2022 United States Senate election in Indiana (SM)

Party
 Percentage

County results

Dante Henderson
Republican
Marty Fairfield
Democratic

The **2022 United States Senate election in Indiana** was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Indiana, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

Incumbent Republican Senator Dante Henderson, who had served in the Senate since 2017, ran for re-election. Henderson, a former State Representative, was elected with 55.3% of the vote in 2016, defeating econometrician Murray Burt and succeeding retiring Senator Lance Adomaitis, who held that seat between 2005 and 2017. The Democratic Party nomination was won by Indianapolis City-County councilor Marty Fairfield, who defeated psychiatrist Dale Holder. The Libertarian Party nominated meteorologist Joe Gross.

While initially seen as the frontrunner, Henderson's support waned through the campaign. After the primaries, allegations surfaced in August that Henderson had an illegal affair with a legislative aide, which he denied throughout the following months. In September, it surfaced that Henderson was involved in the Mindspex scandal, where he bought around $175,000 in stock in Mindspex the day after a closed meeting with members of the Senate Committee on Banking, which was frequently exploited by Democratic nominee Fairfield. Additionally, Fairfield received the endorsement of former Republican U.S. Vice President Logan Vogt, a fellow Hoosier, which helped his campaign.

These events severely damaged Henderson's reputation and credibility among voters and the media. He also faced criticism from within his own party, as some Republicans distanced themselves from him or openly endorsed Fairfield. The election attracted significant attention and spending from outside groups and donors. According to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan organization that tracks money in politics, Fairfield raised $23.4 million for his campaign while Henderson raised $18.7 million. However, Henderson benefited from more outside spending by super PACs and other groups that supported him or opposed Fairfield. These groups spent $15.2 million on behalf of Henderson while those backing Fairfield spent $9.8 million.

## Republican primary

### Declined to run

* Logan Vogt, former Vice President of the United States (2017-2021)

### Results

Henderson ran for the nomination unopposed.

**Republican primary results**

## Democratic primary

### Candidates

* Marty Fairfield, Indianapolis City-County Council member from the 7th district (2020-2022)
* Dale Holder, psychiatrist

## Campaign

### Mindspex scandal

Mindspex was a biotechnology company that developed a revolutionary brain-computer interface device that allowed users to control computers and other devices with their thoughts. The company was founded in 2019 by Dr. Alice Chen, a former neuroscientist at Stanford University. The company received funding from several venture capitalists and angel investors, as well as grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. In early 2022, Mindspex was preparing to go public and launch its product to the market. However, before that, the company had to undergo a rigorous review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure the safety and efficacy of its device. The review process was expected to take several months and involve multiple clinical trials and tests.

The scandal broke out in September 2022, when an anonymous whistleblower leaked documents and recordings that revealed that several members of Congress had received confidential information about the FDA review process and the expected approval of Mindspex’s device. The information was provided by Dr. Chen, who had close ties with some of the lawmakers. The lawmakers then used the information to buy large amounts of Mindspex stock before the public announcement of the FDA approval, which caused the stock price to skyrocket. The lawmakers then sold their shares at a huge profit, making millions of dollars in illegal gains. The documents also exposed that some of the lawmakers had used their influence to pressure the FDA to expedite the review process and overlook some of the potential risks and side effects of Mindspex’s device. The reports also listed Dr. Chen had bribed some of the FDA officials and researchers with money, gifts, and favors to secure a favorable outcome for her company.

This led to a federal investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the FBI. The investigation revealed that at least 12 members of Congress from both parties were involved in the scandal, including Indiana Senator Dante Henderson. Henderson had bought $175,000 worth of Mindspex stock on June 15, 2022, the day after he attended a closed meeting with members of the Senate Committee on Banking, which had oversight over the biotechnology sector. He then sold his shares on September 21, 2022, after the FDA announced its approval of Mindspex’s device, making a profit of $1.2 million. Eventually, this led to criminal charges against Henderson and other lawmakers for insider trading, fraud, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and other offenses, and had a significant impact in his re-election campaign.

## Results

Fairfield defeated Henderson by a surprisingly large margin of 25.8% (or 660,780 votes), winning 1,607,892 votes and 52 out of Indiana's 92 counties. Henderson's 947,113 votes (and 37%) led to the poorest showing by any Republican Party candidate in the state since 2002, when candidate for State Treasurer Moses Tracy lost re-election and finished with only 39%. At only 31-years-old, Fairfield became the youngest Senator elected that year and became the first Democratic senator from the state since Wesley Van Buren in 1986, who once held the same seat. Henderson conceded defeat shortly after the results were announced and congratulated Fairfield on his victory.