STATEHOUSE – In the largest group filing in recent history, nearly 30 members of the Indiana Rural Summit coalition formally filed to be candidates for the Indiana House and Senate Wednesday. The mass filing symbolized a united commitment to represent rural and small-town Hoosiers who are often overlooked at the Statehouse.
The Indiana Rural Summit is a statewide initiative designed to amplify the voices of rural and small-town Indiana residents and create real pathways for collaboration. In 2024, the Committee for Rural Engagement launched the Indiana Rural Summit. It began as a tour organizing 12 House candidates across 30 counties in south-central Indiana and quickly grew into a movement in all areas of the state.
Coalition members who filed to run as Democrats today include Valparaiso’s Ryan Kominakis (HD 4), Warren Ashley Hammac (HD 16), Peru’s Austin Meives (HD 23), Racheal Bleicher of Westfield (HD 24), Zionsville’s Tiffany Stoner (HD 25), Coumba Kebe (HD 29), Noblesville’s Devon Wellington (HD 29), John E. Bartlett of Hartford City (HD 33), Sara Gullion (HD 34), Phil Gift (HD 35), Nate Stout of Tipton (HD 38), Avon’s Will Colteryahn (HD 40), Kelsey Kauffman of Greencastle (HD 44), Bargersville’s Michael Potter (HD 47), Suzanne Fortenberry (HD 57), Bloomington Incumbent Representative Matt Pierce (HD 61), Nashville’s Amy Huffman Oliver (HD 62), Jeffersonville’s Ryan Price (HD 66), Hunter Collins of Aurora (HD 68), Chris Bowen (HD 69), Sarah Blessing of Palmyra (HD 70), Sharon Wight (HD 81), Stephanie Jo Yocum of Indianapolis (HD 88), Timothy Murphy (SD 19), Natasha Baker of Battle Ground (SD 22), Andew Dale (SD 26), Byron Holland (SD 43) and Ethan Sweetland-May (SD 47).
The coalition candidates will share resources including training, technology, joint events and information in a bid to help more vision-aligned candidates in favor of high-quality public education, affordable and accessible healthcare, and living wages win seats in the Indiana General Assembly. The coalition will work to amplify local voices, reduce duplication of effort, and strengthen down-ballot races and voter turnout in communities often overlooked by traditional political infrastructure.
Indiana House Candidate Amy Huffman Oliver (HD 62) worked for six years as a middle and high school history teacher and currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Brown County Schools. Oliver also spent 20 years as a public service attorney, including as a Deputy Prosecutor handling domestic violence cases in Monroe and Marion Counties and as a Deputy Attorney General.
“I’ve seen from every angle—inside classrooms, in courtrooms, and at the school board table—that strong public schools are the foundation of healthy communities,” Oliver said. “If we want rural Indiana to thrive, we have to make sure our schools are funded in a way that gives every child a real opportunity to succeed.”
Indiana Rural Summit Founder Michelle Higgs says the group is strengthening coordinated, people-powered infrastructure for rural and small-town communities across Indiana.
“This unprecedented mass filing is a visible symbol of our solidarity,” Higgs said. “E Pluribus Unum — out of many, one — is more than a motto for the Indiana Rural Summit coalition. Together we will build power and give rural and small-town Hoosiers a voice, a choice, and a vote in 2026.”
