Little competition in state Senate contests

(INDIANA CAPITAL CHRONICLE) — Half of the Indiana’s 50 Senate seats are up for grabs this election but a dozen incumbents have no opposition.

That means only a few competitive races left for voters to decide.

Open seats guarantee at least two new faces. Other races have engendered fiery mailers.

Republicans hold 40 seats and Democrats hold 10. That supermajority means that Republicans don’t need Democrats present to conduct business, like passing legislation.

Each member represents more than 135,000 people on average, according to 2020 U.S. Census data. They serve four-year terms, with each half of the chamber up in alternating federal election years.

Read on for a rundown of the races.

One retirement

One incumbent didn’t pursue reelection, leaving Senate District 24 open. It includes parts of Hendricks and Putnam counties.

Rep. John Crane, a Republican, announced over the summer that he’d leave the Senate after nearly eight years. He cited increasing responsibilities at his day job — Indiana lawmakers are part-timers — and his aversion to becoming a “career politician.”

Two Hoosiers seek to succeed him: former Hendricks County Sheriff Brett Clark, a Republican, and music technology professional Veronica Pejril, a Democrat.

Clark worked more than three decades with the sheriff’s office, spending his last eight years as sheriff. The term-limited Clark retired and since worked with Garmong Construction and custom mobile app developer OVC, LLC, according to his LinkedIn.

Asked about how he’d like to contribute in the Legislature, Clark said, “I am going to be the public safety guy.” He highlighted his experience running a county jail — and with getting a budget, hiring, benefits and other decisions through Hendricks County’s commissioners and the office’s own boards.

Clark said he’d also like to be involved in setting water policy — he’s freshly out of Purdue University’s Watershed Leadership program — along with property taxes, grid security and mental health.

“Sen. (Michael) Crider has been championing that area,” Clark said of mental health. “I want to model a lot of things he’s done, and, if I can, sort of be his partner-slash-wingman in some of this.”

Pejril, meanwhile, grew up in Illinois but has lived in Indiana for more than 30 years — currently, in Putnam County. She served one term on the Greencastle Common Council, becoming the state’s first out transgender elected official.

She leads DePauw University’s instructional technology team. and is a part-time assistant professor of music. She’s previously taught K-8 music, run her own music software company and spent time raising her twin sons.

Pejril hoped to expand Hoosiers’ rights to ballot initiatives, and to see a question on the right to an abortion. In such referendums, citizens can vote directly on a proposal instead of their representatives. The only type of legally binding statewide referendum allowed currently is a legislator-initiated change to the Indiana Constitution.

Pejril said she was also interested in requiring that schools receiving public dollars follow the same admissions, curriculum, employment and other rules as traditional public schools.

A third priority was improving mental health services for rural residents — a push Pejril said was personal. She lost a sister to a 2017 overdose.

“I think that Hoosiers are liberty-minded folks. We’re, by and large, a people that wants government out of our lives, except where government can serve us well,” said Pejril, who admitted to voting for a Libertarian presidential candidate “way in the past.”

Despite competing for one of just two open Senate seats, neither candidate volunteered any negative experiences.

“That’s not how I do it,” Clark said. “… Let’s show them by our actions what we believe in, not just words … and certainly not attacking anybody. Because people are sick of it.”

Another race heats up

The mailers are flying in Senate District 36, which includes parts of Johnson and Marion counties.

There, freshman Sen. Cyndi Carrasco, a Republican from Indianapolis, faces a challenge from Democrat Suzanne Fortenberry.

Carrasco was caucused into the role last October after former Sen. Jack Sandlin’s sudden death. Her caucus win came after an unsuccessful campaign for Marion County prosecutor.

She is a vice president and legal counsel at the University of Indianapolis. She was briefly an assistant attorney for the Indiana House Republican caucus and of counsel for Riley Bennett Egloff, LLP, according to her LinkedIn.

Carrasco previously worked almost 16 years for executive branch agencies, including two years as Indiana’s inspector general. She’s originally from Texas but moved for her law degree and stayed.

Her campaign website identifies government accountability, public safety, education funding and tax relief as priorities. Carrasco’s campaign didn’t return requests for comment.

She passed her first law, which made changes to the state disaster relief fund’s requirements, aid formula and more.

Carrasco didn’t respond to a request for an interview.

Fortenberry, meanwhile, has spent nearly 30 years working as a FedEx courier. She proudly proclaims her campaign is “for working-class Hoosiers.”

Her usual 50-hour courier workweek stretched to 60 hours in a pandemic-era online shopping explosion, so she stepped back. Now, Fortenberry delivers part-time, runs an engraving business with her wife, directs Greenwood Indiana Pride and campaigns.

Fortenberry said her top priority was reproductive health access, including abortion. Her online campaign platform also includes public education, public safety and LGBT+ rights.

“It feels like a complete surprise,” she said, that the race has potential to be competitive. “Just over a year ago, Jack Sandlin passed away, rest his soul. That’s who I thought I was running against, and I was just putting my name out there to give people a choice.”

Fortenberry said she didn’t think the race could be close until recently, when she became aware of Indiana Republican State Committee mailers attacking her. The materials, viewed by the Capital Chronicle, accuse her of wanting to “keep parents in the dark about their child’s identity,” “drain our budget surplus” and raise taxes.

Fortenberry defended herself, saying she disagreed with forcibly “outing” children — but said parents and school counselors should collaborate to ensure kids feel safe enough to come out. She added that the surplus should be used for infrastructure and other investments, as an emergency fund or returned to taxpayers, and criticized the Legislature for raising top elected officials’ pay.

“It shows me that (the race) is way more competitive than I thought it was a year ago.”

Few contested seats

The Senate has one other, unconventionally open seat: District 3.

In January, Sen. David Vinzant narrowly beat out fellow Democrat Mark Spencer in a caucus vote to replace newly elected Gary Mayor Eddie Melton, the Indiana Citizen reported.

But Spencer, a Gary councilman-at-large, beat him in the primary. Now, he faces Republican Will Miller.

Ten other seats are contested, according to a general election candidate list from the Office of the Secretary of State.

They include:

• Senate District 2: Sen. Lonnie Randolph, a Democrat from East Chicago, and Republican Humberto Prado.
• Senate District 5: Sen. Ed Charbonneau, a Republican from Valparaiso, and Democrat Leslie Nuss Bamesberger.
• Senate District 8: Sen. Mike Bohacek, a Republican from Michiana Shores, and Democrat Leon P. Smith.
• Senate District 10: Sen. David Niezgodski, a Democrat from South Bend, and Republican Tim Cotton.
• Senate District 20: Sen. Scott Baldwin, a Republican from Noblesville, and Democrat Joel Levi.
• Senate District 28: Sen. Michael Crider, a Republican from Greenfield, and Libertarian Travis Chittum.
• Senate District 32: Sen. Aaron Freeman, a Republican from Indianapolis, and Democrat Katrina Owens.
• Senate District 35: Sen. Mike Young, a Republican from Indianapolis, and Democrat Jessica McCormick.
• Senate District 37: Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, a Republican from Martinsville, and Democrat Kimberly Schofield.
• Senate District 50: Sen. Vaneta Becker, a Republican from Evansville, and Independent John Woodard.

Find who’s on your ballot on the state-run IndianaVoters.com. Early voting is underway. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.