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Ross Thomas

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Ross Thomas
Image of Ross Thomas

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments
Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Tulane University, 1992

Law

Indiana University School of Law, Indianapolis, 1994

Personal
Birthplace
Columbus, Ind.
Profession
Attorney
Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal website

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Ross Thomas (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Indiana House of Representatives to represent District 59. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

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

2024

See also: Indiana House of Representatives elections, 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
✔
Image of Ryan Lauer
Ryan Lauer (R)
 
63.8
 
17,151
Image of Ross Thomas
Ross Thomas (D)
 
36.2
 
9,711

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 26,862
Candidate Connection = 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
✔
Image of Ross Thomas
Ross Thomas
 
100.0
 
1,066

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,066
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 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
✔
Image of Ryan Lauer
Ryan Lauer
 
100.0
 
4,808

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 4,808
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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Campaign finance

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Thomas in this election.

Pledges

Thomas signed the following pledges.

  • U.S. Term Limits

2022

See also: Indiana House of Representatives elections, 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
✔
Image of Ryan Lauer
Ryan Lauer (R)
 
61.3
 
11,019
Image of Ross Thomas
Ross Thomas (D) Candidate Connection
 
38.7
 
6,949

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 17,968
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 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
✔
Image of Ross Thomas
Ross Thomas Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
1,244

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 1,244
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 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
✔
Image of Ryan Lauer
Ryan Lauer
 
68.1
 
3,751
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
William Nash
 
31.9
 
1,760

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 5,511
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.

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
✔
Image of Greg Walker
Greg Walker (R)
 
66.6
 
28,888
Image of Ross Thomas
Ross Thomas (D)
 
33.4
 
14,458

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 43,346
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 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
✔
Image of Ross Thomas
Ross Thomas
 
100.0
 
3,284

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 3,284
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 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
✔
Image of Greg Walker
Greg Walker
 
100.0
 
11,772

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 11,772
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.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

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

2022

Candidate Connection

Ross Thomas completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Thomas' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

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.
  • 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.
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.
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.
Honesty, humility and empathy.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Education and Criminal Justice
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
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* Indiana House of Representatives District 59Lost general$7,295 $571
2022Indiana House of Representatives District 59Lost general$23,298 $21,480
2018Indiana State Senate District 41Lost 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 from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also

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External links

Candidate

Indiana House of Representatives District 59
  • Website
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    		•

    Personal

  • Website
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
    		•

    Footnotes

    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


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