R. Michael Young (Indiana)

Michael Young

Republican Party

Indiana State Senate District 35

Tenure

2000 - Present

Term ends

2028

Years in position

25

Prior offices

Indiana House of Representatives

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Compensation

Base salary

$32,070.24/year

Per diem

$196/day

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Personal

Profession

Attorney, political consultant

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

Michael Young (Republican Party) is a member of the Indiana State Senate, representing District 35. He assumed office in 2000. His current term ends on November 8, 2028.

Young (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Indiana State Senate to represent District 35. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Young earned his B.A. from Indiana University at Indianapolis in 1985. His professional experience includes working Management for Holiday Park Realty, as Managing Partner for Phoenix Development and Political Consultant for R.M. Young.

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Young was assigned to the following committees:

• Corrections and Criminal Law Committee
• Elections Committee
• Family & Children Services Committee
• Pensions and Labor Committee

2021-2022

Young was assigned to the following committees:

• Corrections and Criminal Law Committee, Chair
• Senate Judiciary Committee

2019-2020

Young was assigned to the following committees:

• Corrections and Criminal Law Committee, Chair
• Senate Judiciary Committee

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Indiana committee assignments, 2017
• Civil Law
• Corrections and Criminal Law, Chair
• Judiciary

2016 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2016 legislative session, Young served on the following committees:

Indiana committee assignments, 2016
• Corrections and Criminal Law, Chair
• Judiciary, Ranking Member
• Civil Law
• Elections

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Young served on the following committees:

Indiana committee assignments, 2015
• Civil Law
• Corrections and Criminal Law, Chair
• Elections
• Judiciary

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Young served on the following committees:

Indiana committee assignments, 2013
• Commerce, Economic Development and Technology
• Corrections and Criminal Law, Chair
• Judiciary

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Young served on these committees:

Indiana committee assignments, 2011
• Commerce & Economic Development
• Corrections, Criminal, and Civil Matters
• Pensions and Labor

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Young served on these committees:

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2024

See also: Indiana State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Indiana State Senate District 35

Incumbent Michael Young defeated Jessica McCormick in the general election for Indiana State Senate District 35 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Young (R)	56.9	24,689
		Jessica McCormick (D)	43.1	18,707

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 43,396
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Indiana State Senate District 35

Incumbent Michael Young defeated Philip Clay in the Republican primary for Indiana State Senate District 35 on May 7, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Young	55.1	4,334
	Submit photo	Philip Clay	44.9	3,525

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,859
= 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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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Young in this election.

Pledges

Young signed the following pledges.

• U.S. Term Limits

2020

See also: Indiana State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Indiana State Senate District 35

Incumbent Michael Young defeated Pete Cowden in the general election for Indiana State Senate District 35 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Young (R)	58.0	29,557
		Pete Cowden (D)	42.0	21,446

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 51,003
= 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 election

Democratic primary for Indiana State Senate District 35

Pete Cowden advanced from the Democratic primary for Indiana State Senate District 35 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Pete Cowden	100.0	6,029

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,029
= 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 election

Republican primary for Indiana State Senate District 35

Incumbent Michael Young advanced from the Republican primary for Indiana State Senate District 35 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Young	100.0	7,158

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,158
= 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.

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 R. Michael Young defeated Phil Webster in the Indiana State Senate District 35 general election.

Indiana State Senate, District 35 General Election, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	R. Michael Young Incumbent	58.81%	26,631
	Democratic	Phil Webster	41.19%	18,655
Total Votes				45,286
Source: Indiana Election Divsion

Phil Webster ran unopposed in the Indiana State Senate District 35 Democratic primary.

Indiana State Senate, District 35 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Phil Webster  (unopposed)

Incumbent R. Michael Young ran unopposed in the Indiana State Senate District 35 Republican primary.

Indiana State Senate, District 35 Republican Primary, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Republican	R. Michael Young Incumbent (unopposed)

2012

See also: Indiana State Senate elections, 2012

Young won re-election in the 2012 election for Indiana State Senate District 35. Young defeated Daniel Kinnamon in the May 8 Republican primary and defeated Mark Waterfill (D) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.

Indiana State Senate, District 35, General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Mark Waterfill	43.3%	17,897
	Republican	Michael Young Incumbent	56.7%	23,425
Total Votes				41,322

Indiana State Senate, District 35 Republican Primary, 2012

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
R. Michael Young Incumbent	63.9%	6,961
Daniel Kinnamon	36.1%	3,929
Total Votes		10,890

Endorsements

Young was endorsed by the National Rifle Association in the State Senate race in 2012.

2008

See also: Indiana State Senate elections, 2008

On November 4, 2008, Republican Michael Young won re-election to the Indiana State Senate District 35 receiving 22,861 votes, ahead of Democrat Michael Cesnik receiving 18,987 votes.

Indiana State Senate, District 35 (2008)
Candidates		Votes
Michael Young (R)		22,861
Michael Cesnik (D)		18,987

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Michael Young did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Michael Young did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Michael Young campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Indiana State Senate District 35	Won general	$177,388	$166,693
2020	Indiana State Senate District 35	Won general	$154,902	N/A**
2016	Indiana State Senate, District 35	Won	$203,064	N/A**
2012	Indiana State Senate, District 35	Won	$95,044	N/A**
2008	Indiana State Senate, District 35	Won	$41,816	N/A**
2004	Indiana State Senate, District 35	Won	$43,418	N/A**
2000	Indiana State Senate, District 35	Won	$60,782	N/A**
1998	Indiana House of Representatives, District 92	Won	$17,125	N/A**
1996	Indiana House of Representatives, District 92	Won	$24,505	N/A**
1994	Indiana House of Representatives, District 92	Won	$13,174	N/A**
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Young has three children.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Indiana

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Indiana scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].

