With elections just around the corner, it can be confusing to figure out who to vote for.
Here is a quick look at those running, their backgrounds and their platforms:
House of Representatives
There are 435 Congresspeople in the House of Representatives, each serving terms that last two years, and every Congressperson is up for election each midterm and presidential election cycle. Indiana has nine Representatives in the House.
Indiana’s 6th Congressional district is without an incumbent this year, as current Congressman Luke Messer dropped out of the race to attempt a run for Senate. Messer has since dropped out of the race.
Candidates
Jeannine Lee Lake (D)
Lake, a 1992 Ball State journalism graduate, has lived in Muncie for over 30 years and is the editor of The Good News, along with being involved with the boards of The Muncie Matters Alliance and Big Brothers Big Sisters. Lake is chairwoman of Feed My Sheep, a local charity. A self-described social liberal and fiscal conservative, Lake notably received the endorsement of fellow Ball State alumnus David Letterman earlier this year.
Greg Pence (R)
Pence, the older brother of current Vice President Mike Pence, is a former marine who currently runs several antique malls. Pence was previously employed as the president of Kiel Brothers Oil from 1998 to 2004. Donald Trump Jr. recently held a rally in support of Senate candidate Mike Braun and Pence’s campaigns.
Tom Ferkinhoff (L)
Ferkinhoff is a conservative libertarian who has been a tax specialist and business consultant for over three decades. Ferkinhoff, a resident of Richmond, Indiana, is running on a libertarian platform with additional conservative values such as being against big government, abortion and overreach in healthcare.
Senate
The Senate makes up the other half of the legislative branch, with two Senators from each state.
This year, Democrat incumbent Joe Donnelly is up for election, having previously served in the House of Representatives from 2006 to 2012 and as a Senator alongside Republican Todd Young since 2012.
Candidates
Joe Donnelly (D), Incumbent
Donnelly has represented Indiana as a Senator for one term. As a Senator, he sits on multiple committees such as Agriculture, Armed Services and Banking.
Mike Braun (R)
Braun is the founder and CEO of Meyer Distributing and the owner of Meyer Logistics. Previously, Braun served as Indiana’s 63rd District representative in the Indiana House of Representatives from 2014 to 2017. Braun recently received endorsement from Donald Trump Jr. at a rally in Greenfield, Indiana.
Lucy Brenton (L)
Brenton, a native of Hoosier, Indiana, works as a business consultant and is the only candidate in the Senate race without previous government experience. Beyond government pursuits, Brenton has served as secretary, vice-president and president of the Central Indiana Real Estate Investors Association.
Indiana Secretary of State
The Indiana Secretary of State oversees the state business services division, automobile registrations, state elections and enforces state regulations.
Connie Lawson, a Republican, has held the position since her appointment in 2012 after serving in the Indiana State Senate from 1996 to 2012.
Candidates
Connie Lawson (R), incumbent
Lawson has served as Secretary of State for the last six years. The Danville native began her government career as a County Clerk in Hendricks County in 1989. Her administration notably worked with the Indiana General Assembly in 2013 to improve election transparency.
Jim Harper (D)
Harper, a former New Orleans public defender and lawyer, is a graduate of Georgetown University. Harper’s campaign is largely based on partisan gerrymandering, election security and voter accessibility.
Mark Rutherford (L)
Rutherford practices business law in Indianapolis with Thrasher Buschmann & Voelkel, P.C. Rutherford has been active in the Libertarian party for more than 20 years, having served as vice chair of the national Libertarian party from 2010 to 2012. Rutherford has been on the Indiana Public Defender Commission since his appointment in 2007.
Indiana Treasurer
The State Treasurer manages the finances of the state, including budget setting and spending and serves as the head banker of the state. The office is elected every four year, and treasurers can serve no more than eight years in a 12-year span, according to Indiana’s Constitution.
Kelly Mitchell, a Republican, was elected to the position in 2014 and is eligible to serve one more four-year term in this current period of 12 years.
Candidates
Kelly Mitchell (R), incumbent
The incumbent Mitchell served as Cass County’s Commissioner, during which she was the president of the county’s Board of Commissioners for five years. The Indianapolis resident founded Cass County’s “Make a Difference Day,” and currently sits on multiple boards and commissions as State Treasurer.
John Aguilera (D)
Aguilera served four terms as an Indiana State Representative,two terms on the Lake County City Council and two years as the Council’s president. Aguilera was a steelworker for Inland Steel for more than 20 years before retiring early to pursue his own business in 2005.
Auditor of State
Indiana’s Auditor of State serves a similar function to the Treasurer, and oversees the auditing of the state government’s finances. According to www.in.gov, “The Auditor of State serves as the CFO for the State of Indiana and is responsible for accounting and reporting all of the State's funds, overseeing and disbursing funds to local units of governments, and paying all the state's bills.”
Republican Tera Klutz has held the position since 2016, when her predecessor, Suzanne Crouch, resigned to run for the position of Lieutenant Governor.
Candidates
Tera Klutz (R) Incumbent
Klutz has a career history in accounting and auditing. A graduate of Indiana University- Purdue University Fort Wayne, Klutz was the auditor of Allen County from 2010 to 2017, having won two terms over that time.
Joselyn Whitticker (D)
Whitticker was employed for 35 years as an educator and administrator, and currently owns an education consulting business. Whitticker served on the Marion Common Council from 2012 to 2016, and was elected its president in 2016. Whitticker also is president of NAACP Branch #3059.
John Schick (L)
Schick has been nominated by the Libertarian party for the office of Auditor in 2014 and 2018, and was nominated in 2010 to run for the Indiana House of Representatives but never won an election. Schick has held multiple offices within the Libertarian party, and works in financial analysis and management consulting, according to his campaign website.
Delaware County Sheriff
The Delaware County Sheriff is the head of the county’s police department and oversees the county jail and government security.
Sheriffs serve four-year terms, and Democrat Ray Dudley has served as sheriff for the last three years.
Candidates
Ray Dudley (D) Incumbent
Dudley has been part of the Delaware County Police Department for over twenty years, having begun his police career in 1989 as a reserve officer for the Muncie City Police Department.
Tony Skinner (R)
Skinner holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Southern Mississippi and a master’s in Public Administration from Ball State. A 23-year member of the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department, Skinner served 19 years on the Delaware County SWAT team.
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