Moms have a big role in the House District 97 primary.

“She comes every year,” said Rep. Justin Moed, D-Indianapolis, as he canvassed in Garfield Park. His mother, Angel, was farther down the street, speaking to voters about why they should elect her son for the seventh time. The district stretches through neighborhoods across the west and south sides, as well as downtown, including Monument Circle.

“He’s been on the ground for the last 12 years,” Angel Moed told Mirror Indy. “If people want to listen to someone that hasn’t done anything, that’s their prerogative. It’s a free country.” 

She was talking about Moed’s first ever primary challenger, Sarah Shydale. The 23-year-old IUPUI student, if elected, would become the first openly transgender person in the Indiana General Assembly and its youngest member. “She would be a trailblazer,” said Rena Hobein, Shydale’s mother.

She has printed flyers for her daughter and donated. 

“Right now I only have $102 in my campaign checking account and $100 of that was given to me by my mother,” Shydale said before a March 21 town hall on the west side.

A man attending the event put a wad of cash in her hand: “Here’s $20 more.” 

The winner will face Republican Stephen Whitmer in the general election. Whitmer is unopposed in his primary race.

Justin Moed: from doorkeeper to doorknocker

Doors are a motif in Moed’s political career. 

First, he was opening them for legislators as a Statehouse doorkeeper. Then, in 2012, he was elected to walk through them himself. Now, he knocks to find out what constituents want from him. 

“I decided that the year I don’t like doing this anymore is the year I will stop running,” Moed said as he walked up to another house on March 28.

An elderly woman opened the door. Her eyes lit up when she caught sight of Moed. There wasn’t any discussion of taxes or policies; she’d gotten a strange package and wanted him, as a neighbor, to take a look. 

“Show me,” he said.

This approach — personal over politics — could be one reason why Moed has stayed in office for more than a decade. He is active in the community with an urban farm that doubles as an Airbnb (guests rave about the treehouse, which somehow has a hot tub) and sells produce to restaurants in Fountain Square. “It keeps me sane at the Statehouse,” he said.

Before Shydale, Moed’s seat had never been challenged by another Democrat. 

Jim Walker, 54, is a resident of Garfield Park and part of the local arts scene. He wants to learn more about Shydale’s campaign. But the information may not necessarily change who he supports in the election.

“Sometimes we have incumbents who are here for too long,” Walker said. “In Justin’s case, there’s a lot of value in the work he’s done over the years and I don’t think it’s time for him to move on.”

Moed has been working to resolve homelessness in Indianapolis for years. He was part of a task force that recommended a low-barrier shelter in Indianapolis. Too many people, he said, are being turned away from current resources because of addiction or mental health issues. The state budget appropriated $20 million for the project, and the city has chosen a site for the housing hub, which is slated to open in 2026. 

[Indianapolis has pledged to end homelessness. Not much has changed.]

“Our hope is they can come in with a roof over their heads and we can create a stable environment for them,” Moed said.

His bill to end the prison-to-homelessness pipeline also was signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb in 2023. It is meant to stop state prison officials from dropping off recently released prisoners in Indianapolis without a re-entry plan, and instead take them to the county they lived in when convicted. Other key priorities listed on Moed’s website include restoring neighborhood infrastructure, raising teacher pay and protecting LGBTQ+ rights.

“Our district has been Democratic for a long time,” Walker said. “Justin has represented those views very well while also being the kind of person who listens to people who are not Democrats or are on the more conservative side.” 

An illustration from Moed’s campaign features three boxes: Democrat, Republican and Results. The last option is checked off in red.

“I have a level of understanding and experience of the legislative process that allows me to be very effective,” Moed told Mirror Indy. “Either of us will serve in the super minority, so you have to be able to build a coalition of support to get things done.” 

Sarah Shydale: Gen Z hopeful 

If you ask Shydale, this race is a Gen Z David vs. Millennial Goliath. Moed, she said, has increasingly grown out of touch with young voters and their needs.

“He’s been focusing on suburban needs and not really city life,” Shydale said. “He can’t forget about that large slice of the district that goes straight through downtown.” 

Plus, she added, he’s in his 40s now. (Moed, asked by Mirror Indy about the criticism, wanted it on the record that he just turned 40 in December. “I still feel like I’m 23,” he said.)

Shydale’s goal, she said, is to be a voice for young voters who feel disenfranchised by Indiana’s Republican supermajority and frustrated by Democrats who don’t make meaningful changes. But there’s also fears about joining the ranks of lawmakers at the Statehouse, especially with her age and gender identity. 

“All those stuffy old men, they’re very religious and not very accepting of new ideas,” Shydale said. “Every day I would do my best to change their minds.” 

Indianapolis is her safe haven in a state legislature that increasingly targets transgender people. A federal appeals court recently allowed a state ban on gender-affirming care for minors to take effect (Moed voted against this ban and another prohibiting transgender athletes from playing on female sports teams). Shydale is old enough to not be affected by this policy and had bottom surgery in March. 

One of her campaign’s main goals is to safeguard LGBTQ+ rights. 

“I want to codify our right to live,” she said. “We are not unnatural. We are not an aberration on society that deserves to be shunned. We are citizens, and we deserve the same rights as everyone else.” 

Shydale’s interest in politics began as a teenager growing up in Bargersville. She would finish working a shift at Subway and bike to town hall meetings. Her mother, Rena Hobein, believes she was trying to understand people in power and how they could affect her life, especially as a transgender woman. 

 “She’s very empathetic,” Hobein told Mirror Indy. “If elected, she would listen to people and be very open to suggestions.” 

Shydale took a job as an accountant at the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, where she works with elderly and disabled people seeking housing. Even with a salary, she said, it was a struggle to afford an apartment downtown. Lowering rent is one of her priorities, along with expanding access to mental health, substance use and family support services. 

Her website’s FAQ section also contains questions about affordable health care, marijuana legalization and climate change, though the answers remain blank.

Campaigning hasn’t been easy as a young political newcomer, she said. There’s limited funds without party support and her candidacy was unsuccessfully challenged by two people, including the chair of the Marion County Democratic Party on the grounds that she did not live in the district a year before the election (“I have a distinct feeling she doesn’t like me very much,” Shydale said, an accusation a spokesperson for the chair denied). The state election commission rejected the challenges after Shydale shared her lease as proof of residency.

[Indiana Election Commission removed three Indianapolis candidates from the May primary ballot]

Shydale is currently recovering from transition surgery, which has kept her from knocking on doors for several weeks. She ran her campaign from a hospital bed, and later rehab, using social media. 

There’s a picture of her in a green hospital gown from March 31 — Easter and International Transgender Day of Visibility. 

“A year and a half ago, I started the long and arduous march toward the final step, getting bottom surgery,” Shydale wrote in a Reddit post. “Through it all, I have prevailed.”

Voting information

Early voting is available until May 6 at the City-County Building on 200 E. Washington St. and at eight other locations in the city from April 27 to May 5. Primary election day is Tuesday, May 7. Find your closest vote center here. 

Mirror Indy reporter Mary Claire Molloy covers health. Reach her at maryclaire.molloy@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @mcmolloy7.