Three Republicans are facing off in the May 5 primary election for Indiana’s Senate District 29 seat.
The district encompasses portions of Carmel and Zionsville, in Hamilton and Boone counties, and Eagle Creek and Pike and Wayne Townships in Marion County. The seat has been left vacant by Sen. J.D. Ford, D-Carmel, who is running for Indiana’s 5th Congressional District and hopes to replace Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz.
The general election is expected to be competitive, with Republicans hoping to flip the seat. Ford first took hold of the State Senate District 29 seat by winning nearly 57% of the vote in 2018 then he won 52% of the vote in the 2022 election.
On the Democratic side, there’s Rev. David W. Greene, Sr., a longtime Indianapolis pastor, Demetrice Hicks, the president of the Pike Township Board, Kristina Moorhead, the former deputy director of the Indiana Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning, and Kevin Short, who has worked in social services and education.
For the Republicans, there’s former State Sen. Mike Delph, Roni Ford, a former aide to Sen. Todd Young and former State Sen. John Ruckelshaus.
IndyStar asked the Republican candidates about their backgrounds and campaign issues. The candidates’ written responses, edited for style, length and clarity, are below:
Do you live in District 29, and if so where?
Delph: Except for college and traveling back in forth from Indiana to Washington, DC for work, I have lived in Indiana Senate District 29 since 1972. I have lived in my current home in Carmel since February of 1999. Both the home I grew up in and my current home are located in Senate District 29. I did not move into this Senate district for the purpose of running for office. We call that forum shopping, and it should be rejected by the voters. And I think it will be.
Ford: Yes, I have lived in the Eagle Valley Farms Neighborhood in Indianapolis for 3.5 years, and before that, I lived in a different home in the district for 22 years.
Ruckelshaus: I live in the Carmel portion of Senate District 29. My family and I moved here about four years ago so I could help care for my quadriplegic son, Jay, with my wife, Mary. I have lived in Indiana for my entire life.
Why did you decide to run for this seat?
Delph: I had a number of neighborhood leaders, former Senate colleagues, and Republican leaders on the west side ask me to run. It started over lunch on Aug. 21, 2025. I said no initially. Then I participated in my first Republican function in 8 years in January of 2026, first since 2018. My wife attended with me and a number of additional residents in front of her asked me to run. She then gave me permission to kick the tires. I called donors over the next week and gained $100,000 in pledges. I felt like the man upstairs might be trying to get my attention. I filed close to the deadline to really make sure this campaign was something I was called to do, wanted to do, could do and would have support to win. I have won four Republican primaries and three general elections in Senate District 29. Out of the four democrats and three republicans who have filed, I have won more in Senate District 29 than all of my opponents combined. I’m in it to win it!
Ford: To serve the community — as a part of my legacy from my grandmother and mother who worked and served in grassroots politics, I felt the passion to give at a higher level. I have worked in grassroots community efforts for 40 years — serving on community boards, mentoring, working polls and assisting the elderly. I currently serve as the president of my homeowners’ association. Every neighborhood I have lived in for the past 30 years, I have always served on the HOA board. I have served as a mentor for 40 years, I have worked in both corporate America and governmental agencies, including the U.S. Senate. My track record of community service, my diverse professional experience and my passion and desire to help the hardworking tax paying Hoosiers make me an excellent choice. Additionally, as a 40 member of the Republican party, I feel the party needs leaders who have views from various backgrounds, who can connect with voters they typically do not interact with or proactively seek to connect with. The party needs leaders who can represent all, no matter if they disagree with political ideas. The Indiana General Assembly has a supermajority of Republicans, this situation gives the average voter the idea that they have no voice. The reason I am running is to be the change that is needed at the Statehouse. A supermajority should not be a monarchy. We still live in a democracy, and the laws and policies should represent and benefit those who put elected officials into office.
Ruckelshaus: I decided to run because District 29 needs steady, conservative leadership that understands how to solve local problems. I’ve spent my career in business, public service, business development, workforce policy and healthcare, and I believe that experience translates well to the Indiana State Senate.
What experiences, career or life, do you possess that would be beneficial for a state lawmaker to have?
Delph: That’s for the voters to decide. I served four terms in the Indiana Senate from 2005 to 2018. I’ve been an executive in business and law as well as a senior Army leader. Most importantly, I have been a husband and dad. My five daughters and their success says more about my family and me than anything. And I am blessed with two grandchildren.
