Ross Thomas

Ross Thomas (Democratic Party) is running for election to the Indiana State Senate to represent District 41. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on May 5, 2026.^[source]

Biography

Ross Thomas lives and was born in Columbus, Indiana. He earned a degree in political economy from Tulane University in 1992 and a law degree from Indiana University School of Law, Indianapolis in 1994. Thomas' career experience includes maintaining his own law practice.^[1] Thomas is affiliated with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the American Bar Association, the Indiana Bar Association, and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) National Legal Committee. He is chairman of the Legal Redress Committee for the Columbus/Bartholomew County chapter of the NAACP.^[1]

Elections

2026

General election

The primary will occur on May 5, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Indiana State Senate District 41

Ross Thomas (D) is running in the Democratic primary for Indiana State Senate District 41 on May 5, 2026.

		Candidate
		Ross Thomas

	There are no incumbents in this race.
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Republican primary

Republican primary for Indiana State Senate District 41

Incumbent Greg Walker (R) and Michelle Davis (R) are running in the Republican primary for Indiana State Senate District 41 on May 5, 2026.

		Candidate
		Greg Walker
		Michelle Davis

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2024

General election

General election for Indiana House of Representatives District 59

Incumbent Ryan Lauer defeated Ross Thomas in the general election for Indiana House of Representatives District 59 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Ryan Lauer (R)	63.8	17,151
	Ross Thomas (D)	36.2	9,711

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 26,862
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 59

Ross Thomas advanced from the Democratic primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 59 on May 7, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ross Thomas	100.0	1,066

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,066
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 59

Incumbent Ryan Lauer advanced from the Republican primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 59 on May 7, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ryan Lauer	100.0	4,808

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,808
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign finance

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Thomas in this election.

Pledges

Thomas signed the following pledges.

U.S. Term Limits

2022

General election

General election for Indiana House of Representatives District 59

Incumbent Ryan Lauer defeated Ross Thomas in the general election for Indiana House of Representatives District 59 on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Ryan Lauer (R)	61.3	11,019
	Ross Thomas (D)	38.7	6,949

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 17,968
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 59

Ross Thomas advanced from the Democratic primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 59 on May 3, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ross Thomas	100.0	1,244

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,244
= 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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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 59

Incumbent Ryan Lauer defeated William Nash in the Republican primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 59 on May 3, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ryan Lauer	68.1	3,751
	Submit photo	William Nash	31.9	1,760

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,511
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign finance

2018

See also: Indiana State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for Indiana State Senate District 41

Incumbent Greg Walker defeated Ross Thomas in the general election for Indiana State Senate District 41 on November 6, 2018.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Greg Walker (R)	66.6	28,888
	Ross Thomas (D)	33.4	14,458

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 43,346
= 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 Indiana State Senate District 41

Ross Thomas advanced from the Democratic primary for Indiana State Senate District 41 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ross Thomas	100.0	3,284

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 3,284
= 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 41

Incumbent Greg Walker advanced from the Republican primary for Indiana State Senate District 41 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Greg Walker	100.0	11,772

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 11,772
= 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.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

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2024

Ross Thomas did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Ross Thomas completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Thomas' responses.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Ross Thomas is a 52 year old attorney from Columbus, Indiana. Ross grew up on a farm in Jennings County where he attended public schools, graduating from Jennings Co. High school in 1988. He received a degree in Political Economy from Tulane University in 1992 and his law degree from Indiana University in 1994. He owns and operates his own law practice in Indianapolis. Ross lives in Columbus with he wife Amy and their 3 children, Joe, Henry and Claudia and their cat Arlene. He is chairman of the Legal Redress Committee of the local chapter of the NAACP and he is a longtime coach and administrator of the Columbus Parks and Recreation Dept. Youth Baseball Program.

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?

I am a strong supporter of public education and public school teachers.
I believe in helping working families by supporting a living wage, affordable child care, paid family leave and the right of workers to organize.
I support the legalization of medical cannabis for all Hoosiers and the legalization of the recreational use of marijuana for adults in Indiana.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

The most important role the state legislature plays in our daily lives is in funding and supporting public education. Unfortunately public education and public school teachers are not a priority for the Republican supermajority in Indiana. I support increased funding and better pay for teachers, reducing or eliminating our reliance on standardized testing and ending the widespread use of vouchers that take money out of our public schools.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

In politics, I would say the person I looked up to most was the late Senator Paul Wellstone, a man known for his honesty and passion for helping working people.

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

Honesty, humility and empathy.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would hope to leave a legacy as someone that worked hard, told the truth and could be counted on to lend a hand when the chips were down.

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

I'm 52, so there have been a lot of historical events in that time. I'd say Watergate and the fall of Saigon are probable the first "historical events" that I have a real memory of when I was 5 or 6 years old.

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

I grew up on our farm and as farm kids know, you've pretty much got a job from the time you can walk helping on the farm. My first job "in town" started when I was 16 making pizza at the North Vernon Pizza Hut and I worked there until the end of high school.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 by Hunter S. Thompson. It is a book by my favorite author on my favorite subjects, history and politics.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Indiana's greatest challenge in the next decade is undoubtedly going to be pushing back on the frontal assault on public education and public school teachers. I believe education is the most important component of strong communities and a thriving economy. Unfortunately the Republican supermajority in Indiana has for years shown nothing but contempt for public schools and demonstrated how little they value and respect public school teachers. Their efforts to expand voucher programs to take money out of public schools and give it to private schools and for-profit charter schools is a failed policy that has lead to corruption and a weakening of our public schools. I want to invest in public schools and pay teachers like the professionals they are, rather than using taxpayers' dollars to subsidize private schools.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

I favor an independent commission that creates districts follow geographic boundaries as much as possible, without an eye to giving one party or the other a political advantage. Ideally, creating districts that are as close to "50/50" as possible are best for democracy and voter participation.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Education and Criminal Justice

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

Of course compromise is necessary in reaching consensus and passing legislation. The excesses of the republican supermajority in the state legislature are a perfect example of the disastrous results that occur when one party has absolute power. That being said everyone should have core principles and ideals which should never be compromised. Ethics, fairness and equality should never be sacrificed for politics.

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.

Campaign finance summary

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.

Ross Thomas campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024	Indiana House of Representatives District 59	Lost general	$7,295	$571
2022	Indiana House of Representatives District 59	Lost general	$23,298	$21,480
2018	Indiana State Senate District 41	Lost general	$10,965	N/A**
Grand total			$41,558	$22,050
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

External links

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Footnotes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Ross Thomas for Indiana State Senate District 41, "About Ross," accessed April 21, 2018 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "bio" defined multiple times with different content

[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

Nick McKinley (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)

[bio-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Ross Thomas for Indiana State Senate District 41, "About Ross," accessed April 21, 2018 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "bio" defined multiple times with different content

[1]

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Ross Thomas

Biography

Elections

2026

General election

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for Indiana State Senate District 41

Republican primary

Republican primary for Indiana State Senate District 41

Endorsements

2024

General election

General election for Indiana House of Representatives District 59

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 59

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 59

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Pledges

2022

General election

General election for Indiana House of Representatives District 59

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 59

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 59

Campaign finance

2018

General election

General election for Indiana State Senate District 41

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Indiana State Senate District 41

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Indiana State Senate District 41

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

2024

2022

Campaign finance summary

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

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