Indiana: who should earn your vote for Congress in 2026

Opinion · The paper’s scorecard

Indiana: every race for Congress on the 3 November 2026 ballot, and how the candidates measure up against our standards.

Sitting and former members are scored on the same key votes, read from the official House and Senate roll calls; each vote links to the record. Candidates who have never served in Congress have no votes to score, and outside the battlegrounds we have not researched them, so they are marked as not scored. Where only one candidate could be measured, the mark rates that record on its own; it is not a verdict on the opponent. How the marks work · All states

District 1 D+1

No mark

Frank Mrvan

Democrat

Scored on 27 key votes · total -4

✗Smaller government
~Small business over giants
✓Live and let live
✗Light touch on tech
✗Free speech
✗No surveillance state
✓Home first, open trade
~Checks on power
✗Right to bear arms
✗Hard on violent crime

With us (9)

Voted for the 2022 antitrust package funding merger enforcement with fees on the largest deals. Source
Voted for the Respect for Marriage Act. Source
Voted against a further clean extension of FISA surveillance authorities in 2026. Source

Against us (18)

Voted against the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted against the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted against a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

Barb Regnitz

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

District 2 R+13

✓ Meets our standards: Rudy Yakym

Jamee Decio

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Meets our standards

Rudy Yakym

Republican · incumbent

Scored on 22 key votes · total +4

✓Smaller government
✓Small business over giants
✗Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
✗Free speech
✓No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
✓Checks on power
✓Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (14)

Voted for the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

Against us (8)

Voted against the Respect for Marriage Act. Source
Voted for the 2024 law forcing TikTok's sale or ban. Source
Voted for the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which civil-liberties groups opposed as a limit on campus speech. Source

District 3 R+16

Leans our way: Marlin Stutzman

Leans our way

Marlin Stutzman

Republican · incumbent

Scored on 11 key votes · total +1

✓Smaller government
✓Small business over giants
?Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
?Free speech
✗No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
✗Checks on power
?Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (6)

Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source
Voted for the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act. Source

Against us (5)

Voted for a further clean extension of FISA surveillance authorities in 2026. Source
Voted against ending the emergency behind the tariffs on Canada. Source
Voted against the September 2026 resolution directing U.S. forces out of hostilities with Iran. Source

Kelly Thompson

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

District 4 R+15

✓ Meets our standards: Jim Baird

Meets our standards

Jim Baird

Republican · incumbent

Scored on 27 key votes · total +2

✓Smaller government
~Small business over giants
✗Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
✗Free speech
✓No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
~Checks on power
✓Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (17)

Voted for the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

Against us (10)

Voted against the 2022 antitrust package funding merger enforcement with fees on the largest deals. Source
Voted against the Respect for Marriage Act. Source
Voted for the 2024 law forcing TikTok's sale or ban. Source

Drew Cox

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

District 5 R+8

✓ Meets our standards: Victoria Spartz

J. D. Ford

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Meets our standards

Victoria Spartz

Republican · incumbent

Scored on 27 key votes · total +4

✓Smaller government
✓Small business over giants
✗Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
✗Free speech
✓No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
✓Checks on power
✓Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (20)

Voted for the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

Against us (7)

Voted against the Respect for Marriage Act. Source
Voted for the 2024 law forcing TikTok's sale or ban. Source
Voted for the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which civil-liberties groups opposed as a limit on campus speech. Source

District 6 R+16

Leans our way: Jefferson Shreve

Leans our way

Jefferson Shreve

Republican · incumbent

Scored on 11 key votes · total +1

✓Smaller government
✓Small business over giants
?Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
?Free speech
✗No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
✗Checks on power
?Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (6)

Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source
Voted for the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act. Source

Against us (5)

Voted for a further clean extension of FISA surveillance authorities in 2026. Source
Voted against ending the emergency behind the tariffs on Canada. Source
Voted against the September 2026 resolution directing U.S. forces out of hostilities with Iran. Source

Cinde Wirth

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

District 7 D+21

No mark

André Carson

Democrat · incumbent

Scored on 26 key votes · total -3

✗Smaller government
~Small business over giants
✓Live and let live
✗Light touch on tech
~Free speech
✗No surveillance state
✓Home first, open trade
~Checks on power
✗Right to bear arms
✗Hard on violent crime

With us (9)

Voted for the 2022 antitrust package funding merger enforcement with fees on the largest deals. Source
Voted for the Respect for Marriage Act. Source
Voted against the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which civil-liberties groups opposed as a limit on campus speech. Source

Against us (17)

Voted against the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted against the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted against a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

Patrick McAuley

Republican

No congressional voting record; not scored

District 8 R+18

✓ Meets our standards: Mark Messmer

Mary Allen

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Meets our standards

Mark Messmer

Republican · incumbent

Scored on 10 key votes · total +2

✓Smaller government
✓Small business over giants
?Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
?Free speech
✗No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
?Checks on power
?Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (6)

Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source
Voted for the Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act. Source

Against us (4)

Voted for a further clean extension of FISA surveillance authorities in 2026. Source
Voted against ending the emergency behind the tariffs on Canada. Source
Voted against the September 2026 resolution directing U.S. forces out of hostilities with Iran. Source

District 9 R+15

✓ Meets our standards: Erin Houchin

Meets our standards

Erin Houchin

Republican · incumbent

Scored on 21 key votes · total +3

✓Smaller government
✓Small business over giants
?Live and let live
✓Light touch on tech
✗Free speech
✗No surveillance state
✗Home first, open trade
✓Checks on power
✓Right to bear arms
✓Hard on violent crime

With us (12)

Voted for the Limit, Save, Grow Act tying the 2023 debt-limit increase to spending cuts. Source
Voted for the 2025 package cancelling about $9 billion in approved spending. Source
Voted for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution. Source

Against us (9)

Voted for the 2024 law forcing TikTok's sale or ban. Source
Voted for the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which civil-liberties groups opposed as a limit on campus speech. Source
Voted for reauthorizing FISA Section 702 without a warrant requirement. Source

Brad Meyer

Democrat

No congressional voting record; not scored

Photo credits. Official congressional portraits are works of the U.S. government and in the public domain.