits on these positions of Indiana House of Representatives and Senate, as there currently is no restriction on the number of terms one can serve in either position. I believe a 4 term limit for each level of the legislature would be quite reasonable as it would allow a representative to work with experience at their job but also limit the number of years they could serve in total to being about the same length of time one can hold the Office of the United States' President at maximum length.