Indiana’s electric cooperatives work closely with both the state and federal government to ensure the energy they provide is safe, reliable and affordable. Indiana has two delegates to the U.S. Senate and nine delegates to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Indiana’s senators are Mike Braun and Todd Young.
Braun was elected in 2018. A native of Jasper, Indiana, where he owns Meyer Distributing, a truck specialty parts retailer and aftermarket wholesaler.
Young was elected in 2016. He served for a decade in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. A fifth generation Hoosier, Young currently lives in Johnson County.
Indiana’s nine Congressional representatives are Frank Mrvan, Jackie Walorski, Jim Banks, Jim Baird, Victoria Spartz, Greg Pence, André Carson, Larry Bucshon and Trey Hollingsworth.
Mrvan (District 1) was elected in 2021. He is passionate about serving the labor interests and steel and manufacturing industries of Northwest Indiana.
Walorski (District 2) was elected in 2013. A native Hoosier who was born and raised in South Bend, she is passionate about growing our economy, bringing good jobs to northern Indiana, strengthening our national security, ensuring veterans receive services and care, and keeping the American Dream alive for Hoosiers.
Banks (District 3) was elected in 2017. He currently serves in the U.S. Navy Reserve as a supply corps officer. In 2014 and 2015, he took leaves of absence from the Indiana Senate to deploy to Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
Baird (District 4) was elected in 2019. He is a decorated Vietnam War veteran, whose distinguished service to our country was recognized with a Bronze Star with V device and two Purple Hearts. He is a lifelong resident of west central Indiana and previously ran a home health care agency and a farm with his family.
Spartz (District 5) was elected in 2021. She was born overseas and immigrated to the United States 20 years ago after meeting her husband, a lifelong Hoosier, on a train in Europe. Spartz became a U.S. citizen and worked her way up from bank teller to a CPA, finance executive and successful business owner.
Pence (District 6) was elected in 2019. Pence is a Marine officer and small businessman from Columbus, Indiana, the only place he has ever called home. He is passionate about job creation, economic growth and serving with leadership.
Carson (District 7) was elected in 2008. An Indianapolis native, Carson grew up on the city’s east side. Before taking office, he served on the Indianapolis City-County Council, worked full time in law enforcement, and worked in intelligence and counterterrorism for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.
Bucshon (District 8) was elected in 2011. He was born and raised in a small central Illinois town. Bucshon served with the U.S. Navy Reserve for almost a decade and, before joining Congress, was a practicing physician and surgeon specializing in cardiothoracic surgery.
Hollingsworth (District 9) was elected in 2017. He is a small business owner, who even during the depths of the recession as other U.S. businesses moved overseas, found opportunities for companies to expand, produce and hire locally. Later, Hollingsworth partnered with businessmen and chemists to start an aluminum remanufacturing operation in Indiana.
New Legislator Spotlight
Two new federal legislators were elected for the first time in 2021: Rep. Frank Mrvan (District 1) and Rep. Victoria Spartz (District 5). Mrvan is a member of the Democratic Party and Spartz is a member of the Republican Party.
Prior to Congress, Mrvan served as the North Township trustee for 15 years and Spartz served as an Indiana state senator from 2017-2020.
Mrvan currently serves as a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor and Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Spartz currently serves as a member on the House Committee on Education and Labor and the House Committee on the Judiciary.
In their first few months in office, both new delegates have been quite busy. Spartz has co-sponsored 12 bills and Mrvan has co-sponsored 50 bills.
A Historical Look at Indiana’s Federal Delegation
Indiana’s first federal delegation was elected in 1815. Rep. William Hendricks was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1815 and served until 1821. Sen. James Noble and Sen. Waller Taylor were elected to U.S. Senate in 1816. Noble served until 1831 and Taylor served until 1825.
Since the first Hoosier representation in Washington, D.C., Indiana has elected candidates from the Democratic, Republican, Democratic-Republican, Jacksonian, Anti-Jacksonian, Whig, Opposition, Independent, Anti-Monopoly, and Greenbacker parties.
Perhaps the most well-known historical federal officials from Indiana are William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison. William was elected governor of the Indiana Territory in 1801, where he served 12 years. He was elected President of the United States in 1841 and served just 32 days as the ninth president before passing away. Thirty years later, in 1876, William’s grandson, Benjamin, unsuccessfully ran for governor of Indiana. But the Indiana General Assembly elected Benjamin to a six-year term in the U.S. Senate, where he served from 1881 to 1887. In 1888, he was elected the 23rd U.S. president.
SOURCES: https://www.braun.senate.gov/about-mike; https://www.young.senate.gov/about-todd; https://mrvan.house.gov/about; https://walorski.house.gov/about/;https://banks.house.gov/biography/; https://baird.house.gov/about/; https://www.spartzforcongress.com/about/; https://pence.house.gov/about; https://carson.house.gov/about/biography; https://bucshon.house.gov/biography/full-biography.htm; https://hollingsworth.house.gov/biography/ https://mrvan.house.gov/about; https://www.congress.gov/member/frank-mrvan/M001214?q={%22search%22:[%22frank+mrvan%22]}&s=4&r=1&searchResultViewType=expanded; https://www.congress.gov/member/victoria-spartz/S000929?q={%22search%22:[%22frank%20mrvan%22],%22within%22:[%22frank%20mrvan%22]}&searchResultViewType=expanded; https://www.spartzforcongress.com/ https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_congressional_delegations_from_Indiana; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Harrison#:~:text=Benjamin%20Harrison%20(August%2020%2C%201833,States%20from%201889%20to%201893; https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/william-henry-harrison/