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Indiana's 5th Congressional District election, 2026

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2024
Indiana's 5th Congressional District
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: February 6, 2026
Primary: May 5, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Voting in Indiana

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Indiana's 5th Congressional District
1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9th
Indiana elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

All U.S. House districts, including the 5th Congressional District of Indiana, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. The primary is May 5, 2026. The filing deadline is February 6, 2026. For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House Indiana District 5

Incumbent Victoria Spartz, Samuel Cooper, Jackson Franklin, Deborah A. Pickett, and Todd Shelton are running in the general election for U.S. House Indiana District 5 on November 3, 2026.


Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Candidate profiles

There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here. You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:

Voting information

See also: Voting in Indiana

Election information in Indiana: Nov. 3, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: Oct. 5, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 5, 2026
  • Online: Oct. 5, 2026

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

  • In-person: Oct. 22, 2026
  • By mail: Received by Oct. 22, 2026
  • Online: Oct. 22, 2026

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

  • In-person: Nov. 3, 2026
  • By mail: Received by Nov. 3, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 6, 2026 to Nov. 2, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (ET/CT)


Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

You can ask candidates in this race to fill out the survey by clicking their names below:

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Victoria Spartz Republican Party $743,110 $807,154 $194,006 As of September 30, 2025
Samuel Cooper Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***
Jackson Franklin Democratic Party $16,778 $11,872 $4,906 As of September 30, 2025
Deborah A. Pickett Democratic Party $6,645 $8,982 $1,932 As of September 30, 2025
Todd Shelton Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[1]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[2][3][4]

Race ratings: Indiana's 5th Congressional District election, 2026
Race trackerRace ratings
12/23/202512/16/202512/9/202512/2/2025
The Cook Political Report with Amy WalterSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The HillPendingPendingPendingPending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Indiana in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Indiana, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Indiana U.S. House Ballot-qualified party N/A (only declaration of candidacy required) N/A 2/6/2026 Source
Indiana U.S. House Unaffiliated 2% of total votes cast for the secretary of state in the district in the last election N/A 7/15/2026 Source


District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.

General election

General election for U.S. House Indiana District 5

Incumbent Victoria Spartz (R) defeated Deborah A. Pickett (D), Robby Slaughter (Independent), and Lauri Shillings (L) in the general election for U.S. House Indiana District 5 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Victoria Spartz
Victoria Spartz (R)
 
56.6
 
203,293
Image of Deborah A. Pickett
Deborah A. Pickett (D)  Candidate Connection
 
38.0
 
136,554
Image of Robby Slaughter
Robby Slaughter (Independent)  Candidate Connection
 
2.7
 
9,790
Image of Lauri Shillings
Lauri Shillings (L)  Candidate Connection
 
2.7
 
9,567

Total votes: 359,204
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

Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 5

Deborah A. Pickett (D) defeated Ryan Pfenninger (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 5 on May 7, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Deborah A. Pickett
Deborah A. Pickett  Candidate Connection
 
59.5
 
11,858
Image of Ryan Pfenninger
Ryan Pfenninger  Candidate Connection
 
40.5
 
8,082

Total votes: 19,940
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

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 5

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 5 on May 7, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Victoria Spartz
Victoria Spartz
 
39.1
 
31,674
Image of Chuck Goodrich
Chuck Goodrich
 
33.2
 
26,865
Image of Max Engling
Max Engling  Candidate Connection
 
9.7
 
7,841
Image of Raju Chinthala
Raju Chinthala
 
7.1
 
5,742
Image of Mark Hurt
Mark Hurt  Candidate Connection
 
5.5
 
4,431
Larry L. Savage Jr.
 
1.9
 
1,569
Image of Matthew Peiffer
Matthew Peiffer  Candidate Connection
 
1.7
 
1,379
Image of Patrick Malayter
Patrick Malayter  Candidate Connection
 
1.0
 
800
Image of Lonnie Powell
Lonnie Powell  Candidate Connection
 
0.9
 
729

Total votes: 81,030
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

General election

General election for U.S. House Indiana District 5

Incumbent Victoria Spartz (R) defeated Jeannine Lee Lake (D) in the general election for U.S. House Indiana District 5 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Victoria Spartz
Victoria Spartz (R)
 
61.1
 
146,575
Image of Jeannine Lee Lake
Jeannine Lee Lake (D)  Candidate Connection
 
38.9
 
93,434

Total votes: 240,009
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

Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 5

Jeannine Lee Lake (D) defeated Matt Hall (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 5 on May 3, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jeannine Lee Lake
Jeannine Lee Lake  Candidate Connection
 
60.0
 
10,192
Image of Matt Hall
Matt Hall  Candidate Connection
 
40.0
 
6,799

Total votes: 16,991
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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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 5

Incumbent Victoria Spartz (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 5 on May 3, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Victoria Spartz
Victoria Spartz
 
100.0
 
47,128

Total votes: 47,128
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.

