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Indiana State Senate District 16

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Indiana State Senate District 16
Incumbent
Assumed office: November 6, 2018

Indiana State Senate District 16 is represented by Justin Busch (R).

As of the 2020 Census, Indiana state senators represented an average of 135,806 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 130,032 residents.

About the chamber

Members of the Indiana State Senate serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Indiana legislators assume office the day after their general election.[1]

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

To be eligible to serve in the Indiana State Senate:[2]

Sec. 13. A candidate for the office of senator in the general assembly must:

(1) be a United States citizen at the time of election;
(2) have resided in the state for at least two (2) years and in the senate district for at least one (1) year before the election; and
(3) be at least twenty-five (25) years old upon taking office; as provided in Article 4, Section 7 of the Constitution of the State of Indiana.[3]

According to Indiana Code 3-8-1-1, all candidates must be registered voters.[4]


Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
State legislative salaries, 2024[5]
SalaryPer diem
$32,070.24/year$196/day.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

If there is a vacancy in the Indiana General Assembly, the state committee of the party that last held the seat must appoint a replacement. This is contingent upon the approval of the respective state chairperson of the party. Any vacant seat held by an independent must be filled by a special election.[6]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Indiana Code §3-13-5-0.1


District map

Redistricting

2020 redistricting cycle

See also: Redistricting in Indiana after the 2020 census

The Indiana General Assembly approved new state legislative district maps on October 1, 2021, and Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) signed the new district boundaries into law on October 4, 2021. The Indiana Senate Republican caucus released its first draft of state Senate districts on September 20, 2021, and the Indiana House Republican caucus released its first proposed state House district maps on September 14, 2021. The Indiana state Senate approved final legislative district boundaries by a vote of 36-12, with all votes to approve by Republicans. Eleven Senate Democrats joined State Sen. Ron Grooms (R) in voting against the maps. The Indiana House of Representatives approved final district maps by a vote of 64-25. All votes in favor were by Republicans with 22 Democrats and three Republicans voting against.[7][8]

After the General Assembly approved the maps, House Speaker Todd Huston said, "We're incredibly grateful for the work of Representative Greg Steuerwald and Senator Eric Koch who tirelessly and thoughtfully led the way on drawing these maps. Redistricting is a complex and important process that impacts all Hoosiers. We're thankful for the hundreds of constituents who shared their feedback along the way, and I'm confident we delivered fair maps that ensure every Hoosier vote counts."[9]

The full legislative history of Indiana's redistricting proposals, including House and Senate committee reports and proposed amendments, can be found here at the Indiana General Assembly's website. These maps took effect for Indiana's 2022 legislative elections.[10]

How does redistricting in Indiana work? In Indiana, the state legislature is responsible for drawing both congressional and state legislative district lines. The legislature must approve a redistricting plan by the close of the first legislative session occurring after completion of the United States Census. The governor may veto the lines drawn by the state legislature.[11][12]

In the event that both chambers of the state legislature do not approve a congressional redistricting plan, a backup commission must draw the lines. The commission comprises the following members:[12]

  1. Speaker of the House
  2. President Pro Tempore of the Senate
  3. Chair of the Elections Committee, Indiana State Senate
  4. Chair of the Elections and Apportionment Committee, Indiana House of Representatives
  5. A gubernatorial appointment

The Indiana Constitution mandates that state legislative districts be contiguous. There are no such requirements for congressional district lines.[11]

Indiana State Senate District 16
until November 8, 2022

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Indiana State Senate District 16
starting November 9, 2022

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Elections

2024

See also: Indiana State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Indiana State Senate District 16

Incumbent Justin Busch won election in the general election for Indiana State Senate District 16 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Justin Busch
Justin Busch (R)
 
100.0
 
45,442

Total votes: 45,442
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Indiana State Senate District 16

Incumbent Justin Busch defeated Scott Wise in the Republican primary for Indiana State Senate District 16 on May 7, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Justin Busch
Justin Busch
 
68.8
 
9,034
Image of Scott Wise
Scott Wise
 
31.2
 
4,105

Total votes: 13,139
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

See also: Indiana State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Indiana State Senate District 16

Incumbent Justin Busch defeated Juli Dominguez in the general election for Indiana State Senate District 16 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Justin Busch
Justin Busch (R)
 
57.9
 
35,382
Image of Juli Dominguez
Juli Dominguez (D) Candidate Connection
 
42.1
 
25,767

Total votes: 61,149
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Indiana State Senate District 16

