He lost his reelection bid for a seventh term to Democratic challenger Brad Ellsworth in the 2006 midterm election by a landslide.

In 2010, he was a Republican candidate for Indiana's open U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Evan Bayh, but lost the primary to former U.S.

After graduating from North Posey High School in 1979, he enrolled in Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Prior to his service in Congress, Hostettler was a power plant performance engineer with Southern Indiana Gas & Electric Company (SIGECO, now part of Vectren); he received his PE license during his tenure.

Parades and similar events would typically feature people of varying backgrounds wearing red t-shirts with white lettering that simply stated "Hostettler for Congress".

[9] In 2002, Hostettler met in Washington with eleven breast cancer survivors from Indiana who were seeking support for more research funding.

In June 2005, Democratic Representative David Obey introduced a measure to declare congressional opposition to "coercive proselytizing" at the United States Air Force Academy after cadets complained that some of their evangelical Christian superior officers had pressured them about their religious beliefs.

During debate on the measure on the House floor on June 20, 2005, Hostettler said: "Like a moth to a flame the Democrats can't help themselves when it comes to denigrating and demonizing Christians."

In late 1995, Hostettler was the sponsor of a bill passed by the House to repeal a District of Columbia law that allowed city workers to register domestic partners for health benefits.

[12] In January 1996, Hostettler was one of 17 Republicans who voted against a legislation supported by House Speaker Newt Gingrich that ended a federal government shutdown.

[14] In June 2001, Hostettler and Congressman Walter B. Jones of North Carolina (another member of the Republican class of 1995) co-authored a bill, H.R.

2357, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permit churches and other houses of worship to engage in political campaigns[15] without losing their tax-exempt status.

[18]On July 15, 2003, the House voted 226–198 on a Hostettler-sponsored amendment to the State Departments's "Foreign Relations Authorization Act" reauthorization bill for Fiscal Years 2004 and 2005, requiring tighter regulation of consular cards of foreign nations within the United States, including Mexico's "matricula consular" cards.

Chief Justice Roy Moore, who was removed from office later in 2003, had placed a 5-ton granite monument that included the Ten Commandments in the rotunda of the Alabama Supreme Court building on July 31, 2001.

[22] Spokesman Matt Faraci said Hostettler voted against the hurricane measure because it included a provision making it easy for supposed do-gooders to pilfer federal funds.

Faraci said that Hostettler would like to see federal funds spent helping victims of natural disasters so long as those dollars are not squandered.

Hostletter said in a speech in February 2006 that his bill would "restore legal balance in this country, and it will protect us from being the victims of this assault on our religious liberties".

[24] At least one columnist claimed that this change would allow teachers to force students to pray to their specific deity with no possibility of damages or attorney's fees.

[citation needed] However, in January 1994, he announced that he would run against Democrat Frank McCloskey, a six-term incumbent, in the November election.

Hostettler was also inspired to enter politics after watching a television program by Dr. D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Ministries, interviewing Rev.

Some attributed this organization as one of the critical factor in the 2000 election, as the subsequently inactive group's statements played a role in the 2006 campaign.

Some attributed Hostettler's refusal to accept any political action committee money to his relatively low funding levels during campaigns.

[45] Hostettler said of the book that it "... reveals why political leaders and their subordinates sought to remove Saddam Hussein from power" and that there was an underlying and unapparent "motivation of those who sold America on the idea of ousting the Butcher of Baghdad.

Hostettler officially announced in a video posted by the campaign on December 3, 2009, that he would seek the office held by retiring United States Senator Evan Bayh in the 2010 election, following much speculation.

Even those who disagreed with Hostettler felt that they knew where he stood and would likely give him the benefit of the doubt that he regularly voted in principle and not for political ends.

[54]On April 20, 2004, Hostettler was briefly detained at the Louisville International Airport when he attempted to board a flight for Washington, D.C., with a loaded 9 mm Glock pistol in his briefcase[61] The congressman explained he "completely forgot" the gun was there, and called it a rather stupid mistake.

[63] On October 4, 2004, a Kentucky judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest after Hostettler failed to pay court costs, but it was recalled the same day after his attorney paid the $122.50.

[64] Hostettler received strong support over the gun incident from an aviation security expert, Joseph Gutheinz, a retired NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) Senior Special Agent and a former Special Agent with both U.S. Department of Transportation OIG and FAA Civil Aviation Security.