Biography:

Maria Parra was born and raised in Fort Wayne. She graduated from Florida State University with a business management degreee in 1980 and received her master's of business administration from Indiana University in 1983.

She worked as a project manager for Blue Cross/Blue Shield of South Carolina while living in Fort Wayne. When her job was shifted to South Carolina, she decided not to move for personal reasons. She has been an insurance agent the past two years.

Past Campaigns:

Maria Parra beat two challengers to win the Democratic primary in 2004, her first run for office.

She received 43 percent of the vote, Mark Summers received 37 percent annd Steve Hope 20 percent. She said she decided to run for office now because of her concern about the direction of the country. She's not worried about the advantages Rep. Mark Souder has as the incumbent.

"I'm not going to concentrate on what he has. That's not my issue. My issue is getting my message out there the best I can with the resources I have."

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