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Indiana's 7th Congressional District election, 2026

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2024
Indiana's 7th Congressional District
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
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 Democratic
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
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, 2026
See also
Indiana's 7th Congressional District
1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th
Indiana elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

All U.S. House districts, including the 7th Congressional District of Indiana, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. The primary is May 5, 2026. The filing deadline is February 6, 2026. For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

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

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House Indiana District 7

Incumbent André Carson, George Hornedo, Trapper Stewart, and Felipe Rios are running in the general election for U.S. House Indiana District 7 on November 3, 2026.


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.

Image of George Hornedo

WebsiteFacebookXYouTube

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography "Indianapolis raised me—now I’m stepping up to fight for it. I grew up and still live on the Northside, where I learned the values that guide me every day: hard work, resilience, and a deep commitment to community. Those lessons shaped who I am and inspired my career in public service. Throughout my professional life, I’ve worked at the highest levels of state and national Democratic politics, including serving in the Obama Administration at the U.S. Department of Justice. Whether it was working on civil rights or leading national outreach efforts at the Obama Foundation to reimagine policing, I’ve focused on bringing people together to solve tough challenges. I also believe education is a cornerstone of opportunity. After graduating from Cornell, Harvard, and George Washington University Law School, I dedicated my career to advancing policies that expand access to resources, build safer neighborhoods, and create economic opportunity. Now, I’m running for Congress to bring that experience home. Indianapolis deserves leadership with the vision and determination to take on our toughest challenges and deliver results for every Hoosier."


Key Messages

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


A Seat That’s Not Delivering Rep. Andre Carson is consistently ranked as one of the least effective members of Congress by the nonpartisan Center for Effective Lawmaking. Seventeen years in office. No leadership role. No legislative impact. And in a moment this urgent, that’s a seat being wasted. Indianapolis deserves stronger, more accountable representation—someone who can do more for the people who live here.


Party Infrastructure Is Collapsing in Indiana When Democrats were winning statewide, it was because Indianapolis was organized—it anchored turnout and built the bench. That infrastructure has completely hollowed out. Under Rep. Carson’s watch, this district now ranks last in voter turnout in the entire state—dragging Democrats down across Indiana. George is running to rebuild it—not just to win this race, but to help bring Indiana Democrats back to life.


This Isn’t Left vs. Right—It’s Decline vs. Direction The real divide in the Democratic Party isn’t about age or ideology. It’s between those managing decline—and those building what comes next. Rep. Carson believes our institutions mostly work—and that the job of a Democrat is to defend them. For him, fighting back means standing behind Chuck Schumer at a press conference. George believes that when Democrats win back power, we won’t be walking into the same government. Trump and Musk are actively dismantling public systems. The task ahead isn’t just to protect what’s left—it’s to build something better than what we had. That’s the difference. And that’s why this race matters.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Indiana

Election information in Indiana: Nov. 3, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: Oct. 5, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 5, 2026
  • Online: Oct. 5, 2026

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

No

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

  • In-person: Oct. 22, 2026
  • By mail: Received by Oct. 22, 2026
  • Online: Oct. 22, 2026

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

  • In-person: Nov. 3, 2026
  • By mail: Received by Nov. 3, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 6, 2026 to Nov. 2, 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)


Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

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.

Expand all | Collapse all

A Seat That’s Not Delivering

Rep. Andre Carson is consistently ranked as one of the least effective members of Congress by the nonpartisan Center for Effective Lawmaking.

Seventeen years in office. No leadership role. No legislative impact. And in a moment this urgent, that’s a seat being wasted.

Indianapolis deserves stronger, more accountable representation—someone who can do more for the people who live here.

Party Infrastructure Is Collapsing in Indiana

When Democrats were winning statewide, it was because Indianapolis was organized—it anchored turnout and built the bench.

That infrastructure has completely hollowed out. Under Rep. Carson’s watch, this district now ranks last in voter turnout in the entire state—dragging Democrats down across Indiana.

George is running to rebuild it—not just to win this race, but to help bring Indiana Democrats back to life.

This Isn’t Left vs. Right—It’s Decline vs. Direction

The real divide in the Democratic Party isn’t about age or ideology. It’s between those managing decline—and those building what comes next.

Rep. Carson believes our institutions mostly work—and that the job of a Democrat is to defend them. For him, fighting back means standing behind Chuck Schumer at a press conference.

George believes that when Democrats win back power, we won’t be walking into the same government. Trump and Musk are actively dismantling public systems. The task ahead isn’t just to protect what’s left—it’s to build something better than what we had.

That’s the difference. And that’s why this race matters.
Indianapolis is a city of grit, resilience, and potential—but right now, too many people are doing everything right

and still falling behind. Wages haven’t kept up. Housing is unaffordable. Public safety is inconsistent. And a political system that’s supposed to serve the people too often serves itself instead.