In 2024, the Indiana State Legislature was in session from January 8 to March 8. ACLU Indiana Legislators are rated based on their votes related to civil liberties. Indiana Family Institute Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to social issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].

In 2023, the Indiana State Legislature was in session from January 9 to April 28. ACLU Indiana Legislators are rated based on their votes related to civil liberties. Indiana AFL-CIO Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor issues. Indiana Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Indiana Family Institute Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to social issues. Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].

In 2022, the Indiana State Legislature was in session from January 4 to March 8. ACLU Indiana Legislators are rated based on their votes related to civil liberties. Indiana AFL-CIO Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor issues. Indiana Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Indiana Family Institute Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to social issues. Indiana Friends Committee on Legislation Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to the Quaker community. Indiana Manufacturers Association: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on whether they supported or opposed IMA's position on a bill. Indiana Scorecard: Senate and House Legislators are scored on votes by bills supported by the organization. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. The Indiana Coalition for Public Education Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to public education.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the Indiana State Legislature was in session from January 4 to November 15. Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to consumer interests. ACLU Indiana Legislators are rated based on their votes related to civil liberties. Indiana AFL-CIO: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor issues. Indiana Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Indiana Family Institute Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to social issues. Indiana Friends Committee on Legislation Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to the Quaker community. Indiana Manufacturers Association: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on whether they supported or opposed IMA's position on a bill. Indiana Scorecard: Senate and House Legislators are scored on votes by bills supported by the organization. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. The Indiana Coalition for Public Education Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to public education.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].

In 2020, the Indiana State Legislature was in session from January 6 to March 11. Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to consumer interests. Club for Growth Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Indiana AFL-CIO: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor issues. Indiana Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Indiana Family Institute Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to social issues. Indiana Manufacturers Association: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on whether they supported or opposed IMA's position on a bill. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. The Indiana Coalition for Public Education Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to public education.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].

In 2019, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 3 through April 24. Club for Growth Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Indiana AFL-CIO: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor issues. Indiana Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Indiana Manufacturers Association: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on whether they supported or opposed IMA's position on a bill. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2018

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show].

In 2018, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 2 through March 16. Indiana AFL-CIO: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor issues. Indiana Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Indiana Manufacturers Association: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on whether they supported or opposed IMA's position on a bill. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2017

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show].

In 2017, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 3 through April 22. Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to consumer interests. Indiana AFL-CIO: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor issues. Indiana Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Indiana Family Institute Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to social issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2016

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show].

In 2016, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 5 through March 10. Americans for Prosperity Indiana Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Indiana AFL-CIO: Senate and House Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to labor issues. Indiana Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. The Indiana Coalition for Public Education Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to public education.

2015

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show].
In 2015, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 6 through April 29. Indiana Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2014

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show].

In 2014, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 6 through March 14. Americans for Prosperity Indiana Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Indiana Chamber of Commerce Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues. Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2013

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show].
In 2013, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 7 through April 29. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

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Candidate

Indiana State Senate District 35

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Officeholder

Indiana State Senate District 35

Website

Personal

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Indiana State Senate District 35 2000-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Indiana House of Representatives 1986-2000	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the Indiana State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Chris Garten

Senators

District 1

Dan Dernulc (R)

District 2

Lonnie Randolph (D)

District 3

Mark Spencer (D)

District 4

Rodney Pol (D)

District 5

Ed Charbonneau (R)

District 6

Rick Niemeyer (R)

District 7

Brian Buchanan (R)

District 8

Mike Bohacek (R)

District 9

Ryan Mishler (R)

District 10

David Niezgodski (D)

District 11

Linda Rogers (R)

District 12

Blake Doriot (R)

District 13

Susan Glick (R)

District 14

Tyler Johnson (R)

District 15

Liz Brown (R)

District 16

Justin Busch (R)

District 17

Andy Zay (R)

District 18

Stacey Donato (R)

District 19

Travis Holdman (R)

District 20

Scott Baldwin (R)

District 21

James Buck (R)

District 22

Ronnie Alting (R)

District 23

Spencer Deery (R)

District 24

Brett Clark (R)

District 25

Mike Gaskill (R)

District 26

Scott Alexander (R)

District 27

Jeff Raatz (R)

District 28

Michael Crider (R)

District 29

J.D. Ford (D)

District 30

Fady Qaddoura (D)

District 31

Kyle Walker (R)

District 32

Aaron Freeman (R)

District 33

Greg Taylor (D)

District 34

La Keisha Jackson (D)

District 35

Michael Young (R)

District 36

Cyndi Carrasco (R)

District 37

Rodric Bray (R)

District 38

Greg Goode (R)

District 39

Eric Bassler (R)

District 40

Shelli Yoder (D)

District 41

Greg Walker (R)

District 42

Jean Leising (R)

District 43

Randy Maxwell (R)

District 44

Eric Koch (R)

District 45

Chris Garten (R)

District 46

Andrea Hunley (D)

District 47

Gary Byrne (R)

District 48

Daryl Schmitt (R)

District 49

Jim Tomes (R)

District 50

Vaneta Becker (R)

Republican Party (40)

Democratic Party (10)