Tabitha Bartley

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Tabitha Bartley

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Marine Corps

Years of service

2010 - 2018

Personal

Birthplace

Lafayette, Ind.

Religion

Christian

Profession

Administrative assistant

Contact

Campaign Facebook

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Tabitha Bartley (Democratic Party) (also known as Tab) ran for election to the Indiana State Senate to represent District 7. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Bartley completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Tabitha Bartley was born in Lafayette, Indiana. She served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2010 to 2018. Bartley earned a military citation from the United States Defense Information School in 2011. In 2018, she began working as an administrative assistant for the university development office at Purdue Research Foundation. Bartley held a variety of positions during her time serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, including as a marketing and public relations director (2014-2018) and as a sexual assault victim advocate (2015-2018) at the Marine Corps recruiting station in Columbia, South Carolina; as a community relations representative (2013-2014) and as a mass communication specialist (2011-2013) for the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia.

Bartley has served as the director of Women Veterans Greater Lafayette, and as a member of Disabled American Veterans Chapter 27, the Tippecanoe County Veterans Council, and the Midwest Women Veterans Coalition. She has also volunteered with the Library of Congress Veteran History Project.

Elections

2020

See also: Indiana State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Indiana State Senate District 7

Incumbent Brian Buchanan defeated Tabitha Bartley in the general election for Indiana State Senate District 7 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brian Buchanan (R)	69.5	39,566
		Tabitha Bartley (D)	30.5	17,385

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 56,951
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Indiana State Senate District 7

Tabitha Bartley advanced from the Democratic primary for Indiana State Senate District 7 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tabitha Bartley	100.0	5,399

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,399
= 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 7

Incumbent Brian Buchanan defeated Ethan Brown and Vernon Budde in the Republican primary for Indiana State Senate District 7 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brian Buchanan	69.4	9,597
	Submit photo	Ethan Brown	26.4	3,651
	Submit photo	Vernon Budde	4.2	581

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,829
= 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

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Tabitha Bartley completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bartley's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a wife, mother, disabled Marine Corps veteran and change maker.

I am running to make change happen in Indiana, and that starts from the ground up. After serving eight years in the Marine Corps, I wanted to come back to my community and make an impact. I believe it starts with investing in our public education system, having accessible and accountable veteran care and improving our quality of life.

We need servant leaders who understand what the majority of Hoosiers are going through. It is time to be proactive and forward thinking when it comes to the needs of all Hoosiers, not simply respond to the matters of the day. It's time we start building toward Indiana's future together.

My campaign is about making change happen now and not just waiting until I am elected. In the last year, I have started a group to help integrate female veterans into their local community, organized a group of veterans to support our local Black Lives Matter march, organized a parade at the Indiana Veterans Home to celebrate the first Women Veterans Day for the state, and participated in a first of its kind veteran's transition program. These are just some of the things I have done to make change happen now.

I spent eight years in the Marine Corps mastering servant leadership and I believe that is what Hoosiers need most in the state house. It's time to remove the politicians and have tried and true leaders representing our state.

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?

• Better support education for both faculty and students.
• More accessible and accountable veteran support for veterans.
• Better Quality of life for all Hoosiers.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

We need to raise teacher pay and provide state offered and district offered continued education credits at no cost to educators. Actions speak louder than words and our actions in Indiana have resulted in our teachers' salaries being in the bottom 10 in the nation.

It's not enough to say we support veterans, we need to make sure that programs are being held accountable when it comes to making sure veterans receive the care they earned. The first step in accomplishing this is by making sure all Veteran Support Officers across the state of Indiana have mandated credentials that they must maintain on an annual basis. We also need to make sure we have a more diversity when it comes to our VSO's .

We need better and more accessible health care for all Hoosiers. I want to specially focus on lowering the cost of prescriptions and improving the infant and maternal mortality rates, as well as take a proactive approach when it comes to the mental health of Hoosiers. One of the ways I want to address our infant and maternal mortality rate is by having a state wide Duala data base system.

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

Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis and former United States Secretary of Defense. When I think of a true servant leader, I instantly go to Mad Dog. As a Marine, we were constantly taught about great leaders who had served in the past. Mattis was one of those leaders we were taught about who was currently serving. There was a bit of folklore around him and a million different stories about the things he said, but more importantly, what he did.

One of the reasons I look up to him so much is the way he cared for those who served below and with him. He knew you couldn't accomplish a mission without troop welfare. He lead from the front, set the example and never asked his Marines to do things he wasn't willing to do. He also wasn't scared to speak out when something was wrong. He didn't play politics. He was the true definition of an elite warrior and great leader.

I strived personally to master my own leadership skills and to make sure to always seek self-improvement. It's important to listen to the people around you as a leader and know when you need to speak up.

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

I believe we need less politicians and more servant leaders in these positions of powers. We need individuals who are transparent and morally and ethically sound. Leaders who don't pretend to know everything and make sure that the first priority is the needs of the people.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I think the most important quality I have is my leadership skills. I mastered leadership while serving in the Marine Corps and I am constantly working at being a better leader. My whole reason for running for office isn't because I wanted to, but I knew we needed someone who was a true servant leader. I know how to make change happen. I know how to accomplish the mission. That is what we need in our state house. Someone who can lead, is transparent and more worried about serving the people than anything else.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Simple, serve the people.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I always strive to be the hardest working person in the room. I stick to my morals and ethics and I am not afraid to speak out when something isn't right.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Wait for it - Hamilton

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I had to master tact early in my Marine Corps career. I learned early on that it's not just good enough to have a seat at the table, if you aren't being heard. This is something I have to strive at every day. If you want to be heard, you first have to learn how to listen. You have to humble yourself and not be scared to have hard conversations. I have learned how to embrace my assertiveness and will continue to make sure I am heard.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

I value someone's leadership skills and overall life experiences over their involvement in government or politics. I believe we have too many individuals who are in these positions of power for the wrong reasons.

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.

See also

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External links

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Footnotes

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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)