A lot of people didn’t think J.D. Ford would ever win in Indiana’s Senate District 29, which stretches from Marion County’s west side to up into Boone County and Carmel.
Nearly eight years later Ford, who made history by defeating a conservative stalwart and becoming the first openly gay person elected to the Indiana General Assembly, has set his sights on higher office.
Without the incumbent in the race, Republicans see an opportunity to flip the seat back in the upcoming May primary.
“People looked me right in the face and told me the district was ruby red, and I was never going to win during my 2018 campaign,” Ford told IndyStar. “We defied those odds, and District 29 leans blue now, but it could potentially flip back. The candidate on our side of the aisle has to be someone who can resonate and connect with all voters — Republicans, Democrats, independents.”
On the Republican side, two former state lawmakers — including the lawmaker who lost to Ford in 2018 — are hoping for a do over years after their election defeats in past years. Former Sen. Mike Delph and former Sen. John Ruckelshaus are facing Roni Ford, a former aide to Sen. Todd Young, in the Republican primary election. For those who instead decide to pull a Democratic ballot, there’s four candidates vying for that nomination, including a longtime Indianapolis pastor and the president of the Pike Township Board.
The candidates are focusing on issues related to affordability, health care and education, similar to other races for state office, but they are also talking about the environment and a contentious plan to treat and release wastewater from a tech district in Lebanon into the Eagle Creek Reservoir in District 29.
Meanwhile J.D. Ford, who first took hold of the State Senate District 29 seat by winning nearly 57% of the vote in 2018, has opted to run for Indiana’s 5th Congressional District and hopes to replace Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz.
The State Senate District 29 encompasses portions of Carmel and Zionsville, in Hamilton and Boone counties, Eagle Creek and Pike and Wayne Townships in Marion County. Eliana Armstrong, chair of the Boone County Democratic Party, said Democrats have the upper hand in this district.
“How can we not hold onto this seat? We’re really pushing on an already open door,” Armstrong told IndyStar. “Democrats are ready to crawl over broken glass to vote and many independents, and even Republicans, are looking for new leadership.”
Armstrong, who has been involved with Democratic politics in Boone County since 2019, said she’s seen support for Democrats in the district grow year after year.
But, Armstrong did point out that redistricting in 2021 removed some Democratic-friendly areas from State Senate District 29 and replaced them with areas that have traditionally leaned more Republican. J.D. Ford’s 2022 victory was not as decisive as his first win, perhaps due to the redistricting. He won about 52% of the vote in 2022 election.
Evan Norris, vice chair of the Boone County Republican Party, said Republicans have three strong candidates vying for the party nomination, and he expects the general election to be competitive.
“We feel comfortable and this is going to be a very competitive race in November,” Norris told IndyStar. “You’re going to be hard pressed to find more qualified and more engaged candidates than the three that we’ve got currently running.”
Two former state senators, former congressional aide battle for Republican nomination
It wasn’t necessarily Delph’s plan to run for office again after he lost to J.D. Ford by more than 13 percentage points in 2018. He was on active duty with the Army when he started hearing from former constituents of State Senate District 29 asking for help with concerns about a road project issue.
The calls started getting louder from other people asking him to run again, he said. Now if you drive through the district, you’ll see yard signs supporting his candidacy throughout the district despite losing the 2018 election, Delph told IndyStar.
Before losing his reelection campaign, Delph had held the seat since 2005 and was a polarizing figure at the Statehouse. He drew criticism and praise, depending on your point of view, for his socially conservative policies on religious freedom, marriage, immigration and abortion. He also opposed expanded mass transit, hate crimes legislation and a gas tax increase to pay for road work.
“I feel very confident that we’re going to win this thing (the primary election,)” said Delph, who now works as a lawyer and investor. “I don’t think it’s going to be particularly close. And I think we’re going to win in the fall. I think there are a lot of people, when I lost in 2018, who were shocked. This is going to be a do over for them, as well as for me.”
Delph said he considers himself a conservative Republican and other people may consider him a populist. The first issue he lists on his campaign website is “support for President Trump.”
“President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party,” Delph told IndyStar. “He’s going to be president for at least three more years. Having Republican state elected officials in Indiana fight with him is not good for the state of Indiana.”
Had he been part of the legislature during the redistricting battle over Indiana’s congressional maps last year, Delph would have sided with Trump and voted in favor redrawing the state’s maps. He said the decision would have been about fighting back against efforts of Democratic party leaders to redraw maps in blue states.
Delph’s opponents in the Republican primary have different views.
Ruckelshaus, who previously represented District 30 in the Indiana Senate and was a state representative in the 90s, said he would have rejected the mid-cycle redistricting efforts had he been part of the legislature last year.
