Editor’s note: This is a profile of the candidates for Indiana House District 89. To learn more about the candidates who will appear on your ballot, check out the Mirror Indy 2024 Election Guide.
Rep. Mitch Gore, D-Indianapolis, and his Republican opponent, Yvonne Metcalfe, are in what’s expected to be one of the closest Statehouse races this election and each have very different ideas on what to focus on if elected.
Gore is an incumbent focused on reducing gun violence, supporting women’s reproductive rights and improving access to mental health services. Metcalfe is a Republican grassroots organizer supporting police, expanding school choice and reducing property taxes for seniors.
Both are vying to represent House District 89, which includes parts of Center, Franklin, Perry and Warren townships.
Election Day is Nov. 5. Early voting started Oct. 8.
Gore reaches across party lines
Gore is seeking a third term in the Indiana General Assembly after winning tightly contested elections in 2020 and 2022. He knows he needs to aggressively campaign to hold onto the seat, which is why he’s knocking on doors four days a week.
Gore, 32, is not your typical Democrat in the Republican-dominated Statehouse.
Unlike some of his Democratic colleagues, Gore has had relative success in ushering legislation across the finish line, authoring four bills that passed the House since getting elected in 2020.
In 2023, he authored legislation that clarifies that it is illegal for anyone to possess devices commonly known as Glock switches. The devices can be used to modify a semi-automatic gun into one capable of mimicking automatic fire. It passed with bipartisan support.
His proudest achievement, though, is passing a bill to establish a special missing persons alert for at-risk veterans.
Gore, a captain in the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, attributes much of his political success to being the only full-time active law enforcement officer in the Indiana General Assembly.
“I’m very lucky that my colleagues, both in my caucus and on the other side of the aisle, respect my experience as a law enforcement officer, and even seek me out for advice on public safety,” Gore said.
He also represents an area of the city that has historically leaned conservative. Gore flipped the district blue in 2020, when he unseated Republican incumbent Cindy Kirchhofer, who had held the seat for 10 years. Gore won by fewer than 1,000 votes.
“Our demographics here are changing,” he said of the district. “The city of Beech Grove is attracting young families because it’s a really cute town. It’s walkable, it’s still affordable, and we have great schools.”
In the 2022 election, Gore narrowly defeated Michael-Paul Hart, a Republican city-county councilor, by 265 votes.
If reelected, Gore says he plans to reintroduce a bill in 2025 that would escalate criminal penalties for some people who fail to safely secure firearms, making it a low-level felony instead of a misdemeanor. The penalty would apply to those who have a dependent in their care who then uses the unsecured firearm to cause bodily injury or death.
Metcalfe supports police, school choice, parental rights
Yvonne Metcalfe has never run for office before but decided to put her name on the ballot to give voters in her district another choice.
“I know a lot of people who share my values and wanted someone to represent them,” Metcalfe, 58, told Mirror Indy.
A self-described Christian conservative, her legislative priorities include supporting law enforcement, expanding school choice and parental rights in education and lowering or eliminating property taxes for seniors.
If elected, Metcalfe, who has an adopted brother from the Philippines, said she would file legislation to make it easier for families to adopt, calling the process “too expensive and too complicated.”
A Republican from Wanamaker on the far southeast side, Metcalfe has been active with the Franklin Township GOP and other conservative groups. She previously served as a state delegate and has worked on several Republican campaigns.
As she knocks on doors throughout the district, Metcalfe says voters are concerned about the state of Indianapolis roads, immigration, the economy and crime.
“The police are not able to do what they need to do, and that’s making it difficult for them to recruit people, which makes it much harder on the public,” Metcalfe said. “We really need to support our police departments any way we can.”
In addition to being a consultant for Mary Kay, Metcalfe is a bus driver in the Clark Pleasant Community School Corp.
“I want our kids to have a future,” she said. “I want Indy to be a place people are proud of to raise a family.”
Peter Blanchard covers local government. Reach him at 317-605-4836 or peter.blanchard@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @peterlblanchard.
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