UNIONVILLE – The Indiana Rural Summit has 67 state legislative candidates on the ballot this General Election, marking a major shift in rural Indiana politics. Districts that went unchallenged for up to 10 years have trained and funded challengers to run this election, so voters face competitive races in November and real choices. Data shows that filling the field doesn’t just strengthen individual races; it also lifts turnout.
The Indiana Rural Summit is a nonpartisan, 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 across 30 counties in south-central Indiana and quickly grew into a movement in all areas of the state.
Across Indiana, Indiana Rural Summit-cohort candidates are running strongly:
- Sally Busby (HD 78, Evansville area) trained through the Indiana Rural Summit cohort and steadily raises funds in a district that went uncontested in 2024.
- Brad Hochgesang (SD 48) and Kirsten Root (SD 21): Neither campaign waited for a party committee; both built digital programs from scratch — a skill set accessible to first-time candidates through the Indiana Rural Summit’s training.
- Carrie Syczylo (HD 60) in Morgan Co. and Ryan Price (HD 66) in Jefferson Co. actively fight to regulate data centers in their districts. The incumbents in those races ignore public questions and remain disconnected from their communities. Carrie and Ryan advocate for prohibiting NDAs for elected officials to improve transparency for constituents and restore local control. This election will shape the future of Indiana’s growth and accountability.
- Natasha Baker (SD 22) shows why a filled ballot matters: when an incumbent suddenly suspended his campaign in the final weeks due to alleged impropriety, District 22 voters still have a real choice on November 3.
- Nick Marshall (SD 45) is running against an incumbent Senate Republican whom Republicans have already designated as their next president pro tem, the officer who sets the Senate’s agenda, picks committee chairs, and decides which bills live or die. Without Marshall, the incoming leader would coast unchallenged. With him, the incumbent must campaign, spend, and answer for a redistricting record he championed.
- Will Colteryahn (HD 40) is a former FSSA employee running a campaign that directly addresses the Medicaid cuts and Medicaid Waiver changes hitting his district—fielding a steady stream of constituent questions about new legal requirements and meeting that moment head-on.
- Sean Steele (HD 65) is a Lawrence County native, attorney, and 30-year educator running as an independent candidate. He is on the ballot in a district that went uncontested in 2024, giving voters there their first real choice in years.
- John E Bartlett (HD 33) fought alongside Union School Corporation for a rural Modoc public school that lawmakers ordered closed via an amendment added to a 2025 property tax bill without a public hearing — and this month a judge ruled the amendment unconstitutional and unenforceable. Who authored the amendment? Bartlett’s opponent in HD 33.
Seven Indiana Rural Summit-cohort candidates are on the ballot this November in districts that drew no general-election opposition in either of the last two cycles — five House districts and two Senate districts where voters have gone eight to ten years without a contested race. These candidates include Tyler Bridges (HD 11), Kelsey Kauffman (HD 44), Jimmy Pittsford (HD 46), Suzanne Fortenberry (HD 57), Candy Greer (HD 64), Ian Richardson (HD 79), Timothy Murphy (SD 19), and Byron E. Holland (SD 43).
A fuller list of Indiana Rural Summit candidates can be found at https://indianaruralsummit.org/candidates.
Summit Coalition Member Coumba Kebe is also on the ballot as a Democrat running for State Treasurer.
“For decades, Indiana politics has been run like a team that fields a handful of starters with no bench —concentrating resources on a narrow set of ‘winnable’ seats while the rest of the field goes unplayed. The Indiana Rural Summit was built to break that pattern,” said Indiana Rural Summit Founder Michelle Higgs. “By filling the field, training candidates, and teaching them where to best spend their money, we will create statewide change.”
The work started months ago. In January, the Indiana Rural Summit organized the largest group candidate filing in recent history, with nearly 30 Democrats filing for House and Senate seats at the Statehouse. The mass filing symbolized a united commitment to represent rural and small-town Hoosiers who are often overlooked at the Statehouse.
