This year’s filing deadline for candidates running for Congress in Indiana was Feb. 9, 2024.
Sixty-three candidates are running for Indiana’s nine U.S. House districts, including 18 Democrats and 45 Republicans. That’s seven candidates per district, higher than the 5.6 candidates that ran in 2022, but lower than the 8.7 candidates who ran in 2020.
Here are some other highlights from this year’s filings:
- Three districts—the 3rd, the 6th, and the 8th—are open, meaning no incumbents are running. That’s the most open districts in an election cycle this decade.
- Rep. Jim Banks (R-3rd) is not running for re-election in order to run for the U.S. Senate, while Reps. Greg Pence (R-6th) and Larry Bucshon (R-8th) are retiring from public office.
- Twelve candidates—four Democrats and eight Republicans—are running for the open 8th Congressional District, the most candidates running for a seat this year.
- Fourteen primaries—six Democratic and eight Republican—are contested this year. Twelve primaries were contested in 2022, 15 primaries were contested in 2020, and 15 were in 2018.
- Four incumbents—one Democrat and three Republicans—are facing primary challengers this year. That’s higher than in 2022, when three incumbents faced challengers, but the same as in 2020 and 2018.
- Candidates filed to run in the Republican and Democratic primaries in all eight districts, meaning no seats are guaranteed to either party.
Indiana will hold primary elections on May 7.
In Indiana, the winner of the primary election is the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes, even if they do not win more than 50 percent of the vote.