The problem isn’t that solutions don’t exist. It’s that the people in charge haven’t acted.

The Fair Shot Agenda is a plan to change that. It’s about getting government back to work—for the people who

make this city run. It’s built to fix what’s broken, close the gap between policy and daily life, and make sure no one is left behind.


You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
André Carson Democratic Party $485,445 $307,720 $627,148 As of September 30, 2025
George Hornedo Democratic Party $175,887 $133,022 $42,866 As of September 30, 2025
Trapper Stewart Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Felipe Rios Republican Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

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.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

General 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.[1]
  • 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.[2][3][4]

Race ratings: Indiana's 7th Congressional District election, 2026
Race trackerRace ratings
12/23/202512/16/202512/9/202512/2/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy WalterSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Decision Desk HQ and The HillPendingPendingPendingPending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

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


District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.

General election

General election for U.S. House Indiana District 7

Incumbent André Carson (D) defeated John Schmitz (R) and Rusty Johnson (L) in the general election for U.S. House Indiana District 7 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of André Carson
André Carson (D)
 
68.3
 
185,987
Image of John Schmitz
John Schmitz (R)
 
29.0
 
78,792
Image of Rusty Johnson
Rusty Johnson (L)
 
2.7
 
7,369

Total votes: 272,148
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 7

Incumbent André Carson (D) defeated Curtis Godfrey (D) and Pierre Quincy Pullins (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 7 on May 7, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of André Carson
André Carson
 
91.1
 
30,868
Image of Curtis Godfrey
Curtis Godfrey
 
5.4
 
1,845
Image of Pierre Quincy Pullins
Pierre Quincy Pullins
 
3.5
 
1,178

Total votes: 33,891
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 7

Jennifer Pace (R) defeated Catherine Ping (R), Philip N. Davis (R), and Gabriel Whitley (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 7 on May 7, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jennifer Pace
Jennifer Pace  Candidate Connection
 
31.2
 
7,716
Image of Catherine Ping
Catherine Ping
 
29.9
 
7,390
Image of Philip N. Davis
Philip N. Davis  Candidate Connection
 
25.7
 
6,364
Image of Gabriel Whitley
Gabriel Whitley
 
13.1
 
3,249

Total votes: 24,719
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian Party convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Indiana District 7

Rusty Johnson (L) advanced from the Libertarian Party convention for U.S. House Indiana District 7 on March 2, 2024.

Candidate
Image of Rusty Johnson
Rusty Johnson

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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

General election

General election for U.S. House Indiana District 7

Incumbent André Carson (D) defeated Angela Grabovsky (R) and Gavin Maple (L) in the general election for U.S. House Indiana District 7 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of André Carson
André Carson (D)
 
67.0
 
117,309
Image of Angela Grabovsky
Angela Grabovsky (R)
 
30.6
 
53,631
Gavin Maple (L)
 
2.4
 
4,240

Total votes: 175,180
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 7

Incumbent André Carson (D) defeated Curtis Godfrey (D) and Pierre Quincy Pullins (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 7 on May 3, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of André Carson
André Carson
 
93.9
 
36,242
Image of Curtis Godfrey
Curtis Godfrey
 
4.0
 
1,526
Image of Pierre Quincy Pullins
Pierre Quincy Pullins
 
2.2
 
830

Total votes: 38,598
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 7

Angela Grabovsky (R) defeated Rusty Johnson (R), Jennifer Pace (R), Bill Allen (R), and Gerald Walters (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 7 on May 3, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Angela Grabovsky
Angela Grabovsky
 
53.6
 
6,886
Image of Rusty Johnson
Rusty Johnson  Candidate Connection
 
17.0
 
2,185
Image of Jennifer Pace
Jennifer Pace
 
12.1
 
1,556
Image of Bill Allen
Bill Allen  Candidate Connection
 
11.7
 
1,505
Image of Gerald Walters
Gerald Walters  Candidate Connection
 
5.6
 
722

Total votes: 12,854
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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Libertarian Party convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Indiana District 7

Gavin Maple (L) defeated Ted Rusk (L) in the Libertarian Party convention for U.S. House Indiana District 7 on March 5, 2022.


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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

General election

General election for U.S. House Indiana District 7

Incumbent André Carson (D) defeated Susan Marie Smith (R) 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.
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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 7

Incumbent André Carson (D) defeated Pierre Quincy Pullins (D) 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.
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

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.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

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_07.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 D+21. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 21 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Indiana's 7th the 49th most Democratic district nationally.[5]

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 7th Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
70.0% 28.0%

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

See also

Indiana 2026 primaries 2026 U.S. Congress elections
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External links

Footnotes

  1. Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  2. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  3. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  4. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  5. Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025


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)