Brandon Hood

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Brandon Hood

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

June 2, 2020

Personal

Birthplace

Shelbyville, Ind.

Profession

Residential remodeling contractor

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal Facebook

Brandon Hood (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Indiana's 9th Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on June 2, 2020.

Hood completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Brandon Hood was born in Shelbyville, Indiana. He obtained an undergraduate degree from Ivy Tech Community College. His professional experience includes working as a residential remodeling contractor.

Elections

2020

See also: Indiana's 9th Congressional District election, 2020

Indiana's 9th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 2 Republican primary)

Indiana's 9th Congressional District election, 2020 (June 2 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Indiana District 9

Incumbent Trey Hollingsworth defeated Andy Ruff and Tonya Millis in the general election for U.S. House Indiana District 9 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Trey Hollingsworth (R)	60.9	218,606
		Andy Ruff (D)	34.8	124,826
		Tonya Millis (L)	4.3	15,601

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 359,033
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• John Tilford (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 9

Andy Ruff defeated Mark J. Powell, D. Liam Dorris, Brandon Hood, and James O'Gabhann III in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 9 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andy Ruff	43.7	21,626
		Mark J. Powell	19.9	9,872
		D. Liam Dorris	15.8	7,813
		Brandon Hood	13.9	6,899
	Submit photo	James O'Gabhann III	6.7	3,306

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 49,516
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 9

Incumbent Trey Hollingsworth advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 9 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Trey Hollingsworth	100.0	62,962

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 62,962
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Indiana District 9

Tonya Millis advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. House Indiana District 9 on March 7, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Tonya Millis (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Hood was endorsed by The Rose Caucus and Demand Universal Healthcare.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Brandon Hood completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hood's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Brandon seems like an average guy aside from taking on the extraordinary responsibility of running for federal office. A son of Indiana, born and raised in Shelbyville, he moved to Bloomington at the age of 19. His formative years taught him the value of self-respect, hard work and being a team player. His family has always been his top priority, followed closely by his neighbors, friends and community.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• We must establish a universal basic standard of living. No American should be homeless, hungry or sick without care.
• Abolish the drug war and repair the damages caused. This is the longest war in American history.
• No political party has all the answers. We must move beyond partisanship to make the best choices for all Americans.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Criminal justice reform is my top issue, including reparations. The private prison industry and militarization of the police must be abolished along with the DEA. Tens of millions of lives have been ruined by these racist policies. We must repair the damage caused as possible and compensate victims and their families for the suffering wrought.

The public goods of health, decent housing, and education are basic human needs; therefore, they must be afforded through public funds. None of these are luxuries. The measure of any society's achievement is in the quality of life of its poorest people.

Fossil fuels are obsolete. Ending their use is necessary to protect the health of people who suffer from the toxic pollutants released into our communities. The next decade must be a complete transition from our current crumbling infrastructure to a state-of-the-art inter-regional transit system, powered by sustainable energy.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Malcom X, Harriet Tubman, James Baldwin, and Jacque Fresco. These are people who didn't settle for the status-quo, envisioned something better and worked to be the change they wanted to see in the world.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

A strong moral compass, the ability to lead decisively and give the people what they need even if it's not popular at the time. Decisive leaders don't wait for polling results to make tough choices.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I'm decisive and enjoy problem solving. I'm great at learning on the job and adapting to new surroundings. It doesn't matter how far things get off track, I don't stop until the job is done.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To provide real representation to underrepresented constituencies by writing and voting on bills in a way that represents their best interest. Everyday Americans are the majority of my constituents and that's who I'm going to Washington to represent.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I want people to remember that I never backed down from a real challenge and I always put the People first. That's the type of representation I've wanted my entire voting life.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The first historical event that I really remember is the World Trade Center attacks on September 11th 2001.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I was a dishwasher at Hamilton House for almost a year starting out at $4.25/hr.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy because Hobbits represent the power in each individual to change the world. I remember never wanting the story to end.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

I would be Sherlock Holmes. Those books were my favorite to read when I was growing up.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Sitting on the Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I've been incarcerated, lived paycheck-to-paycheck, raised children, run a home remodeling business, and protested atrocities. Struggle and loss in life is unfortunately common, so much so that I'm sure many reading this share these experiences.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

The threat of extreme weather, the warmest years on record and sea level rise are all an existential threat. We must completely get fossil fuels out of the supply chain.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2020 Elections

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Government

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External links

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Footnotes

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Indiana's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Jim Banks (R)

Todd Young (R)

Representatives

District 1

Frank Mrvan (D)

District 2

Rudy Yakym (R)

District 3

Marlin Stutzman (R)

District 4

Jim Baird (R)

District 5

Victoria Spartz (R)

District 6

Jefferson Shreve (R)

District 7

André Carson (D)

District 8

Mark Messmer (R)

District 9

Erin Houchin (R)

Republican Party (9)

Democratic Party (2)