With Indiana’s June 2 primary coming up, most people are already well-versed in the long saga of the U.S. presidential election. Local candidates are less well-known — but don’t worry. We’re here to bridge the gap before you send in your absentee ballot this week.
Here’s a list we compiled of every local candidate on the ballot for Monroe County voters, their priorities, background and how to find more information. Make sure to take a look at this handy guide before you vote.
Editor’s note: the candidates running for county auditor, treasurer, coroner, surveyor and commissioners (all running unopposed) and for Monroe County Democratic and Republican convention delegates are not included in this list.
Indiana’s governor, currently Republican Eric Holcomb, is the state’s chief executive officer. The governor reviews bills that pass through Indiana’s House of Representatives and Senate, issues executive orders — such as the recent stay-at-home order — and is the commander-in-chief of Indiana’s armed forces.
Priorities: decreasing health care costs, increasing school funding, improving renewable energy sources, economic development, improving the workforce through more educational opportunities
Background: physician, Indiana State Health Commissioner (1985-1990), New York City’s Health Commissioner (1990-1991), owner of Myers Ventures
Priorities: improve and maintain the economy, invest in Indiana’s roads and bridges, develop a “21st-century-skilled” workforce, address the drug epidemic, keep schools safe, keep government open and accountable, expand WiFi access to rural areas, complete I-69
Background: current Indiana governor (2016-present); former chairman of Indiana Republican party; adviser, deputy chief of staff and 2008 campaign manager for former Gov. Mitch Daniels
The U.S. representative for Indiana’s ninth district, currently Republican Trey Hollingsworth, represents Monroe, Brown, Clark, Floyd, Harrison, Jackson, Johnson, Lawrence, Orange and Washington counties and parts of Crawford, Morgan and Scott counties. This representative introduces bills, offers amendments and serves on committees in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Monroe County in the federal government.
Priorities: anti-corruption by publicly financing political campaigns, Medicare for all, climate change as proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-14th District, fair wages, college for all
Background: from Evansville, served in the Marine Corps for four years, studied metrology (the study of measurement)
Priorities: pay raises for teachers, end the war on drugs, prevent climate change by regulating corporations, Medicare for all, abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, nationalize energy production
Background: independent contractor, advocate for the People’s Platform (a leftist legislative caucus)
Priorities: put health before the economy in the pandemic, a “Rural Green New Deal” (including healthcare for all, internet accessibility in rural areas, local economic development; address climate change through a carbon-neutral environment and sustainability), enhance public education and end private charter schools
Background: master’s degree in healthcare management, public school teacher in Los Angeles, legislative analyst for the Hopi Tribe in Arizona
Priorities: reform campaign financing by overturning the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, establish universal health care, raise minimum wage to at least $15, forgive student loan debt, support the Green New Deal
Background: Bloomington City Council member (20 years), part-time country musician, developed Indiana’s first Living Wage Ordinance
Priorities: reform immigration by making Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) permanent, make it easier for immigrants to apply for citizenship; create U.S. Department of the Environment; tighten background checks for gun owners and close gun show loopholes; support access to Congressional Health Insurance to households earning less than $120,000
Background: Lutheran pastor, served in Michigan’s House of Representatives in 2000, served in Kansas House of Representatives in 1994
Priorities: reducing government influence in business, reinvigorating the economy
Background: founder of Hollingsworth Capital Partners, a multimillion dollar real estate investment firm; served as the District 9 representative since 2017
Voters across Indiana will vote for either Holcomb or Myers as their next governor. But voters will see different candidates for their State House Representatives based on what district they live in.
Select your district below to see who's running to be your House Representative. If you don't know what district you're in, use our map to search your address to see what district you'll fall under.
Don't worry, we won't save your address.
Priorities: pro-life, co-sponsored SB292 fighting for reproductive health and safety of women; defending the Second Amendment; previously worked to expand voter access through vote centers
Background: incumbent Indiana representative for this district (2012-present), attended the IUPUI-Purdue School of Engineering and Technology, co-owns Mayfield Insurance, served six years as Morgan County Clerk
Priorities: supporting public education, eradicating homelessness, supporting farmers and veterans
Background: Martinsville resident, worked at Stout Army Air Field with the Indiana National Guard, Metropolitan School District of Martinsville Board of School Trustee member.
Priorities: support public education by bettering wages for teachers, expand access to wellness programs and healthcare, increase minimum wage, try to fix chemical plumes in Martinsville, Indiana
Priorities (from past legislation): reform criminal code, advocate for consumers, protect Indiana wilderness from logging, allow physician-assisted suicide for certain end-of-life patients, rural broadband access
Background: Indiana State Representative (2002-present), law, Congressman Baron Hill’s chief of staff (1999-2001)
Priorities (from past legislation): improving highways and roads, helping homeless veterans, improving rural broadband service
Background: Indiana State Representative (2015-present), small-business owner, retired firefighter and rescue technician, former Monroe County Council member
Priorities: require county-wide voter referendum to change income tax, constitutional carry, taxpayer protection pledge, U.S. congressional term limits, raise teachers’ pay directly from state budget
Background: defense contractor for Crane Navy Base (1997), IT administrator for local land surveying company Bledsoe Riggert Cooper James (2000-present), ran as a libertarian for U.S. House of Representatives in 2010, ran for Bloomington City Council in 2014
Twenty-five of Indiana’s 50 state senate seats are up for election this year, including the District 40 seat currently held by Democrat Mark Stoops, and the District 44 seat held by Republican Eric Koch. State senators pass laws, influence tax rates and set limits for state spending.
Similar to voting for your local House Representatives, you'll vote only for those candidates that are running in your district. Select your district below, or use our map to find your Senate district. Don't worry, we won't save your address.
