These four districts tell two very different stories. HD-23 and HD-26 are safe seats -- one deep red, one college-town blue -- where the general election outcome is not in doubt. HD-24 and HD-25 are suburban battlegrounds that sit squarely on the DLCC's "Break the Supermajority" target list. The fact that all four have contested primaries but effectively uncontested generals (single-party opposition only, no cross-filed third-party candidates creating three-way dynamics) puts them in this batch -- but two of these races will be among the most closely watched state legislative contests in Indiana in 2026.
HD-23: Rural North-Central Indiana (Safe R)
The District
House District 23 covers Cass and Miami counties in north-central Indiana. [1] This is rural, agricultural heartland -- the kind of district where the general election is decided in the Republican primary. The largest community is Logansport (Cass County seat, population roughly 18,000); the other significant town is Peru (Miami County seat, roughly 11,000). The economy is anchored in agriculture, light manufacturing, and healthcare. Manning won with 73.9% in 2024 and ran unopposed in 2022. [2]
Ethan Manning (R, Incumbent)
Ethan Manning was first elected in 2018, succeeding Bill Friend. He was raised near Macy, Indiana, on his family farm and graduated from North Miami High School in 2010. He studied business management at Purdue University Fort Wayne for two years before earning a B.S. in business management from Western Governors University. He also holds a broker's license from the Real Estate Career Institute. [1] [3]
Manning's career straddles agriculture and politics. He is a broker and auctioneer at Carriger Oldfather Realty, runs Manning Auctions, and co-owns Manning Cattle Company, the family operation raising commercial Angus beef cattle, corn, and hay. Before his election to the House, he served on the Miami County Council from 2014 to 2018 (president from 2016), chaired the Miami County Republican Party, and was appointed by Governor Mike Pence to the Indiana State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers, serving as board president in 2018. Earlier, from 2011 to 2012, he worked as assistant northeast Indiana political director in Senator Richard Lugar's district office and chaired the Indiana Federation of College Republicans in 2012-2013. [1] [3]
In the House, Manning chairs the Public Policy Committee and serves on the Rules and Legislative Procedures Committee. He is listed under "leadership" on the House Republican caucus website. His legislative portfolio includes pension investment protections, infrastructure security from foreign threats, rural healthcare access, school bus safety, and nursing shortage relief. He authored or sponsored five laws during his first session -- the most of any first-term legislator. [4]
He and his wife Bridget, a physician at Logansport Memorial Hospital, live in rural Cass County. He is active in the Peru Rotary Club and Grissom Community Council. [4]
Austin Meives (D, Challenger)
Austin Meives is running a long-shot challenge in a district where the last Democrat managed 26.1%. Meives had no political involvement until roughly a year before filing. In an interview with Progressive Indiana, he described going from zero political engagement to taking on an incumbent state representative. He emphasized that legislators should serve "the little guy, the regular people who show up to vote, not the bankers and industrialists." [5]
Meives has been candid about personal struggles, including an amphetamine addiction and mental health crisis following what he described as "severe heartbreak in 2020." He is several years sober and frames himself as someone whose lived experience makes him more relatable to constituents facing similar challenges. He cites Jimmy Carter as a political inspiration -- not for his politics but for his demonstration of decency and meaningful post-presidential service through Habitat for Humanity. [5]
No campaign finance data, endorsements, or institutional support have surfaced in public reporting for Meives's 2026 campaign.
HD-23 Bottom Line
This is not competitive. Manning won 73.9% in 2024 in a two-way race and ran unopposed in 2022. In a rural district anchored in Cass and Miami counties, the structural advantage is overwhelming. Meives's candidacy ensures voters have a choice on the ballot. It will not change the outcome.
HD-24: Hamilton-Boone Suburban Growth Corridor (DLCC Target)
The District
House District 24 includes portions of Carmel, Sheridan, and Westfield in Hamilton County, plus Zionsville in Boone County. [6] This is one of the fastest-growing corridors in Indiana. Boone County had the state's second-largest population percentage increase in 2025 (2.4%). Hamilton County communities -- Carmel, Westfield, and Sheridan -- are among Indiana's most affluent suburbs. New neighborhoods are rising next to cornfields, schools are expanding faster than their budgets, and the district's demographics are shifting as young families move in for the same package: strong schools, safe neighborhoods, and affordable (relative to coastal markets) housing. [7]
The partisan lean is Republican, but not comfortably so. Donna Schaibley held the seat from 2014 to 2024, winning 56.6% in 2022 in a three-way race. When Schaibley retired, Hunter Smith won the open seat in 2024 with 56.2% against Democrat Josh Lowry's 43.8%. [2] That 12-point margin is competitive by Indiana standards and puts HD-24 squarely on the Democratic target list.