“The recent influence of outside interests and Washington, D.C. coming into our state, that’s got to stop,” Ruckelshaus told IndyStar. “And that’s another motivating factor for me to run for this seat.”
Ruckelshaus, who was defeated in the 2020 State Senate District 30 election by Democratic Sen. Fady Qaddoura by about five percentage points, said his politics closely align with former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels.
“Primarily, my team is solutions oriented,” Ruckelshaus said when asked how he is different from his Republican opponents. “We are a Mitch Daniels Republican. We want to get things done. And we’re less about rhetoric and more about action. And we’re more about bringing people together to get things done.”
Ruckelshaus has the endorsement of Daniels as well as the backing of Hamilton County’s OneZone Business Action Committee, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, the Indiana Fraternal Order of Police and the Indiana Professional Firefighters.
Delph says he is the only conservative running for the seat and points to his endorsements as proof. He has the endorsements of Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, conservative attorney Jim Bopp, the Republican Steelworkers Political Action Committee and several other conservative political action committees. Delph also picked up an endorsement from Gov. Mike Braun on April 14.
Roni Ford, the third candidate in the Republican primary election, has worked in the insurance industry, was a school board member in Pike Township and worked for U.S. Sen. Todd Young’s office as deputy director of minority engagement. She was also director of Access to Recovery, a grant program funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Ford told IndyStar she’s the only Republican who can win the general election.
“I am not an ultra conservative candidate,” Roni Ford said. “I’m moderate. I believe in less government. I believe in fiscal responsibility, but I also believe in local control.”
Republican candidates talk Eagle Creek protection, affordability issues
As a former school board member, whose children attended public and charter schools, education is on Roni Ford’s mind.
“I love public schools and I support public schools, but I also like the idea of parents being able to find schools that fit the needs of their children,” she said.
If she’s elected, Ford wants to help put a system in place so that schools statewide are held to the same standards. Her minority engagement position in Young’s office also led her to pursue elected office, and if elected, Roni Ford believes she would be the first black woman Republican senator in state history.
“Minorities are not represented enough in politics,” Roni Ford said. “My goal is to bring insight to the table and work for everybody.”
She added that she’d like to address rising utilities costs, such as electricity bills, as a lawmaker.
“This (rising utility costs) is a situation where the government and the state regulators have to get involved to figure out what’s happening,” Roni Ford said.
Ruckelshaus, meanwhile, said he moved into District 29 to live in a home that is more accessible for his disabled son.
“I am running again because I want to help people who are disabled.” Ruckelshaus told IndyStar. “Disabled Hoosiers need help with workforce. There’s a glaring need for it.”
So far, he’s knocked on more than 12,500 doors and has heard from District 29 residents about affordability issues and crime, two other priorities Ruckelshaus said he would like to try and address if elected.
Workforce development and ensuring there are paths to employment beyond traditional college is another big part of Ruckelshaus’ platform. When asked for his thoughts on the contentious plan to treat and release wastewater from the LEAP district in Lebanon into the Eagle Creek Reservoir in District 29, Ruckelshaus said the issue is personal to him as he grew up close to the reservoir.
“That’s actually going to be one of the first pieces of legislation that I intend to introduce is the creation of a state water czar,” he said. “We need someone who is really focused on this, who can really represent the citizens of districts that these issues impact and can make sure that promises made are promises kept by entities and all the stakeholders.”
Ensuring the protection of the Eagle Creek Reservoir is also on Delph’s mind.
“Whoever came up with that idea to bring wastewater back in Eagle Creek, that is one of the single dumbest ideas I’ve ever heard in my lifetime,” Delph said. “I’ve been trying very hard to liaison with the different stakeholders to try to get peace of mind for the residents nearby.”
If elected, Delph said he wants to ensure the government lives within its means and balances the budget. He also said it’s important to have a strong Indiana National Guard.
And he’s ready to talk about immigration issues, a hot-button topic that many candidates in competitive districts haven’t talked about as a priority.
“People want to know that the folks that are in the country are here legally, and they’re not a threat or a concern for them as they live, work and raise their families,” Delph said. “I’m going to go back and fight and I’m going to be a force in the state of Indiana. There’s no question about it, but a force for good for my constituents.”
The Democratic primary election for Senate District 29
Residents in the district also have the option to pull a Democratic ballot. Here’s whose running as a Democrat:
Rev. David W. Greene, Sr.: Longtime Indianapolis pastor and community advocate
Demetrice Hicks: President of the Pike Township Board and clinical director
Kristina Moorhead: Former deputy director of the Indiana Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning and health policy expert
Kevin Short: Health care worker and former candidate for Indiana House District 40
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: Former GOP lawmakers are hoping for a do over as they battle in this swing Senate district
Reporting by Jake Allen, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
