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Sue Errington

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Sue Errington
Image of Sue Errington
Indiana House of Representatives District 34
Tenure

2012 - Present

Term ends

2026

Years in position

12

Prior offices
Indiana State Senate District 26

Compensation

Base salary

$32,070.24/year

Per diem

$196/day

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2024

Appointed

November 6, 2012

Education

Bachelor's

Indiana University-Bloomington, 1964

Graduate

University of Michigan, 1965

Personal
Birthplace
Warsaw, Ind.
Religion
Unitarian Universalist
Profession
Legislator
Contact

Sue Errington (Democratic Party) is a member of the Indiana House of Representatives, representing District 34. She assumed office on November 7, 2012. Her current term ends on November 4, 2026.

Errington (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Indiana House of Representatives to represent District 34. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Errington completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Sue Errington was born in Warsaw, Indiana. Errington's career experience includes working as a legislator. She earned a bachelor's degree from the Indiana University-Bloomington in 1964 and a graduate degree from the University of Michigan in 1965.[1]

Errington has been affiliated with the following organizations:[1]

  • National Caucus of Environmental Legislators
  • Muncie OUTreach
  • Second Harvest Food Bank
  • Muncie-Delaware County Coalition of Women's Organizations
  • AWAKEN
  • Muncie Delaware County League of Women Voters
  • American Association of University Women
  • National Organization for Women

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

Errington was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Errington was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Errington was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

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

Indiana committee assignments, 2017
Education
Environmental Affairs
Natural Resources

2015 legislative session

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

2013-2014

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

2009-2010

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

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 House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Indiana House of Representatives District 34

Incumbent Sue Errington defeated Susan Dillon in the general election for Indiana House of Representatives District 34 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Sue Errington
Sue Errington (D) Candidate Connection
 
55.1
 
12,156
Image of Susan Dillon
Susan Dillon (R) Candidate Connection
 
44.9
 
9,910

Total votes: 22,066
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 34

Incumbent Sue Errington advanced from the Democratic primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 34 on May 7, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Sue Errington
Sue Errington Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
2,243

Total votes: 2,243
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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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 34

Susan Dillon advanced from the Republican primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 34 on May 7, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Susan Dillon
Susan Dillon Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
3,032

Total votes: 3,032
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 Errington in this election.

2022

See also: Indiana House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Indiana House of Representatives District 34

Incumbent Sue Errington defeated Dale Basham in the general election for Indiana House of Representatives District 34 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Sue Errington
Sue Errington (D)
 
52.8
 
7,659
Image of Dale Basham
Dale Basham (R)
 
47.2
 
6,849

Total votes: 14,508
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 34

Incumbent Sue Errington advanced from the Democratic primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 34 on May 3, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Sue Errington
Sue Errington
 
100.0
 
2,288

Total votes: 2,288
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 34

Dale Basham defeated Susan Dillon in the Republican primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 34 on May 3, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Dale Basham
Dale Basham
 
61.0
 
1,620
Image of Susan Dillon
Susan Dillon Candidate Connection
 
39.0
 
1,036

Total votes: 2,656
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

2020

See also: Indiana House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Indiana House of Representatives District 34

Incumbent Sue Errington defeated Dale Basham in the general election for Indiana House of Representatives District 34 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Sue Errington
Sue Errington (D)
 
56.4
 
11,293
Image of Dale Basham
Dale Basham (R)
 
43.6
 
8,744

Total votes: 20,037
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 34

Incumbent Sue Errington advanced from the Democratic primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 34 on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Sue Errington
Sue Errington
 
100.0
 
4,671

Total votes: 4,671
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 34

Dale Basham advanced from the Republican primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 34 on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Dale Basham
Dale Basham
 
100.0
 
2,648

Total votes: 2,648
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.

2018

See also: Indiana House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Indiana House of Representatives District 34

Incumbent Sue Errington won election in the general election for Indiana House of Representatives District 34 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Sue Errington
Sue Errington (D)
 
100.0
 
11,553

Total votes: 11,553
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 34

Incumbent Sue Errington advanced from the Democratic primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 34 on May 8, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Sue Errington
Sue Errington
 
100.0
 
3,408

Total votes: 3,408
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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2014

See also: Indiana House of Representatives elections, 2014

Elections for the Indiana House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 6, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 7, 2014. Incumbent Sue E. Errington was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Stuart A. Keenan was unopposed in the Republican primary. Errington defeated Keenan in the general election.[2][3]

Indiana House of Representatives 34, General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngSue E. Errington Incumbent 65.7% 6,357
     Republican Stuart A. Keenan 34.3% 3,317
Total Votes 9,674

2012

See also: Indiana House of Representatives elections, 2012

Errington won election in the 2012 election for Indiana House of Representatives District 34. Errington defeated Karen Brand and David Walker in the May 8 Democratic primary[4] and defeated Brad Oliver (R) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[5][6]

