Indiana's 8th Congressional District election, 2026

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Indiana's 8th Congressional District
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 8th 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 Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House raceArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House raceFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House raceOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House raceTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House raceVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House raceSubmit

All U.S. House districts, including the 8th Congressional District of Indiana, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. To learn more about other elections on the ballot, click here.

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 8

Incumbent Mark Messmer, Mary Allen, Christopher Rector, Daniel George, and James Burke are running in the general election for U.S. House Indiana District 8 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Mark Messmer (R)
	Submit photo	Mary Allen (D)
		Christopher Rector (D)
	Submit photo	Daniel George (R)
	Submit photo	James Burke (Independent)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= 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.

Christopher Rector

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "I'm from Tennessee. After graduating High School. I joined the Army and served for three years in West Germany; I received an Honorable Discharge. I then went to the State of Tennessee Law Enforcement Academy and earned my P.O.S.T certification. As a Deputy Sheriff, I went undercover in a large white supremacist group that was abusing and trafficking young females and also targeted violence on the LGBTQIA community. We were able to get over a hundred felony convictions from this investigation. I again joined the Army after this for another twenty-one years. I served as a Fire Resources Coordinator for the Tennessee Division of Forestry after retiring from the Army. I'm a published Author and have written three books. I'm a disabled veteran and volunteer through a couple of groups helping other disabled veterans."

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Key Messages

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

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Equality for ALL I am tired of seeing politicians using small groups of people as a punching bag – be it race, or gender identity, or sexual orientation. Sadly, we have even Democrats trying to pander to what they think Trump voters want by peddling soft bigotry. (Doesn’t work, never has.) I will support passing, at last, federal LGBTQ anti-discrimination legislation.

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Defend Medicare and Medicaid These programs, while not enough, are lifelines for millions of Americans, allowing them to live with a degree of dignity. And yet there are many in Washington, too many, who dream of dismantling them for private gain for a very few. I will oppose ANY cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, and work to pass improved Medicare for ALL.

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Stop the Mass Deportation Machine; Pass Real Immigration Reform Our government is kidnapping people off the streets and imprisoning them in hellish conditions. This is unconscionable. It is long past time for serious immigration reform. Unfortunately, many multi-national corporations have no interest in this. They want illegal workers with no rights who they can pay slave wages and abuse at will. I will support a path to citizenship and an end to the mass deportation machine. We need strong border security and a path to citizenship. We cannot do one without the other.

James Burke

Do you have a photo that could go here? Click here to submit it for this profile!

Party: Independent

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "Pro-choice, pro-union, pro-lgbqt+, trans women are women and trans men are men and what theyre doing isnt affecting your life in any way so leave them be, marriage and right equality, free Palestine.. firm believer that if a company makes billions in net profit they can either pay their employees a living wage or we tax the hell out of them.. there's no reason a company making 100 billion net profit should have any employee needing assistance.. I believe if the billionaires pay their far share we can have universal health care. Doge needs disbanded and we should set up forensic accountants , not kid programmers, with an office and their sole job is to audit looking for unnecessary spending like the military spending and musk spending.. I believe big money has no place in our elections and both houses of congress need to get back to working with the people.. I won't be doing fund raising, only campaigning I'm planning on is social media"

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Key Messages

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

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If whatever someone else does, doesn't change the what your doing then leave them alone.

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Everyone has the right to the pursuit of their own happiness and dreams

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Free Palestine

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

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?

James Burke (Independent)

If whatever someone else does, doesn't change the what your doing then leave them alone.

Everyone has the right to the pursuit of their own happiness and dreams

Free Palestine

Christopher Rector (D)

Equality for ALL

I am tired of seeing politicians using small groups of people as a punching bag – be it race, or gender identity, or sexual orientation.

Sadly, we have even Democrats trying to pander to what they think Trump voters want by peddling soft bigotry. (Doesn’t work, never has.)

I will support passing, at last, federal LGBTQ anti-discrimination legislation.

Defend Medicare and Medicaid

These programs, while not enough, are lifelines for millions of Americans, allowing them to live with a degree of dignity. And yet there are many in Washington, too

    many, who dream of dismantling them for private gain for a very few.

I will oppose ANY cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, and work to pass improved Medicare for ALL.

Stop the Mass Deportation Machine; Pass Real Immigration Reform

Our government is kidnapping people off the streets and imprisoning them in hellish conditions. This is unconscionable.