Ford: I have served as a mentor for 40 years, and I understand and have compassion for our youth. I have worked in corporate America, I have led organization change projects, implemented cost cutting protocols and managed teams of employees. As public sector leader, I manage a $13 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. I was elected to two terms of service to the Pike Township Metropolitan School District Board of Education. And currently I am a small business owner. My track record of community service, my diverse professional experience and my passion and desire to help the hardworking tax paying Hoosiers give me an unique skill set neither of my opponents possess. I am the right fit for this seat in the Indiana General Assembly. I have a track record of winning my races.
Ruckelshaus: I’ve served in the Indiana House and Senate, worked as deputy commissioner at the Department of Workforce Development, and ran our family business, Carter-Lee Lumber Company. Those experiences gave me a strong understanding of how our state government, the private sector and health care actually operate. I strive to deliver an efficient, operationally sound government and business to customers, as well as constituent services. I also know how to work across the aisle when that’s what it takes to provide everyday Hoosier taxpayers with solutions to everyday problems.
What are the issues you would like to take on if elected to this position?
Delph: Fix the property tax system, require all data centers to be completely self-sufficient, meaning providing their own water, wastewater and power to operate independently from existing public and private infrastructure. Create a state holiday when everyone is empowered to go outside with no cellphones or computers and see the beautiful world they are missing by staring at their phones all day. We are going overboard with the technology craze especially when it comes to Artificial Intelligence.
Ford: I would like to address Senate Bill 1. As a prior project manager, it was common to do research, analysis and phased rollouts before making large scale system changes. I would like to do an audit, review and dashboard of outcomes from Senate Bill 1 to determine its effectiveness. Additionally, I would like to address the oversight protocols of our utility companies. Lastly, I would like to ensure that our General Assembly is exercising the pillar of Republican philosophy to allow our city and county partners to exercise local control of their municipalities.
Ruckelshaus: My focus is on affordability, vocational education, public safety, property taxes and responsible government. I want to support policies that keep Indiana economically strong while making it easier for families to afford to live, work and raise children here. On education, I support stronger vocational opportunities in Indiana high schools for students who do not need college to be career ready. On affordability, I want our state government to be more disciplined, more local and less burdensome.
Lots of Hoosiers are talking about affordability issues, education and the rising costs of healthcare. Do you have specific policies in mind related to any of these three topics?
Delph: We need to promote economic development and job creation. The best way to do that is to let the private sector innovate and create. When I read that 70% of all new jobs for college graduates will go away over the next 3-5 years because of Artificial Intelligence, I ask myself how will they make a living? We really need to think long and hard about the road we are going down. Doctors, hospitals, lawyers, pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies all make way too much money off of the health care system, particularly disease. They profit from sickness and infirmity. We need full price transparency across all of these industries to allow the market to become more competitive. This is a positive economic incentive. We also need to encourage healthy lifestyles for families. Working 12-hour days, eating fast food on the run, not drinking enough water and getting little sleep sets us all up for failure. And with this stress and lifestyle we get little exercise added to the day. We need to get junk food out of all approved government programs.
Ford: Typically, issues such as jobs and wages, are controlled by the practices of private businesses. That is why I am an advocate for small business owners. I also feel that making Indiana an ideal destination for large corporations who will bring high paying jobs will address the issue of jobs and wages. They will also be contributing to our corporate tax base which can help our state Medicaid plan, help fund education and improve our roads. However, when factors such as unexpected utility cost impact bottom line budgets, there has to be a call to action. Currently, there are committees who are conducting studies, this has to continue to determine the root cause. In regard to education, our taxes are a necessary evil. We are a society that recognizes education is the great equalizer of equality. If our youth are not educated, statistics show they will most likely chose an adverse path due to their limited education. The bottom line: pay me now or pay me later. On healthcare cost, I am not a fan of universal healthcare, however, I feel Obama Care was a decent compromise. It is a fact that the cost to healthcare by the uninsured leads to increased overall cost. Affordability: Continue oversight of utility companies, with regulation that rates increases have a transparency in the form of written notice to consumers and that it out outlines the reason for increase. Education: We have to fund public education, and accountability in the form of performance outcomes should be attached to these funds. Any entity that receives public funds must be subject to the same rules. That includes those receiving vouchers and referendum money. A dashboard or scorecard reporting should be provided by all that receive public funds. Healthcare cost: Allow more Hoosiers to join our State Health plans to decrease the number of uninsured.
