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Indiana's 3rd Congressional District election, 2026 (May 5 Democratic primary)

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← 2024
Indiana's 3rd Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: February 6, 2026
Primary: May 5, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Voting in Indiana

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Indiana's 3rd Congressional District
1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th
Indiana elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

A Democratic Party primary takes place on May 5, 2026, in Indiana's 3rd Congressional District to determine which Democratic candidate will run in the district's general election on November 3, 2026.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
February 6, 2026
May 5, 2026
November 3, 2026



A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Indiana law requires a closed primary, where a voter must be affiliated with a party to vote in that party's primary. This includes if they voted for a majority of that party’s candidates in the last general election or plan to in the upcoming election. However, it is possible for any voter to vote in any party's primary so long as they meet this criteria.[1]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

This page focuses on Indiana's 3rd Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 3

Phil Goss (D) and Kelly Thompson (D) are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 3 on May 5, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Phil Goss
Phil Goss
Image of Kelly Thompson
Kelly Thompson  Candidate Connection

There are no incumbents in this race.

Candidate Connection = 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.

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Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Kelly Thompson

Image of Kelly Thompson

WebsiteFacebookX

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Submitted Biography:  "Kelly Thompson is a Hoosier business owner, non profit founder, and lifelong advocate for families and children. Kelly graduated Salutatorian from Tippecanoe Valley High School, attended Valporaiso University's Honor's College, Christ College before moving to Florida with her family to graduate with her BS in Business Administration from University of Central Florida. Kelly is a member of the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, NOW, Habitat for Humanity and Human Rights Watch. Her career experience outside of her business has been as a substitute teacher, a visiting pastor of the local jail ministry where she counseled inmates."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

A government of the people, by the people and for the people is still a goal in this country. Working families are struggling to put a roof over their head, food on the table, access medical care, and get a good education. The reason we are all struggling is because for far too long the people in power have not felt our pain. Because of this they both blame us for our struggles and shame us when we bravely ask for our tax dollars to actually work for US. Let's elect people who are both committed to fight for all of us and brave enough to hold the line when pressure to cave to corporate and political influence inevitably comes.

As a woman with a business degree and a small business owner I see the defunding and attack on public education as not just insulting and cruel, but unsustainable. A strong and well funded public education system is necessary to compete and survive in a global economy. Not only do we owe it to our kids but we as a country benefit from high quality education. It is a matter of fiscal responsibility and national security. But we can't stop there. We have real needs as a country for skilled and educated labor. To not help our people meet those needs is short sighted and dangerous.

We have a uniquely American problem with access to healthcare. The number one reason for bankruptcy in this country is medical debt. On average we pay 12% of our income on medical expenses. We can reduce that to 5% by moving to a single payor system. As a mother, I know the fear of having to make a run to the ER not knowing, even WITH insurance, what my bill will be. As a daughter, I have experienced the frustration of my mother's insurance company making health care decisions, overriding her oncologist, as she is battling breast cancer. Inefficient private insurance companies are taking our premiums, refusing treatment, and cashing bonus checks . It's time to provide heath care to everyone regardless of our net worth.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Indiana

Election information in Indiana: May 5, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: April 6, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by April 6, 2026
  • Online: April 6, 2026

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

  • In-person: April 23, 2026
  • By mail: Received by April 23, 2026
  • Online: April 23, 2026

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

  • In-person: May 5, 2026
  • By mail: Received by May 5, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

April 7, 2026 to May 4, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (ET/CT)

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Phil Goss Democratic Party $56,566 $57,191 $2,706 As of September 30, 2025
Kelly Thompson Democratic Party $26,096 $11,424 $14,672 As of September 30, 2025

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

  • District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
  • Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
  • State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.


Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

2023_01_03_in_congressional_district_03.jpg
See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026
Information about competitiveness will be added here as it becomes available.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+16. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 16 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Indiana's 3rd the 65th most Republican district nationally.[2]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.

2024 presidential results in Indiana's 3rd Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
34.0% 65.0%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Indiana, 2024

Indiana presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 5 Democratic wins
  • 27 Republican wins
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winning Party R R R D R R R R D D R R R R R R D R R R R R R R R R R D R R R R
See also: Party control of Indiana state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Indiana's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Indiana
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 0 2 2
Republican 2 7 9
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 9 11

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Indiana's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Indiana, October 2025
Office Officeholder
Governor Republican Party Mike Braun
Lieutenant Governor Republican Party Micah Beckwith
Secretary of State Republican Party Diego Morales
Attorney General Republican Party Todd Rokita

State legislature

Indiana State Senate

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 10
     Republican Party 40
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 50

Indiana House of Representatives

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 29
     Republican Party 70
     Other 0
     Vacancies 1
Total 100

Trifecta control

Indiana Party Control: 1992-2025
No Democratic trifectas  •  Seventeen years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
Senate R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
House D D D R R D D D D D D D D R R D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Indiana in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Indiana, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Indiana U.S. House Ballot-qualified party N/A (only declaration of candidacy required) N/A 2/6/2026 Source
Indiana U.S. House Unaffiliated 2% of total votes cast for the secretary of state in the district in the last election N/A 7/15/2026 Source

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Indiana General Assembly, "Ind. Code § 3–10–1–6," accessed December 5, 2025
  2. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025


Indiana's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Jim Banks (R)
Todd Young (R)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
Jim Baird (R)
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
Republican Party (9)
Democratic Party (2)


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