How Dems Ran 2026

J.D. Ford

IN-05

Attacked tax breaks and handouts for Big Tech and data centers

As a State Senator, I voted for efforts to stop the more than $650 million in tax incentives offered to data center owners and developers.Campaign press release, September 10, 2026

Supported stronger oversight of data-center development

We have a monopoly problem, and I’m going to tackle it by restoring competition to the market. I’ll work to block anti-competitive hospital and insurance mergers, block grocery mega-mergers that kill local choice, and ensure our utility bills don't skyrocket just to subsidize energy-hungry data centers for massive corporations.Ballotpedia candidate survey, February 1, 2026
she would introduce the same legislation that I did in the Indiana Senate in Congress: putting communities in control of whether and when data centers are built, and ensuring no costs are passed on to ratepayers.Post on X, September 10, 2026
Hold data centers accountable for paying for their own water and utility expenses.Campaign website, priorities page, October 27, 2026
I filed that bill in the state Senate, you know, to provide that transparency and those regulations to put those communities back into the driver's seat of these decisions.Video, September 15, 2026
requiring more transparency, requiring more regulations, um, you know, I think is what Hoosiers are demanding. We want Hooser communities to be put back into the driver's seat.Video, August 11, 2026
Congresswoman Spartz is not serious about this issue, because if she were, she would introduce the same legislation that I did in the Indiana Senate in Congress: putting communities in control of whether and when data centers are built, and ensuring no costs are passed on to ratepayers.Campaign press release, September 10, 2026

Developer responsibility for infrastructure and utility costs

We have a monopoly problem, and I’m going to tackle it by restoring competition to the market. I’ll work to block anti-competitive hospital and insurance mergers, block grocery mega-mergers that kill local choice, and ensure our utility bills don't skyrocket just to subsidize energy-hungry data centers for massive corporations.Ballotpedia candidate survey, February 1, 2026
she would introduce the same legislation that I did in the Indiana Senate in Congress: putting communities in control of whether and when data centers are built, and ensuring no costs are passed on to ratepayers.Post on X, September 10, 2026
Hold data centers accountable for paying for their own water and utility expenses.Campaign website, priorities page, October 27, 2026
Congresswoman Spartz is not serious about this issue, because if she were, she would introduce the same legislation that I did in the Indiana Senate in Congress: putting communities in control of whether and when data centers are built, and ensuring no costs are passed on to ratepayers.Campaign press release, September 10, 2026

Enforceable water, energy, and community protections

Hold data centers accountable for paying for their own water and utility expenses.Campaign website, priorities page, October 27, 2026

Supported reining in or regulating Big Tech and AI companies

AI does good things but can also be used for nefarious reasons and we want to make sure we put some guardrails around that,WISH-TV interview, October 12, 2026

Called to reverse the cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, or ACA coverage

Fight to restore and protect Medicaid funding.Campaign website, priorities page, October 27, 2026

Called for lowering prescription-drug prices

In Congress, I'll fight to cap healthcare and prescription costs and push for corporate accountability to lower your monthly expenses.Campaign website, platform page, October 27, 2026
In the state Senate I fought to lower medication costs, strengthen public education and ensure every Hoosier gets a fair shot, and I'll do the same in CongressNews story, October 29, 2026

Prescription-drug price limits

In Congress, I'll fight to cap healthcare and prescription costs and push for corporate accountability to lower your monthly expenses.Campaign website, platform page, October 27, 2026

Called for restoring ACA subsidies

I'll crack down on predatory investors buying up Central Indiana homes and driving up rents, restore ACA subsidies for the 60,000 Hoosiers who lost help with premiums, and fight the tariffs and war in Iran that Victoria Spartz supported, which have driven up the cost of gas and groceries.IndyStar voter guide, October 28, 2026

Called for higher taxes on billionaires and the wealthy

Billionaires and corporations should pay income and property taxes like every other Hoosier, and we should stop handing out billions in tax breaks to companies that can afford to pay their own way.IndyStar voter guide, October 28, 2026
I'll require congressional approval before a president can start wars overseas, protect Social Security from being gutted, and make billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share.IndyStar voter guide, October 28, 2026

Called for corporations to pay more in taxes

Billionaires and corporations should pay income and property taxes like every other Hoosier, and we should stop handing out billions in tax breaks to companies that can afford to pay their own way.IndyStar voter guide, October 28, 2026
I'll require congressional approval before a president can start wars overseas, protect Social Security from being gutted, and make billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share.IndyStar voter guide, October 28, 2026

Called for stronger competition and limits on monopoly power

We have a monopoly problem, and I’m going to tackle it by restoring competition to the market. I’ll work to block anti-competitive hospital and insurance mergers, block grocery mega-mergers that kill local choice, and ensure our utility bills don't skyrocket just to subsidize energy-hungry data centers for massive corporations.Ballotpedia candidate survey, February 1, 2026
Let's expand the child and dependent care tax credit, establish national minimum staffing standards for nursing homes to ensure safety, and lower healthcare premiums by stopping anti-competitive hospital mergers.Ballotpedia candidate survey, February 1, 2026
Banning non-competes, you know, fighting for lower prescription drugs, the cost of prescription drugs. These are the things that I've done in the state Senate and I'm going to continue to do as a member of Congress.Interview, WTHR, September 15, 2026