It is long past time for serious immigration reform. Unfortunately, many multi-national corporations have no interest in this. They want illegal workers with no rights who they can pay slave wages and abuse at will. I will support a path to citizenship and an end to the mass deportation machine.

We need strong border security and a path to

citizenship. We cannot do one without the other.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

James Burke (Independent)

The absorbent price of Healthcare, $4000 for a 5 minute ambulance ride, having to file bankruptcy or lose everything you've worked for because you got sick Individual rights- no person ,white, black, Latino, gay straight, trans, ect, should ever be made to feel like they don't matter or that they have less alienate rights than any other person

Christopher Rector (D)

Why can't we have universal healthcare? Why can't we take care of our veterans when

they come home? Why are we funding endless wars and bombing children? We fought three different wars since the last time we raised the minimum wage.

I don't pretend that I know all the answers, but I believe we can build a system that represents all the people regardless of our race, age, color, and gender. We are supposed to fight for the things we love, and this is our home. I will fight tirelessly for

it and you. It's Hoosiers first and Indiana always.

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

James Burke (Independent)

The most important principle is to remember who you work for when you enter the halls in Washington D.C. You work for the people in your district and should work to make your constituents and evey other Americans life better. You do not work for the corporations and the lobbiests.

Christopher Rector (D)

To make sure that every citizen's voice is heard regardless of race, sex, gender or sexual orientation. Everyone will have a seat at the table.

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

James Burke (Independent)

Simply to pass effective legislation for the people that the parties have forgotten about. The poor, the veterans that served and protected the U.s.a and the ones still serving, the middle class who are spending thousands on health care and everyone that's ever been told by their health insurance provider that that's not covered

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

James Burke (Independent)

Pretty simple, that's was the space shuttle Challenger blowing up. We were watching it when it happened January 28th 1986

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

Christopher Rector (D)

I worked in the cafeteria at Children's Hospital in Knoxville, TN as a dishwasher and serving food. I worked there for three years before joining the Army.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Christopher Rector (D)

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. I first read this book after retiring from the army and it was spot on in a lot of places and brought back good and not so good reflections.

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

Christopher Rector (D)

Underdog

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

James Burke (Independent)

Over the next decade, there's going to be a lot of trying to mend our broken alliances and trying to bring the people of the U.S. back to at least being civil toward one

What are your thoughts on term limits?

James Burke (Independent)

I would be happy to vote yes on term limits. I've believed for a long time in term limits

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

James Burke (Independent)

Bernie Sanders is definitely the goat.. he understands the needs of the next generation along with AOC

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

James Burke (Independent)

There should always be some back and forth in any debate in spending and what is the best way to do said spending to benefit the most people

The Constitution says that all bills for raising revenue must originate in the House. What role would this power play in your priorities if elected?

James Burke (Independent)

I definitively believe that any corporation making billions should pay high taxes if any of their employees have to use any kind of assistance, be it housing, snap etc. There is no reason not to pay these people just so you can appease your rich stockholders with buyback and dividends

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

James Burke (Independent)

I feel if you are going into politics, then you should be fine with showing your taxes and also be OK with accountants doing regular oversite on your dealings in Washington. That also goes into the government, doge should be replaced with a team of forensic accountants to overview the money to make sure it goes where it is supposed to

What legislation would you enact related to election administration in the United States?

Christopher Rector (D)

We have to work to put a stop to all the mid cycle redistricting and we all as citizens need to have a voice in redistricting. I would work to have any redistricting put on a ballot for the people of Indiana to vote on it. Your vote is your voice.

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Mark Messmer	Republican Party	$563,885	$224,015	$546,976	As of September 30, 2025
Mary Allen	Democratic Party	$75,531	$19,163	$56,368	As of September 30, 2025
Christopher Rector	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Daniel George	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
James Burke	Independent	$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.
• 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.

Race ratings: Indiana's 8th Congressional District election, 2026
Race tracker	Race ratings
	12/9/2025	12/2/2025	11/25/2025	11/18/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Pending	Pending	Pending	Pending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
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.

District analysis

This section will contain facts and figures related to this district's elections when those are available.

See also

Indiana	2026 primaries	2026 U.S. Congress elections
Indiana congressional delegation Voting in Indiana Indiana elections: 2026 • 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018	Democratic primary battlegrounds Republican primary battlegrounds U.S. Senate Democratic primaries U.S. Senate Republican primaries U.S. House Democratic primaries U.S. House Republican primaries	U.S. Congress elections U.S. Senate elections U.S. House elections Special elections Ballot access

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

[show]

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)

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Super PACs/Organizations

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