The Indiana Democratic Party's "Break the Supermajority" campaign includes HD-24 as one of six targeted House districts, and the DLCC designated Indiana as a 2026 "Powerbuild" state specifically aimed at breaking the Republican House supermajority. [8]
Hunter Smith (R, Incumbent)
Hunter Smith is a former NFL punter, a Super Bowl champion, a Notre Dame graduate, a regenerative farmer, a Christian musician, a published author, and a first-term state legislator. That resume is unusual for a state representative, and it explains how he won an open-seat primary with 62% against business owner Bill Gutrich. [9]
Smith was born on August 9, 1977, in Sherman, Texas, and played football at the University of Notre Dame, where he earned degrees in theology and sociology (1999). The Indianapolis Colts selected him in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft (210th overall). He spent 10 seasons as the Colts' punter (1999-2008) and two with the Washington Redskins (2009-2010), recording 691 career punts with a 43-yard average. He won Super Bowl XLI with the Colts, defeating the Chicago Bears. He became the first special-teams player in NFL history to run and pass for a touchdown in the same season (2009). [9]
After retiring from football, Smith pursued music as the founding member of the acoustic duo Connersvine and later The Hunter Smith Band, performing Christian music. He published "The Jersey Effect: Beyond the World Championship" in 2012, examining Super Bowl XLI players' post-championship experiences. He and his wife Jen established WonderTree Farm in Zionsville, focusing on regenerative farming practices. [9]
In the legislature, Smith sits on the Agriculture and Rural Development, Education, and Environmental Affairs committees. He has authored legislation reducing restrictions on local food producers, which advanced to gubernatorial review as of February 2026. [6]
Smith lives in Zionsville with his wife and four children: Josiah, Samuel, Lydia, and Beau.
Racheal Bleicher (D, Challenger)
Racheal Bleicher is a Westfield resident who announced her candidacy on October 16, 2025. Originally from southern Illinois, she earned a B.S. in hospitality administration from Northern Illinois University. She works as a field sales manager at a technology company, leading a team across Indiana, southern Ohio, and Kentucky, and has completed her company's Emerging Leaders Program and Sales Leadership Academy. [10]
Bleicher moved to Westfield in 2020 with her husband Josh and their two daughters. Her community involvement includes serving as vice president of marketing for the Junior League of Indianapolis, membership chair for the Westfield Democrats Club, and volunteering with Changing Footprints, Gleaners Food Bank, and the Indiana Diaper Bank. [10]
Her platform centers on environmental sustainability, smart development that balances growth with community character, fiscal transparency, fully-funded public schools, and effective community investment. She has framed her candidacy around the district's rapid growth: "Schools expanding faster than their budgets" and families who "felt unheard" by current representation. [7] [11]
This is Bleicher's first campaign for public office. She supported Democratic candidates in HD-24 in 2022 and 2024 before deciding to run herself.
HD-24 Bottom Line
HD-24 is a genuine target but an uphill fight for Democrats. The 56% Republican floor in recent cycles means Bleicher needs to outperform Josh Lowry's 43.8% by a significant margin while running against an incumbent with high name recognition, a Super Bowl ring, and a compelling personal story. Smith's celebrity and agricultural credentials give him crossover appeal that a generic Republican would not have. The district's rapid demographic change -- younger, more diverse, more suburban -- provides a theoretical opening, but converting that into votes against a well-known incumbent is a different problem than winning an open seat. The DLCC and state party targeting will bring some resources, but this is likely a longer-term project than a 2026 pickup.