Juli Dominguez defeated Tim Barr in the Democratic primary for Indiana State Senate District 16 on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Juli Dominguez
Juli Dominguez Candidate Connection
 
52.1
 
5,075
Image of Tim Barr
Tim Barr Candidate Connection
 
47.9
 
4,659

Total votes: 9,734
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Indiana State Senate District 16

Incumbent Justin Busch defeated Tom Rhoades in the Republican primary for Indiana State Senate District 16 on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Justin Busch
Justin Busch
 
69.0
 
7,796
Image of Tom Rhoades
Tom Rhoades Candidate Connection
 
31.0
 
3,495

Total votes: 11,291
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2016

See also: Indiana State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the Indiana State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on May 3, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was February 5, 2016.

Incumbent David Long defeated Juli Dominguez in the Indiana State Senate District 16 general election.[13][14]

Indiana State Senate, District 16 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png David Long Incumbent 66.06% 35,243
     Democratic Juli Dominguez 33.94% 18,110
Total Votes 53,353
Source: Indiana Election Divsion



Incumbent David Long defeated John Kessler in the Indiana State Senate District 16 Republican primary.[15][16]

Indiana State Senate, District 16 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png David Long Incumbent 73.10% 16,740
     Republican John Kessler 26.90% 6,159
Total Votes 22,899
Source: Indiana Election Division

2012

See also: Indiana State Senate elections, 2012

Elections for the office of Indiana State Senate consisted of a primary election on May 8, 2012, and a general election on November 6, 2012. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 10, 2012. Incumbent David Long (R) defeated Charles T. Keen (D) in the general election. Neither candidate faced opposition in their primary.[17][18]

Indiana State Senate, District 16, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Charles Keen 34.9% 17,809
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngDavid Long Incumbent 65.1% 33,290
Total Votes 51,099

Campaign contributions

From 2000 to 2024, candidates for Indiana State Senate District 16 raised a total of $4,132,542. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $229,586 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money

Campaign contributions, Indiana State Senate District 16
Year Amount Candidates Average
2024 $144,281 2 $72,141
2020 $425,128 4 $106,282
2016 $1,625,953 3 $541,984
2012 $731,245 2 $365,623
2010 $470,256 1 $470,256
2008 $351,439 1 $351,439
2006 $129,401 1 $129,401
2004 $90,129 1 $90,129
2002 $46,626 1 $46,626
2000 $118,084 2 $59,042
Total $4,132,542 18 $229,586


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. Indiana General Assembly, "Indiana Constitution, Article 4, Section 3," accessed February 5, 2021
  2. Indiana General Assembly, "IC 3-8-1-13: Senator in general assembly," accessed May 21, 2025
  3. Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  4. Justia, "IN Code § 3-8-1-1 (2024)," accessed May 27, 2025
  5. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
  6. Indiana General Assembly, "Indiana Code," accessed February 5, 2021 (§3-13-5-0.1)
  7. Indiana House of Representatives Republican Caucus, "GOP statements on initial drafts of Indiana House and Congressional district maps," September 14, 2021
  8. IndyStar, "Gov. Holcomb signs Indiana's redistricting maps into law," October 4, 2021
  9. Indiana Senate Republicans, "General Assembly approves new congressional, state legislative districts 10.1.21," October 1, 2021
  10. Indiana Senate Republicans, "General Assembly approves new congressional, state legislative districts," Oct. 1, 2021
  11. 11.0 11.1 All About Redistricting, "Indiana," accessed April 6, 2015
  12. 12.0 12.1 Brennan Center for Justice, "Indiana," accessed April 6, 2015
  13. Indiana Secretary of State, "November 8, 2016 General Election candidates," February 5, 2016
  14. Indiana Election Division, "General election 2016 results," accessed December 16, 2016
  15. Indiana Secretary of State, "May 3, 2016 Primary Election candidates," February 5, 2016
  16. Indiana Secretary of State, "May 3, 2016 Primary Election Results," accessed August 18, 2016
  17. "Indiana Secretary of State - Official Primary Results," accessed October 11, 2013
  18. "Indiana Secretary of State – Official General Election Results," accessed October 11, 2013


Current members of the Indiana State Senate
Leadership
Majority Leader:Chris Garten
Senators
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
Liz Brown (R)
District 16
District 17
Andy Zay (R)
District 18
District 19
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
J.D. Ford (D)
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
Eric Koch (R)
District 45
District 46
District 47
District 48
District 49
Jim Tomes (R)
District 50
Republican Party (40)
Democratic Party (10)