Priorities: education, including universal pre-K, improving K-12 education and increasing teacher pay; more equitable health care; statewide environmental sustainability; equality for all through legislation; expanding voting rights and tackling gerrymandering
Background: chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party, former vice chairman of the Monroe County Democratic Party, program manager in Indiana Department of Commerce, worked on former Gov. Frank O’Bannon’s 2000 campaign, Great Lakes-Mid Atlantic Political Director for Obama’s 2010 re-election campaign, adjunct instructor in O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Priorities: expand renewable energy production across the state, higher wages to P-12 teachers, support public education, raise Indiana’s minimum wage to $15, protect an individual’s right to make choices regarding their reproductive health, decriminalize marijuana and reduce prescription drug prices
Background: served on the Monroe County Council (2013-2019), including two years as president and two years as vice president, lecturer at the Kelley School of Business
Priorities: property tax waivers to minimize the effects of COVID-19, expand the Healthy Indiana Plan and HIP Plus to Hoosiers not enrolled in a private health insurance plan, eliminate state and local income taxes for teachers, child care providers and public servants, eliminate homelessness
Background: worked in global management of information systems and supply chains for a variety of companies, ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Congress in District 9 in 2014 as a Republican
Priorities (from past authored bills): improve public assistance to people experiencing homelessness, promote gun rights for those licensed to carry, improving rural broadband, aviation and firefighter safety
Background: incumbent Indiana state senator (2016-now), Indiana House of Representatives (2002-2016), attorney with Koch and McAuley PC
The Monroe County Council, made up of seven members — three of whom are at-large members — decides how the county spends its funds, determines the county’s tax rate, and can borrow money from the county. The current at-large members are Democrats Geoff McKim, Trent Deckard and Cheryl Munson. At most, three candidates from each party will advance to the November election.
Priorities: affordable housing, workforce development, more humane justice system, effectiveness and efficiency of county government
Background: incumbent Monroe County Council member at-large, cybersecurity at National Parks Service, Monroe County Plan Commission, adjunct professor at O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Background: rising IU senior majoring in law and public policy, active in IU student government,
worked on the Bloomington Commission of Housing Quality & Appeals
Priorities: fairly spending county budget, incentivizing county employment, helping community members struggling with addiction, conservation of Lake Monroe, environmental sustainability, rural community issues, including WiFi access
Background: incumbent Monroe County Council member at-large, two years as chief of staff of Indiana House Democratic Caucus, Democractic co-director of Indiana Election (2011-2015), chairman of Monroe County Democratic party
Background: incumbent Monroe County Council member at-large (has been in the position for eight years), has served on multiple committees including the Public Safety Local Income Tax Committee, board of directors for the Friends of Lake Monroe, Indian Creek Community Association and Friends of Lake Monroe
Next up on your ballot, you'll be electing various Circuit Court Judges. There are three races to vote in.
Monroe County Circuit Court Judge — Division I
The Monroe County Circuit Court has unlimited jurisdiction over every category of case that can be filed. Division I of the court is responsible for half of civil and guardianship cases and all estate and trust, tax sale and tax petition cases.
Priorities: increase access to the judicial system and address the special needs of individuals with mental health and substance abuse issues and their families
Background: 21 years of experience as a prosecutor (seven years as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Ohio, and the past 14 years as a deputy prosecutor in Monroe County), By-Laws Chair of the Monroe County Black Democratic Caucus; member of the Monroe County branch of the NAACP, 9th District member of the Indiana Latino Democratic Caucus
Priorities: taking into account the needs of pro se litigants in a court of law
Background: general and appellate practitioner for Indiana for the past 35 years, served on the Monroe-Bloomington Domestic Violence Task Force of the City of Bloomington for five years, served in the Army (1966-1969), counsel and board member to the Monroe County NAACP
Background: attorney for Monroe County for four years, practicing attorney at Carl Lamb and Associates for over 30 years, served four years in the Marine Corps, helped develop annual collegiate charity hockey event Drop the Puck on Cancer, raising over $400,000 in the past nine years, co-founder of the Hope for Hoosiers Foundation
The Monroe County Circuit Court has unlimited jurisdiction over every category of case that can be filed. Division II of the court hears a portion of all murder, misdemeanor and expungement cases.
Priorities: making sure community members are heard
Background: incumbent Monroe County Circuit Court Judge (past 12 years), handles all domestic violence and sexual assault cases in Monroe County, served two years as Presiding Judge of the Monroe County Board of Judges, 14 years as a Deputy Prosecutor in Monroe and Marion Counties, member and former chairwoman of the Bloomington Human Rights Commission; board of directors for the Bloomington Playwrights Project and My Sister’s Closet
The Monroe County Circuit Court has unlimited jurisdiction over every category of case that can be filed. Generally speaking, Division VIII of the Monroe County Circuit Court hears a portion of all domestic relations, protective order, small claims, reciprocal support, civil miscellaneous, and eviction cases.
Priorities: compassion for justice and "doing what is right"
Background: served as a Monroe County Circuit Court judge in division VIII since 2018, supervisor of motor carrier authority legal section at Indiana Department of Revenue, on a corporate counsel and as a deputy prosecuting attorney of misdemeanors, graduate of the Maurer School of Law
Priorities: expansion of problem-solving courts, technical assistance for pro se litigants in civil cases, tenant assistance efforts, crisis diversion center for nonviolent, low-level offenders with mental health and addictions, implicit bias training, tackling case backlogs
Background: served as senior trial attorney, now First Deputy Director at Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office, where he has tried over 50 felony jury trials, graduate of the Maurer School of Law
Priorities: increase court efficiency and tackle jail overcrowding through supporting programs such as pretrial release
Background: three years in private practice doing civil law, past 16 years as a Monroe County Public Defender, in which role she volunteered for seven years on the Drug Treatment Court team
