Indiana's 7th Congressional District election, 2020

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2022
2018
Indiana's 7th Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: February 7, 2020
Primary: June 2, 2020
General: November 3, 2020

Pre-election incumbent:
André Carson (Democrat)
How to vote
Poll times: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Voting in Indiana
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
Indiana's 7th Congressional District
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Indiana elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

All U.S. congressional districts, including the 7th Congressional District of Indiana, held elections in 2020.

Incumbent André Carson won election in the general election for U.S. House Indiana District 7.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
February 7, 2020
June 2, 2020
November 3, 2020


Heading into the election the incumbent was Democrat André Carson, who was first elected in 2008.

Indiana's 7th Congressional District is located in the center of the state. It includes most of Marion County and the city of Indianapolis.[1]

Post-election analysis

The table below compares the vote totals in the 2020 presidential election and 2020 U.S. House election for this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

Presidential and congressional election results, Indiana's 7th Congressional District, 2020
Race Presidential U.S. House
Democratic candidate Democratic Party 62.9 62.4
Republican candidate Republican Party 35.3 37.6
Difference 27.6 24.8

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Indiana did not modify any procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

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Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Indiana District 7

Incumbent André Carson defeated Susan Marie Smith in the general election for U.S. House Indiana District 7 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of André Carson
André Carson (D)
 
62.4
 
176,422
Image of Susan Marie Smith
Susan Marie Smith (R) Candidate Connection
 
37.6
 
106,146

Total votes: 282,568
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 7

Incumbent André Carson defeated Pierre Quincy Pullins in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 7 on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of André Carson
André Carson
 
91.8
 
62,117
Image of Pierre Quincy Pullins
Pierre Quincy Pullins
 
8.2
 
5,572

Total votes: 67,689
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 7

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 7 on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Susan Marie Smith
Susan Marie Smith Candidate Connection
 
43.1
 
10,705
Douglas Merrill
 
14.2
 
3,519
Image of J.D. Miniear
J.D. Miniear
 
14.2
 
3,517
Jon Davis
 
10.9
 
2,712
Martin Ramey
 
8.9
 
2,209
Image of Gerald Walters
Gerald Walters Candidate Connection
 
8.8
 
2,189

Total votes: 24,851
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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Five of 92 Indiana counties—5 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Delaware County, Indiana 13.43% 3.12% 14.98%
LaPorte County, Indiana 6.33% 12.57% 22.04%
Perry County, Indiana 18.55% 11.59% 22.84%
Porter County, Indiana 6.59% 3.90% 7.20%
Vigo County, Indiana 14.97% 0.86% 15.83%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Indiana with 56.9 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 37.8 percent. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) was Trump's running mate. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Indiana voted Republican 83.33 percent of the time and Democratic 16.67 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Indiana voted Republican four times and Democratic once when it voted for Barack Obama in 2008.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Indiana. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[2][3]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 28 out of 100 state House districts in Indiana with an average margin of victory of 32.8 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 25 out of 100 state House districts in Indiana with an average margin of victory of 32.9 points. Clinton won one district controlled by a Republican heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 72 out of 100 state House districts in Indiana with an average margin of victory of 25.3 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 75 out of 100 state House districts in Indiana with an average margin of victory of 34.3 points. Trump won six districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.

District analysis

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

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+11, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 11 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Indiana's 7th Congressional District the 111th most Democratic nationally.[4]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.96. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.96 points toward that party.[5]

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[6] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[7] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
André Carson Democratic Party $1,020,534 $882,862 $988,170 As of December 31, 2020
Susan Marie Smith Republican Party $62,905 $59,843 $1,857 As of December 31, 2020

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. 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.


Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[8]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[9][10][11]

Race ratings: Indiana's 7th Congressional District election, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

District election history

2018

See also: Indiana's 7th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Indiana District 7

Incumbent André Carson defeated Wayne Harmon in the general election for U.S. House Indiana District 7 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of André Carson
André Carson (D)
 
64.9
 
141,139
Image of Wayne Harmon
Wayne Harmon (R)
 
35.1
 
76,457

Total votes: 217,596
(100.00% precincts reporting)
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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 7

Incumbent André Carson defeated Sue Spicer, Curtis Godfrey, Bob Kern, and Pierre Quincy Pullins in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 7 on May 8, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of André Carson
André Carson
 
88.0
 
37,662
Image of Sue Spicer
Sue Spicer
 
8.2
 
3,499
Image of Curtis Godfrey
Curtis Godfrey
 
1.7
 
725
Image of Bob Kern
Bob Kern
 
1.6
 
704
Image of Pierre Quincy Pullins
Pierre Quincy Pullins
 
0.5
 
226

Total votes: 42,816
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 7

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 7 on May 8, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Wayne Harmon
Wayne Harmon
 
28.8
 
6,547
Image of Donald Eason
Donald Eason
 
19.2
 
4,354
Image of John L. Couch
John L. Couch Candidate Connection
 
15.2
 
3,464
Image of J.D. Miniear
J.D. Miniear
 
13.6
 
3,087
Jon Davis
 
11.9
 
2,703
Tony Van Pelt
 
11.3
 
2,568

Total votes: 22,723
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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2016

See also: Indiana's 7th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent André Carson (D) defeated Catherine Ping (R) and Drew Thompson (L) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Carson defeated Curtis Godfrey and Pierre Quincy Pullins in the Democratic primary, while Ping defeated Wayne Harmon and J.D. Miniear to win the Republican nomination. The primary elections took place on May 3, 2016.[12][13]

U.S. House, Indiana District 7 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngAndré Carson Incumbent 60% 158,739
     Republican Catherine Ping 35.7% 94,456
     Libertarian Drew Thompson 4.3% 11,475
Total Votes 264,670
Source: Indiana Division of Elections


U.S. House, Indiana District 7 Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngCatherine Ping 53.1% 30,514
Wayne Harmon 29.5% 16,955
J.D. Miniear 17.4% 10,031
Total Votes 57,500
Source: Indiana Secretary of State
U.S. House, Indiana District 7 Democratic Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngAndré Carson Incumbent 85.6% 70,006
Curtis Godfrey 10.2% 8,306
Pierre Pullins 4.2% 3,435
Total Votes 81,747
Source: Indiana Secretary of State

2014

See also: Indiana's 7th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 7th Congressional District of Indiana held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. André Carson (D) defeated Catherine Ping (R) and Chris Mayo (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Indiana District 7 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngAndré Carson Incumbent 54.7% 61,443
     Republican Catherine Ping 41.8% 46,887
     Libertarian Chris Mayo 3.5% 3,931
Total Votes 112,261
Source: Indiana Secretary of State Official Results

See also

External links

Footnotes


Senators
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)