Indiana House of Representatives, District 34, General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngSue E. Errington 67.6% 13,070
     Republican Brad Oliver 32.4% 6,251
Total Votes 19,321
Indiana House of Representatives, District 34 Democratic Primary, 2012
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngSue Errington 53% 2,863
David Walker 43.2% 2,335
Karen Brand 3.8% 205
Total Votes 5,403

2010

See also: Indiana State Senate elections, 2010

Errington lost to Republican candidate Doug Eckerty by a margin of 16,339 to 14,865 in the November 2 general election.[7]

In the May 4 primary election, Errington defeated opponents Lewis Coulter and Jeff Ellison with 6,510 votes. Coulter received 3,025 votes and Jeff Ellison received 1,329 votes.[8]

2006

See also: Indiana State Senate elections, 2006

On November 7, 2006, Democrat Sue Errington won re-election to the Indiana State Senate District 26 receiving 18,276 votes, ahead of Republican Andrew Stillman Phipps receiving 14,507 votes, and Independent Pat Smith receiving 1,371 votes.[9]

Indiana State Senate, District 26 (2006)
Candidates Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Sue Errington (D) 18,276
Andrew Stillman Phipps (R) 14,507
Pat Smith (I) 1,371

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Sue Errington completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Errington's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I grew up in northern Indiana and came to Muncie in 1970 with my husband Paul to teach at Ball State; Paul as a physics professor and I as a Spanish instructor. In Muncie I found my passion for community activism, serving on local boards and commissions and with local, state, and national organizations that advance women’s rights and good government. After our daughters graduated from Muncie Community Schools, I became the Public Policy Director for the local Planned Parenthood affiliate, which later became part of Planned Parenthood of IN & Ky. That's when I realized it’s sometimes easier to change legislators than to change a legislator’s vote. I ran for office.

I continues to give back to the Muncie community as a member of the boards of directors of Muncie OUTReach, Second Harvest Food Bank, the Muncie/Delaware County Coalition of Women’s Organizations, and AWAKEN. I'm a member of the Delaware County Tobacco Free Coalition, the Recycling Advisory Board of the Muncie Sanitary District, the Muncie-Delaware County League of Women Voters, the Muncie branch of AAUW, and the National Organization for Women. I'm a long-time member of the Unitarian Universalist Church and served a term as President of its Board of Trustees.

I'm a graduate of IU Bloomington and earned a master’s degree at the University of Michigan. In addition to daughters Sara and Amy, my late husband Paul and I have two grandchildren. Keeping me company at home is my cat, Hansel.
  • I will defend access to abortion and contraception. I voted against Indiana's near total ban on abortion and will work to restore abortion right in our state. Women have the right to make their own reproductive health decisions.

    We all have personal beliefs about abortion. For some, it's grounded in their faith. For others, it's based on science. I would never ask anyone to change their deeply held personal beliefs.

