With nearly 50% of all votes counted, John Ruckelshaus is in the lead in the Republican primary for Indiana Senate District 29 with about 51% of the vote.
Trailing behind him is Mike Delph with about 42% of the vote, while Roni Ford has about 8%.
In the Democratic primary, Kristina Moorhead is in first place with about 53% of the vote. She is followed by Demetrice Hicks with about 25%, David Greene Sr. with about 19%, and Kevin Short with about 3%.
Seven candidates, including two former lawmakers, are running in the May 5 primary election.
There are three Republicans on the ballot:
- Delph represented the district from 2005 until 2018, when he lost to J.D. Ford
- Roni Ford, a former Pike Township School Board member and former community outreach staffer for U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana
- Ruckelshaus is a Carmel resident who previously represented District 30 on the north side
Four Democrats are in the running:
- Greene is a pastor at Purpose of Life Ministries on the west side and president of the Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis, a community activist group made up of faith leaders.
- Hicks is president of the Pike Township Board and a director of clinical operations at a mental health treatment facility.
- Moorhead is a health policy expert who previously worked in the state’s Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning.
- Short is a social worker with experience in the fields of education and philanthropy.
State Sen. J.D. Ford, an Indianapolis Democrat who represents the district now, is instead running for the 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The state Senate district, which was mainly held by Republicans before Ford was elected, includes parts of Pike and Wayne townships and stretches north to portions of Carmel and Zionsville.
The district has been competitive in previous election cycles. Ford won reelection in 2022 by a hair, capturing 51.7% of votes over his Republican challenger. In his 2018 bid to unseat Delph, Ford won 56.7% of the vote.
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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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