General election

General election for U.S. House Indiana District 5

Victoria Spartz (R) defeated Christina Hale (D) and Ken Tucker (L) in the general election for U.S. House Indiana District 5 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Victoria Spartz
Victoria Spartz (R)
 
50.0
 
208,212
Image of Christina Hale
Christina Hale (D)
 
45.9
 
191,226
Image of Ken Tucker
Ken Tucker (L)  Candidate Connection
 
4.0
 
16,788

Total votes: 416,226
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

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 5

Christina Hale (D) defeated Dee Thornton (D), Jennifer Christie (D), Andy Jacobs (D), and Ralph Spelbring (D) in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 5 on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Christina Hale
Christina Hale
 
40.8
 
30,123
Image of Dee Thornton
Dee Thornton
 
27.1
 
20,049
Image of Jennifer Christie
Jennifer Christie
 
18.1
 
13,345
Andy Jacobs
 
13.3
 
9,817
Ralph Spelbring
 
0.8
 
575

Total votes: 73,909
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

Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 5

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 5 on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Victoria Spartz
Victoria Spartz
 
39.7
 
34,526
Image of Beth Henderson
Beth Henderson
 
17.6
 
15,343
Image of Micah Beckwith
Micah Beckwith  Candidate Connection
 
12.7
 
11,063
Image of Carl Brizzi
Carl Brizzi
 
6.5
 
5,619
Image of Kent Abernathy
Kent Abernathy  Candidate Connection
 
5.6
 
4,901
Image of Kelly Mitchell
Kelly Mitchell
 
5.3
 
4,643
Image of Chuck Dietzen
Chuck Dietzen
 
4.7
 
4,071
Image of Matthew Hook
Matthew Hook  Candidate Connection
 
2.5
 
2,147
Image of Andrew Bales
Andrew Bales  Candidate Connection
 
1.5
 
1,329
Image of Mark Small
Mark Small  Candidate Connection
 
1.2
 
1,057
Image of Danny Niederberger
Danny Niederberger  Candidate Connection
 
0.8
 
675
Image of Victor Wakley
Victor Wakley  Candidate Connection
 
0.5
 
465
Image of Allen Davidson
Allen Davidson
 
0.5
 
411
Image of Russell Stwalley
Russell Stwalley  Candidate Connection
 
0.4
 
379
Image of Matthew Hullinger
Matthew Hullinger  Candidate Connection
 
0.4
 
333

Total votes: 86,962
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

Libertarian Party convention

Libertarian convention for U.S. House Indiana District 5

Ken Tucker (L) advanced from the Libertarian Party convention for U.S. House Indiana District 5 on March 7, 2020.

Candidate
Image of Ken Tucker
Ken Tucker  Candidate Connection

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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District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

  • District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
  • Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
  • State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.


Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

2023_01_03_in_congressional_district_05.jpg
See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026
Information about competitiveness will be added here as it becomes available.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+8. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 8 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Indiana's 5th the 148th most Republican district nationally.[5]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.

2024 presidential results in Indiana's 5th Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
41.0% 57.0%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Indiana, 2024

Indiana presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 5 Democratic wins
  • 27 Republican wins
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winning Party R R R D R R R R D D R R R R R R D R R R R R R R R R R D R R R R
See also: Party control of Indiana state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Indiana's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Indiana
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 0 2 2
Republican 2 7 9
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 9 11

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Indiana's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Indiana, October 2025
Office Officeholder
Governor Republican Party Mike Braun
Lieutenant Governor Republican Party Micah Beckwith
Secretary of State Republican Party Diego Morales
Attorney General Republican Party Todd Rokita

State legislature

Indiana State Senate

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 10
     Republican Party 40
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 50

Indiana House of Representatives

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 29
     Republican Party 70
     Other 0
     Vacancies 1
Total 100

Trifecta control

Indiana Party Control: 1992-2025
No Democratic trifectas  •  Seventeen years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
Senate R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
House D D D R R D D D D D D D D R R D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

See also

Indiana 2026 primaries 2026 U.S. Congress elections
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External links

Footnotes

  1. Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  2. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  3. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  4. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  5. Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
Jim Baird (R)
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
Republican Party (9)
Democratic Party (2)