    However I don't think anyone should legislate those beliefs on to others. I believe people should have the freedom to make their own personal decisions with the counsel and support of those they love and trust. Politicians should not be able to control the reproductive health decisions of others.
  • I support strong public schools where over 90% of Hoosier children receive their education. I oppose the diversion of public funds through private school vouchers. I don’t oppose private education, but Indiana cannot adequately fund public and private education systems. I support universal early childhood education. A child’s first five years are critical to a successful and happy life. Indiana lags behind other states in adopting and funding universal pre-K and mandatory kindergarten where early literacy skills develop. We must do better. Higher education—whether that is a certificate, a two- or four-year, or advanced degree -- is essential. That means better jobs for Hoosiers, better employees for businesses, and a better economy.
  • Support for our local economy. Indiana doesn’t need simply more jobs; we need better-paying jobs that enable all workers to support themselves and their families. Attracting such jobs requires a well-educated workforce, so we must support public education from pre-K to college. It requires high quality, affordable child care for young working families. It requires closing Indiana's gender and and racial wage gaps as a strategy for achieving pay equity. It also requires that economic development strategies recognize the importance of quality of place to compete for today’s young workers. To ensure that working people earn sustainable wages, we must raise the minimum wage and protect the rights of workers to organize.
Protecting our environment and fighting climate change. Indiana's environmental rankings are consistently low. Climate modeling by the Purdue Climate Change Research Center shows our state is becoming warmer and wetter, with the pace of these changes picking up speed as heat-trapping gases, produced by humans burning fossil fuels, continue accumulating in the atmosphere. We must retire our aging coal plants, retrain miners, and encourage the production of sustainable energy. By investing in clean, renewable energy, we will protect Hoosiers from the harmful effects of burning fossil fuels, while providing good-paying jobs and strengthening our economy.
My dad. He taught me to aim high, think outside the box, question authority, tell the truth, and to do unto others as you would have them to do unto you.
Above all to be honest and truthful. To be thoughtful and do your homework. To be a good listener and communicate with your constituents.
I'm open, accessible and accountable. This was the slogan of my first campaign.
To do your best to reflect the will of your constituents while being true to your personal values, knowing that you can't please everyone all the time.
That my vision, my voice, and my vote as a lawmaker will have contributed to making Indiana be a better place for its citizens to live and work. Also that the assistance I've given to my constituents has helped them overcome barriers and bureaucratic red tape.
The Atwood elevator caught on fire and burned down one night. I could see the blaze. I was around 5 years old.
As a teenager, my job was washing and packing eggs. It didn't take long to realize that college was my ticket out of this kind of labor.
Dreamland by Sam Quinones. It opened my eyes to the origin and magnitude of the addiction crisis that grips our country.
The ideal is for the governor and state legislature to work as partners without either being a rubber stamp of the other. This requires open lines of communication and mutual respect.
Climate change Also convincing young Hoosiers of the value of education beyond high school. Currently about half of jobs require post-secondary education, most of which require a college education. In the next ten years, that figure will rise to 72% of jobs requiring education and training beyond high school. The high paying jobs of today and tomorrow go to educated workers. State leaders need to recognize that education is the key to a workforce that will attract businesses to Indiana now and in the future.
Yes. My experience on the Delaware County Council gave me an understanding of governmental budgets and taxes.
Yes. a legislator is only one of 150 members of the Indiana General Assembly so building relationships with colleagues of both parties is essential to passing legislation. In addition, I have served in the minority party throughout my time in the Indiana General Assembly. It's especially important for minority members to build relationships across the aisle. For example, two of my bills - adding consent to Indiana's rape law and support for the HPV vaccine to eliminate cervical cancer - passed after I switched from being the primary author and asked my Republican coauthor to become the primary author, with me as coauthor. I've learned that success is measured by getting a bill passed, no matter who gets the credit.
Senator Vi Simpson was my mentor. While she is no longer in the Senate, I continue to hold her up as the model legislator I aspire to be.
Shortly after Indiana's near total abortion ban was passed, a woman contacted me about the decision she and her then partner (now husband) made together when she experienced an unintended pregnancy. After much anguish and thought, they decided that the best choice was to get an abortion. A few years later, when times were better for them, she became pregnant again. They were both excited and ready to be parents. It was a difficult birth - she almost died from bleeding out, receiving 17 transfusions. Her daughter was born and she woke up in the ICU on a ventilator. Fortunately, they both survived. In 2020, another pregnancy ended with a miscarriage. Now they are trying for third pregnancy and she wants to make sure that if something were to happen again, she would have the right to decide what to do. She wants her daughter to have that right. She wants every woman to have the right to make that decision. I tell this story because it illustrates that pregnancy can be complicated. Yet Indiana's abortion law shuts out the people who should be most involved in decision making: the woman, her loved ones, and her doctor.
I believe that power should remain with the governor. The Indiana legislature is not in session year round. The governor would have to call the legislature back into session before it could act. The administrative branch of government is better equipped to deal with sudden emergencies.
Indiana Conservation Voters

Indiana State Teachers Association PACE (ISTA-PACE)
Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates - Indiana
Our Choice Coalition
Indiana NOW PAC
Indiana Federation of Democratic Women
National Association of Social Workers - Indiana Chapter - PACE (NASW-IN-PACE)
Indiana AFL-CIO
United Auto Workers
Maintenance of Way Teamsters
Indiana Professional Firefighters PAC
Indiana State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police 1934
LIUNA Local 1112
Indiana Stonewall Democrats
Humane Society Legislative Fund
Muncie Resists
Delaware County Team Democrat PAC

MAD Voters
I'm the ranking minority member of the House Environmental Affairs Committee, a member of the Elections and Reapportionment Committee, and Vice Chair of the Statutory Committee on Ethics. I'm also a legislative member of the Recycling Market Development Board. Although I don't currently serve on the Health, utilities, and Education committees, I am interested in their work.
These are basic values that the public expects from their elected officials. They are critical to a democracy because they build the public trust.
Good for the state. Our legislature is so gerrymandered that it has become out of balance and out of step with the will of the people on certain issues. Indiana's extreme abortion law and the majority party leadership's refusal to allow the legalization of marijuana to even come to a vote are two examples. This despite multiple polls that consistently show the majority of Hoosiers support abortion in all or most circumstances and favor making marijuana legal in Indiana. I often hear voters ask, "Why can't we vote on abortion like the citizens of Ohio did?"

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.

2022

Sue Errington did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Sue Errington did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

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.


Sue Errington campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* Indiana House of Representatives District 34Won general$68,683 $43,297
2022Indiana House of Representatives District 34Won general$92,419 $95,164
2020Indiana House of Representatives District 34Won general$89,038 N/A**
2018Indiana House of Representatives District 34Won general$26,035 N/A**
2016Indiana House of Representatives, District 34Won $33,991 N/A**
2014Indiana House of Representatives, District 34Won $53,777 N/A**
2012Indiana State House, District 34Won $81,885 N/A**
2010Indiana State Senate, District 26Lost $139,997 N/A**
2006Indiana State Senate, District 26Won $264,659 N/A**
1996Indiana State House, District 35Lost $96,420 N/A**
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

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


2023


2022


2021


2020


2019


2018


2017


2016


2015


2014


2013

See also


External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by
-
Indiana House of Representatives District 34
2012-Present
Succeeded by
-
Preceded by
-
Indiana State Senate District 26
2006-2010
Succeeded by
-


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