HD-25: Zionsville-Brownsburg Razor's Edge (DLCC Target, Rematch)
The District
House District 25 covers portions of Boone and Hendricks counties, including Zionsville, Whitestown, Lebanon, and northeastern Brownsburg (specifically Pittsboro and the northeast corner of Hendricks County). [12] Like HD-24, this is suburban Indianapolis territory where growth is transforming the electorate.
This district produced the closest state legislative race in Indiana in 2024: Becky Cash defeated Tiffany Stoner by 64 votes -- a 0.17% margin out of 37,524 ballots cast. Cash won 18,794 to Stoner's 18,730. [2] In 2022, Cash's first race, she won 52.7% against Jen Bass-Patino's 47.3%. [2]
HD-25 is on the Indiana Democratic Party's six-district target list and falls under the DLCC's "Powerbuild" designation for breaking the Indiana House supermajority. [8] Of the six targeted seats, this one has the strongest empirical case: a 64-vote margin is not a theoretical opening, it is a proven one.
Becky Cash (R, Incumbent)
Becky Cash was first elected in 2022, succeeding Donald Lehe. Born in Green Bay, Wisconsin (1975-76), she earned a bachelor's degree from Bowling Green State University in 1998 and holds a certification from Steubenville University. She is a naturopathic practitioner who owns Indy Natural Health Center and has spent over 15 years helping parents navigate services for children with special needs, including through ASD Perspectives (focused on autism spectrum disorder). She and her husband Chris run a nutrition business together. [12] [13]
In the House, Cash serves as vice chair of the Veterans Affairs and Public Safety Committee and sits on the Education and Employment, Labor and Pensions committees. She has authored legislation expanding employer childcare tax credits, addressing untested rape kit backlogs, expanding mental health treatment access, and protecting special education students. [13]
Cash has accumulated a broad institutional endorsement portfolio: the Fraternal Order of Police, firefighter unions, NFIB, county sheriffs, Americans for Prosperity, and Indiana Merit Construction PAC. She is described as "the only candidate in this race endorsed by ALL the state and local fire and police unions." [14]
Cash and her husband live in Zionsville with five of their six children. The family is active in ministry at St. Alphonsus Liguori Catholic Church. She is a member of the Boone County Republican Women, Indiana Federation of Republican Women, and Stand for Health Freedom. [13]
Tiffany Stoner (D, Challenger -- Rematch)
Tiffany Stoner lost to Cash by 64 votes in 2024 and relaunched her campaign in July 2025 for a rematch. She has lived in Indiana for 26 years, is a mother of four, and is married to a colonel and combat veteran in the Army Reserves. [15]
Stoner holds a master's degree in information and communications sciences from Ball State University (1994). She spent 17 years as a network architect and senior program manager at Accenture, one of the largest global consulting firms. She is also an entrepreneur who co-founded an international award-winning commercial photography business with her brother in 2001. During the pandemic, she photographed 650 families at their doorsteps from the rooftop of her truck. [15] [16]
Her platform centers on public education funding (opposing voucher programs), women's reproductive health rights, property tax caps (5% annual growth limit), and gas tax restructuring. She has been endorsed by Veterans for Indiana, education unions (ISTA and AFT), labor organizations (AFL-CIO, UAW), reproductive rights groups (Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates), and the Better Indiana PAC. [14] [17]
As of December 31, 2025, Stoner's campaign had raised $46,737 in total contributions with $9,226 in total expenditures. [18] She spent the seven months between her 2024 loss and her 2026 relaunch meeting with local leaders, teachers, parents, and young people in District 25.
The Indiana Democratic Party considered but ultimately declined to seek a recount or contest the 2024 results despite noting "potentially hundreds of ballots left uncounted due to irregularities." [19] The decision was framed as pragmatic rather than conceding the race was fair.
HD-25 Bottom Line
This is the most competitive race in the batch and arguably one of the most competitive state House races in Indiana in 2026. A 64-vote margin is as close as elections get. Stoner has the advantage of a proven electorate -- she knows exactly how close she can get -- and a ready-made base of nearly 19,000 voters who already chose her once. Cash has the advantage of incumbency, institutional endorsements, and the structural lean of a district that remains nominally Republican. The DLCC and state party targeting will channel resources here. Both candidates will have stronger campaigns than in 2024. Whether the 2026 national environment favors Democrats (as it often does in midterms for the party out of federal power) or Republicans (given Indiana's structural red lean) could be the deciding factor in a race this close.
