2028 United States House of Representatives elections in Indiana (Blackford)

The **2028 United States House of Representatives elections in Indiana** were held on Tuesday, November 7, 2028 to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the state, one from each of the state's nine congressional districts. The elections coincided with numerous state and local elections, a presidential election, a gubernatorial election and an election to the U.S. Senate, and was the first time since 2010 in which the Democratic Party won more than two of the state's congressional districts, as well as the first time since 1970 where a Democrat won the northern portions of the Indianapolis metropolitan area in the House.

Part of the 2028 United States House of Representatives elections, which was nationally seen as part of a wave election in which the Democrats retained control of the Senate while retaking control of both the House and the presidency, the Democrats were considered to have little chance of ending the Republican control over Indiana's congressional delegation, though Democratic nominee Sarah Booth did end up defeating Republican incumbent Hank Kelley in the largely white and predominately suburban 5th district, a traditional Republican stronghold. This marked the first time since 2006 that the Democrats had managed to defeat a Republican incumbent in any of Indiana's congressional districts.

## District 1

*See also: Indiana's 1st congressional district*

The 1st district, located in Northwest Indiana, takes in eastern portions of the Chicago metropolitan area including the cities of Hammond and Gary. The district takes in the entirety of Lake and Porter Counties, as well as western LaPorte County, and was traditionally a Democratic stronghold, though it only had a Cook PVI of D+2 as of 2028, making it a swing district in presidential elections. The incumbent was Democrat Frank J. Mrvan, who had held the seat since 2021 and was re-elected in 2026 with 56.8% of the vote. This election marked exactly 100 years since the last time a Republican had been elected to the 1st district, making it one of the longest continuously Democratic districts in the nation at the time.

The 2028 election was not expected to be competitive in the district, primarily thanks to a number of controversies surrounding Reynolds and his campaign, most notably his involvement in the Christian Identity movement, his views on homosexuality, his ties to neo-Nazi and neo-fascist groups, as well as his involvement in the January 6, 2021 United States Capitol attack. Mrvan ultimately won re-election in the district in a landslide, securing over 60% of the popular vote.

### Democratic primary

#### Candidates

##### Nominee

* Frank J. Mrvan, incumbent U.S. representative

Mrvan ran unopposed.

### Republican primary

#### Candidates

##### Nominee

* Scott Reynolds, pastor and conservative political commentator

##### Eliminated in primary

* Chandler Dickson, perennial candidate
* Layla Burke, blogger and columnist

### General election

#### Results

**2028 Indiana's 1st congressional district election**

The election was not close, with Mrvan ultimately defeating Reynolds in the district in a landslide, outperforming other Democratic candidates in the district during the concurrent elections by a significant margin. Despite losing by nearly 100,000 votes, Reynolds refused to concede defeat, falsely claiming that the election had been rigged and was fraudulent. Reynolds would launch several lawsuits in an attempt to overturn the election, however was repeatedly ignored by the Indiana Supreme Court.

## District 2

The 2nd district encompassed portions of north central Indiana, perhaps most notably the historically Democratic Rust Belt industrial city of South Bend, as well as mostly open farmland to the south of South Bend which allowed the district to take in some of the most socially conservative voters in the entire Midwest. As a result of the district's industrial background, the district and its predecessors were primarily divided between anti-union Republicans and pro-union Democrats, though representatives from both parties tended to be heavily socially conservative despite the strong socially liberal bent of South Bend itself.

The district's strong support for organized labor also meant that it was the last predominately rural district in the state to turn to the historically anti-union Republicans in Congress, having only flipped to the Republican Party in 2012 when conservative Democratic incumbent Joe Donnelly retired to successfully run for the Senate. As of 2028, the incumbent was Republican Rudy Yakym, who had been elected in a 2022 special election to fill a vacancy left by the death of Jackie Walorski, who had herself succeeded Donnelly in 2012. The district had a CPVI of R+13, however Yakym was widely seen as vulnerable in 2028 when faced by a challenger in the form of Michael Clarke, a socially moderate, pro-union Democrat. Polling showed a close race, and most pundits considered the race to be a tossup or only narrowly favoring Yakym, even despite the district's strong Republican lean. Yakym would end up defeating Clarke by just over ten thousand votes in what would become the last seriously contested race in this district for several decades.