Ruckelshaus: Absolutely. Hoosiers are feeling the pressure of rising costs across the board, and those three issues are central to what families talk about at the dinner table every day. On health care, I bring direct experience from the statehouse and from working with physicians, so I understand the need to protect access, quality and cost control. I see it from the personal side with my son, Jay, who needs quality healthcare to lead a dignified and purposeful life.
Many Senate District 29 voters are concerned with the plan to treat and release wastewater from a tech district in Lebanon into the Eagle Creek Reservoir, which is in this district. Do you plan to address that topic, and if so, how?
Delph: Eagle Creek should not accept wastewater discharge from the LEAP development in Lebanon. And the City of Lebanon needs to ask that it be taken off the table as does Eli Lilly and Meta. No one wants this who lives in the community, and I do mean no one. Data centers in general should build their own independent water, wastewater removal and power systems to operate. There is plenty of money for them to do so. We simply do not know enough about the chemicals used to cool data centers and what they can do to the human body, the environment and our general future. Taking unnecessary risks with our health, our environment and our drinking water is really unwise in my view. Losing valuable prime farmland is also shortsighted in my view.
Ford: I live 40 feet from the bank of one of the outlets, so I want oversight of any process. The parties have to reach a reasonable compromise that reflects transparency of what will take place, long term effects and mitigation efforts. I support science, let science determine what is the best balance to help industry and citizens.
Ruckelshaus: I grew up at Eagle Creek Reservoir, so I take this personally. Hoosiers are right to be cautious when any project could affect one of central Indiana’s most important water resources. My view is that economic development entities need to keep the promises they make to Hoosiers. If there are concerns about any project’s impact, they should be taken seriously and addressed directly.
Is there anything else voters should know about you?
Delph: I love America. I love Indiana. I love my local community. I love my church. I love my family. I love Jesus. I don’t hate anyone and never have. I write and record songs in addition to teaching Leadership to Army Majors for the US Army Command & General Staff College as well as being an Army War College student myself. I practice law when I can, usually corporate business type work. Both of my hips need to be replaced, and unfortunately now I will have an oncologist for the rest of my life however long that may be. I thank my man Mitch (former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who has endorsed Ruckelshaus) for providing me extra motivation to plow through the daily pain to get out to talk with voters. I’m going door to door for 5-9 hours every day. God has provided all that I have needed. It has been an amazing test of faith and resilience from day one and I am grateful to have been able to walk this journey. We need proven conservative leadership in the Indiana State Senate, and I intend to provide just that for the State of Indiana for years to come. I have been endorsed by Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, Indiana Right to Life, the Indiana Family Institute and the American Family Association.
Ford: I am different from my opponents. I represent the direction that is needed for the Republican party. I am a statesman who can work a deal across the aisle, in the board room or at a kitchen table. I am not afraid to speak up for what is right, I am not a rented head piece to anyone. I can represent all of SD 29. I can get the job done because I am a professional with a diverse career background. The Republican party is a party of compassion, with the desire to improve the lives of our fellow man. The party that works to build the economy to create jobs. The party that is grounded in faith, but not the moral police, the party that understands local control is the best practice. The party that provides oversight but not undue regulations. The party that invites all to sit at the table and eat. I am that Republican.
Ruckelshaus: I have the full endorsement of former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels because I am the candidate in this race who has a real record of results, earned trust from across the aisle and focuses on real issues like affordability, taxes, schools, and public safety. I have run and won in similar competitive districts where the voters want values, competence, stability, and a practical record, not just slogans on a yard sign. That is what it has always taken to win. I want to serve constituents with full accountability and transparency. If we are successful in this race, we will hit the ground running with town halls, coffee meetings and other public events throughout the campaign. I have knocked on nearly 5,000 doors with the support of my volunteers. We look forward to having a conversation at your front door.
Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @Jake_Allen19. Click here to get Hamilton County news sent straight to your inbox and subscribe to the IndyStar North newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Q&A: Where do Republicans for Carmel, Indy open State Senate seat stand
Reporting by Jake Allen, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