HD-26: West Lafayette / Purdue (Safe D)
The District
House District 26 covers West Lafayette and extends westward within Tippecanoe County. [20] This is a college-town district dominated by Purdue University and its surrounding community. The district is compact, urban by Indiana standards, and structurally Democratic -- the combination of a major research university, its associated professional class, and a diverse student body creates an electorate that reliably favors Democrats at the state level.
Chris Campbell has won this seat four times with increasing margins: she defeated Republican incumbent Sally Siegrist by 13 points in 2018, won reelection in 2020, took 59.9% in 2022 against Fred Duttlinger, and won 64.1% in 2024 against James Schenke. [2] [21] That trajectory -- increasing margins in each cycle -- reflects both Campbell's deepening incumbency advantage and the district's continued leftward drift.
Chris Campbell (D, Incumbent)
Chris Campbell is an audiologist in Lafayette who has represented HD-26 since 2018. She earned a bachelor's degree in speech and audiology (1990) and a master's degree in audiology (1992) from Purdue University. She has worked for an ENT office in Lafayette since 2009. [20]
In the House, Campbell serves as ranking Democrat on the Insurance Committee and sits on the Ways and Means Committee (the budget-writing panel) and the Government and Regulatory Reform Committee. The Ways and Means assignment is significant -- it is one of the most powerful committees in the chamber, and her seat there means the minority party has a voice (however limited) in budget negotiations. [20]
Campbell's community involvement is extensive: she serves on the Indiana Board of the American Red Cross, Lafayette Transitional Housing, and Adult Learners, Inc.; volunteers with Greater Lafayette Junior Achievement; and is an active member of the Greater Lafayette League of Women Voters, the Lafayette Rotary Club, and Harrison Kiwanis. She previously served on the West Lafayette Library Board, the West Lafayette Redevelopment Commission, and the executive board of the Indiana Speech and Hearing Association. [20]
Her legislative priorities since first winning in 2018 have centered on public education funding -- specifically opposing the diversion of funds to voucher and charter schools -- living wages, and opioid epidemic response. Her 2018 campaign explicitly argued that "funds that have been diverted away from our schools to vouchers and charter schools have been very damaging to our schools throughout the state." [21]
Magdalaine Davis (R, Challenger)
Magdalaine Davis filed as a Republican candidate on February 6, 2026, the last day of the filing window. [22] No biographical information, campaign website, campaign finance filings, endorsements, or public statements have surfaced in available reporting. She joins a list of Republican challengers who have attempted to unseat Campbell in this district -- none has come within 13 points.
HD-26 Bottom Line
This is not competitive. Campbell's margins have grown in every cycle, from her initial 13-point upset in 2018 to her 28-point win in 2024. A college-town district centered on Purdue University is structurally Democratic at the state level. Davis's last-day filing and absence from public reporting suggest a placeholder candidacy rather than a serious challenge. Campbell will win a fifth term.
What This Batch Reveals
The four districts divide cleanly into two categories: safe seats (HD-23 and HD-26) where the general election is a formality, and DLCC targets (HD-24 and HD-25) where Democrats see a realistic path to breaking the Republican House supermajority.
HD-25 is the headline. A 64-vote margin in 2024 makes the Cash-Stoner rematch one of the most empirically competitive state legislative races in the country. Everything that matters -- candidate quality, fundraising parity, turnout operations, national environment -- will be tested here in a way that HD-23's 47-point margin and HD-26's 28-point margin never will be.
HD-24 is the longer-term project. Hunter Smith's name recognition and biography give him a buffer that a generic Republican would not have, but the district's demographic trajectory -- younger, growing, increasingly suburban -- aligns with the profile of districts Democrats have flipped in other states. Whether 2026 is the cycle or merely the foundation for a future attempt depends on variables outside Bleicher's control.
The safe seats, meanwhile, illustrate how Indiana's legislative map creates uncompetitive races at both ends. Manning's 74% and Campbell's 64% represent districts drawn or evolved to favor one party so heavily that the general election is an afterthought. The real contest in HD-23 was the Republican primary that Manning last faced in 2018. The real contest in HD-26 was whether the district itself would continue trending left -- and it has, decisively.