Blocking anticompetitive mergers

We have a monopoly problem, and I’m going to tackle it by restoring competition to the market. I’ll work to block anti-competitive hospital and insurance mergers, block grocery mega-mergers that kill local choice, and ensure our utility bills don't skyrocket just to subsidize energy-hungry data centers for massive corporations.Ballotpedia candidate survey, February 1, 2026
Let's expand the child and dependent care tax credit, establish national minimum staffing standards for nursing homes to ensure safety, and lower healthcare premiums by stopping anti-competitive hospital mergers.Ballotpedia candidate survey, February 1, 2026

Called for campaign-finance reform to reduce big money's influence

You know, money in politics, I hate it, but it is the system that we're currently operating in until we can actually get to Congress and do meaningful campaign finance reform. We got to keep raising the cash.Indy Politics interview

Called for banning stock trading by members of Congress

"I'll fight corruption by banning members of Congress from trading stocks," he said.Quoted in Yahoo News, October 29, 2026
I'll fight corruption by banning members of Congress from trading stocks,Candidate interview, October 29, 2026

Supported stronger conflict-of-interest and ethics rules

I'll fight corruption by banning members of Congress from trading stocks,Candidate interview, October 29, 2026

Called for reversing tariffs that raise household costs

I'll crack down on predatory investors buying up Central Indiana homes and driving up rents, restore ACA subsidies for the 60,000 Hoosiers who lost help with premiums, and fight the tariffs and war in Iran that Victoria Spartz supported, which have driven up the cost of gas and groceries.IndyStar voter guide, October 28, 2026

Called for making child care more affordable

Let's expand the child and dependent care tax credit, establish national minimum staffing standards for nursing homes to ensure safety, and lower healthcare premiums by stopping anti-competitive hospital mergers.Ballotpedia candidate survey, February 1, 2026

Called for lowering household utility bills

But look, we need a member of Congress who's going to stand up to these utility companies that are causing these rates to go through the roof and also stand up to the data center companiesVideo, September 15, 2026

Blamed high gas and fuel prices on the Iran war, tariffs, or oil companies

Meanwhile, the war in Iran has driven up the price of gas and everything else.Candidate questionnaire, IndyStar, October 28, 2026
She voted, yet again, to continue this unauthorized war that's driving up the price of gas and everything that depends on it: groceries, plane tickets, the products we buy every day.Post on X, September 17, 2026

Named policies to lower child-care costs: universal child care, public funding or subsidies, or caps on family costs

Let's expand the child and dependent care tax credit, establish national minimum staffing standards for nursing homes to ensure safety, and lower healthcare premiums by stopping anti-competitive hospital mergers.Ballotpedia candidate survey, February 1, 2026

Public funding, subsidies, or child-care tax credits

Let's expand the child and dependent care tax credit, establish national minimum staffing standards for nursing homes to ensure safety, and lower healthcare premiums by stopping anti-competitive hospital mergers.Ballotpedia candidate survey, February 1, 2026

Supported stronger union organizing and collective-bargaining rights

Labor & Jobs: Fight for fair wages, safe working conditions, and the right to organize without interference.Campaign website, priorities page, October 27, 2026

Supported stronger workplace protections

Labor & Jobs: Fight for fair wages, safe working conditions, and the right to organize without interference.Campaign website, priorities page, October 27, 2026

Workplace safety and labor-law enforcement

Labor & Jobs: Fight for fair wages, safe working conditions, and the right to organize without interference.Campaign website, priorities page, October 27, 2026

Called for high earners to contribute more to Social Security

We are going to, one, scrap the cap so that billionaires must pay the same rate into the system as the autoworker in KokomoHamilton County Reporter, March 24, 2026

Opposed benefit cuts

I'll require congressional approval before a president can start wars overseas, protect Social Security from being gutted, and make billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share.IndyStar voter guide, October 28, 2026
we need to protect social security, protect SNAP, all these things that Hoosiers rely onVideo, May 9, 2026

Eliminating the payroll-tax cap

We are going to, one, scrap the cap so that billionaires must pay the same rate into the system as the autoworker in KokomoHamilton County Reporter, March 24, 2026

Called for making housing more affordable

How we make housing more affordable for Hoosiers is by banning international investors and big corporations from buying homes to use as rentals, which limits the housing stock and drives up costsHamilton County Reporter, August 11, 2026
Make housing more affordable for Hoosiers by banning international investors and big corporations from buying homes and driving up housing costs.Campaign website, priorities page, October 27, 2026

Called for restricting corporate, private equity, and hedge fund purchases of homes

How we make housing more affordable for Hoosiers is by banning international investors and big corporations from buying homes to use as rentals, which limits the housing stock and drives up costsHamilton County Reporter, August 11, 2026
Make housing more affordable for Hoosiers by banning international investors and big corporations from buying homes and driving up housing costs.Campaign website, priorities page, October 27, 2026