### Republican primary

#### Candidates

##### Nominee

* Rudy Yakym, incumbent U.S. representative

### Democratic primary

#### Candidates

##### Declined

* Joe Donnelly, former Ambassador to the Holy See (2022-2025), U.S. senator (2013-2019) and representative for this district (2007-2013)

#### Summary

Clarke was the only Democrat to file in the race, and thus became the nominee by default.

### General election

#### Results

**2028 Indiana's 2nd congressional district election**

## District 5

*See also: Indiana's 5th congressional district*

The 5th district encompasses large parts of Central Indiana, including most of the northern half of the Indianapolis metropolitan area. Though the district historically had a heavy Republican lean, it had gradually trended towards the Democratic Party in the 2010s and 2020s. By 2028, the district had a Cook PVI of R+3, a significant leftward trend from just six years prior when the district had a CPVI of R+11. The incumbent was Republican Hank Kelley, who was seeking a third consecutive two-year term to represent the 5th district. He faced off against Democrat Sarah Booth, who had only narrowly been defeated by Kelley as the Democratic nominee for the district in 2026, losing by 3,000 votes.

Kelley, a far-right Republican who had become nationally known for his controversial statements, was widely considered to be the most vulnerable Republican in Indiana's congressional delegation in 2028, being highly unpopular amongst his constituents. Kelley was the target of numerous Democratic political action committees which financed Booth's campaign, and the 5th district was included on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's Red to Blue list of districts. Booth ultimately defeated Kelley by a decisive margin, becoming the first Democrat to represent the northern side of the Indianapolis metro in Congress in over half a century.

### Republican primary

#### Candidates

##### Nominee

* Hank Kelley, incumbent U.S. representative

##### Withdrew before primary

* John Watson, farmer, podcaster and QAnon activist (endorsed Kelley)

##### Disqualified

* Ann Wilkins, restaurateur (endorsed Democratic nominee Sarah Booth)

#### Summary

In February of 2027, Kelley announced his intention to run for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate against incumbent Todd Young in 2028, labeling Senator Young, one of the most moderate Republicans in the Senate, as a "woke leftist" and a "RINO". Kelley was considered the early front-runner for the nomination, raising more funds than Young by mid July of 2027, however dropped out of the race after state representative Jim Lucas entered the race in early December.

Shortly thereafter, he announced his intention to run for re-election in the 5th district, leading farmer and conservative podcaster John Watson, a fervent supporter of Kelley's 2024 and 2026 congressional campaigns, to drop out of the race and endorse him. The Indiana GOP disqualified Kelley's only other challenger, Ann Wilkins, a Carmel-area restaurateur and self-described "Rockefeller and Daniels Republican" from appearing on the ballot.

### Democratic primary

#### Candidates

##### Nominee

* Sarah Booth, nominee for this district in 2026

##### Eliminated in primary

* Rachel Sosa, organizer for the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)

##### Declined

* Oscar Hamilton, former U.S. representative for this district (2024-2025) (*Republican*)

#### Results

Booth defeated Sosa in a landslide for the Democratic nomination. It was widely rumored that former U.S. representative Oscar Hamilton would run for the Democratic nomination despite being a member of the Republican Party, and he repeatedly expressed interest in running for the seat as a Democrat, though he eventually announced that he would not run, instead endorsing Booth.

**Democratic primary results**

### General election

#### Results

**2028 Indiana's 5th congressional district election**

Kelley was defeated by 55,000 votes in the district after Booth managed to sweep the traditionally heavily Republican and predominately suburban Hamilton County, while narrowly winning the exurban Madison and Delaware Counties, as well as the predominately blue-collar Howard County. Booth became the first Democrat elected to represent the northern Indianapolis metro in Congress since 1970, when John Brademas was elected in the 3rd district, which included similar areas to the modern 5th district, and significantly outperformed all other Democrats on the ballot in the district. Despite initially disputing the election results, Kelley unexpectedly conceded the election and congratulated Booth on her victory on November 26. He would later run for re-election in the district in 2030, being defeated by Booth with a similar margin.