Supported protecting or expanding abortion access

Protect a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions by codifying Roe v. Wade into federal law.J.D. Ford campaign platform, October 14, 2026 capture, captured October 14, 2026

Restoring nationwide abortion rights

Protect a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions by codifying Roe v. Wade into federal law.Campaign website, priorities page, October 27, 2026

Putting abortion rights into federal law

Protect a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions by codifying Roe v. Wade into federal law.Campaign website, priorities page, October 27, 2026

Restoring Roe's protections

Protect a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions by codifying Roe v. Wade into federal law.Campaign website, priorities page, October 27, 2026

Supported stronger rights and safeguards in immigration enforcement

Reform the system to hold ICE accountable — mandating body cameras, ending masked raids, increasing training standards, and taking on politicians who suspend our constitutional rights and endanger our communities.Campaign website, priorities page, October 27, 2026
these so-called cosplaying federal agents are doing, right? And so, let's talk about that, right? I mean, we need them to be unmasked, right? And I think I think that they're doing a lot of this stuff right now because they can hide behind their mask.Video, February 17, 2026
and then the final thing I'll say on the topic is that uh bodywn cameras, they need to happen with these federal agents.Video, February 17, 2026
Again, those ICE agents, we want them to follow the laws. We want them to ensure that they are doing what they say that they're doing, but when they're going rogue, then there needs to be accountability, and I think that's where Congress can step in and provide that oversight.Video, September 15, 2026
we need to make sure that they have more training. If we're going to get them a firearm and go out there and have them enforce our laws, they got to get more training than 47 daysVideo, August 11, 2026
we also need to make sure that we have signed warrants. Signed judicial warrants so agents are just busting into people's doors and dragging, you know, some of our elderly neighbors or even kids for that matter outside of their home.Video, February 17, 2026
But what we're seeing now isn't law enforcement. It's reckless deportation without due process, and it's wrong.IndyStar voter guide, October 28, 2026

Due-process protections

But what we're seeing now isn't law enforcement. It's reckless deportation without due process, and it's wrong.IndyStar voter guide, October 28, 2026

Stronger enforcement accountability

Reform the system to hold ICE accountable — mandating body cameras, ending masked raids, increasing training standards, and taking on politicians who suspend our constitutional rights and endanger our communities.Campaign website, priorities page, October 27, 2026
and then the final thing I'll say on the topic is that uh bodywn cameras, they need to happen with these federal agents.Video, February 17, 2026
Again, those ICE agents, we want them to follow the laws. We want them to ensure that they are doing what they say that they're doing, but when they're going rogue, then there needs to be accountability, and I think that's where Congress can step in and provide that oversight.Video, September 15, 2026

Supporting a path to citizenship

We need to make sure that there's a path to citizenship, and how we do that is look at the courts.WFYI candidate interview

Abolishing or replacing ICE

I think at this moment, uh, we need to repeal and replace. I think that's the best option moving forward.Meet the Candidates interview, August 11, 2026

Supported stronger checks on executive power

The executive is out of control. The executive has picked the judicial. And so it really t behooves the United States Congress and even the Senate to step up and to hold this administration accountable to the things that we're seeing.Video, October 30, 2026

Supported strengthening voting rights

I also believe that we need to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.WFYI interview, September 22, 2026
When I'm elected as your member of Congress, yes, I want to make sure that our elections are safe, secure and fair, but I also believe that we need to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.WFYI voter guide interview, published September 21, 2026

Opposed war with Iran or called for ending it

I'll crack down on predatory investors buying up Central Indiana homes and driving up rents, restore ACA subsidies for the 60,000 Hoosiers who lost help with premiums, and fight the tariffs and war in Iran that Victoria Spartz supported, which have driven up the cost of gas and groceries.IndyStar voter guide, October 28, 2026
an unauthorized war which by the way my opponent continued to vote for uh numerous times you know and so that's one thing I think that needs to be debated on the United States House floor it hasn't been um and that's a constitutional thing that uh we need to do that we're not doingVideo, October 30, 2026

Supported requiring congressional authorization for military action

Military intervention must be a last resort reserved for imminent threats to the United States and must be authorized by our CongressCurrent in Westfield, March 4, 2026
I'll require congressional approval before a president can start wars overseas, protect Social Security from being gutted, and make billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share.IndyStar voter guide, October 28, 2026
As a member of Congress, I will fight to reclaim the constitutional war powers that have been ignored.Campaign website, statement on Iran, February 28, 2026
We need to stop the president’s ability to intervene militarily in foreign countries without Congressional oversight.IndyStar voter guide, October 28, 2026
an unauthorized war which by the way my opponent continued to vote for uh numerous times you know and so that's one thing I think that needs to be debated on the United States House floor it hasn't been um and that's a constitutional thing that uh we need to do that we're not doingVideo, October 30, 2026
However, this new war for regime change needed to go through Congress, because the way we choose to engage with the world matters.Campaign website, statement on Iran, February 28, 2026