2022 elections: House candidates vie to represent Lafayette areas in redrawn state districts

Noe Padilla, Lafayette Journal & Courier
·4 min read

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Lafayette area incumbents, a batch of new faces, along with some who've attempted an election victory before, join the races for Indiana House of Representatives.

Indiana House District 13

Rep. Sharon Negele, a Republican, is running unopposed in the primary.

House District 13 includes portions of Benton, Fountain, Jasper, Montgomery, Newton, Tippecanoe, Warren and White counties.

Currently, there are no Democratic candidates running for this office.

Indiana House District 26

Rep. Chris Campbell, a Democrat, was first elected to serve in 2018. Campbell is also unopposed in the primary. No Republicans have filed to run in the May 3 election.

Within the 2022 legislative session, Campbell authored five bills — HB 1157, HB 1160, HB 1161, HB 1162, HB 1163 — and five resolutions. She co-authored six bills and four resolutions, and co-sponsored one bill. In total she’s been involved with 21 pieces of legislation this year.

House District 26 includes West Lafayette and Wabash Township, as well as areas of Union Township and the area west of Old U.S. 231 north from Tippecanoe County Road 500 South. It also includes part of Lafayette's southside.

Indiana House District 27

Rep. Sheila Klinker, a Democrat, has served as the representative for House District 27 since 1982.

She is running unopposed in the May 3 Primary Election.

In the Republican primary for the 27th District, two candidates are vying for the chance to challenge Klinker in November.

Jim Hass makes a second swing at the House District 27 seat. Hass ran for West Lafayette City Council in 2015, finishing fifth in a five-candidate race for three at-large seats on the council.

As of Friday night, Hass had not added platform information to the Lafayette League of Women Voters Guide.

Also on the GOP side, Tim Radice, who was born in New Mexico and moved to Lafayette in 2002. He graduated from Lafayette Jefferson High School and Purdue University.

Radice would categorize himself as a working-class man, who recently decided to jump into the world of politics.

If elected, Radice hopes to address K-12 education reform, election reform, investing in renewable energy sources, protecting the rights of gun owners in Indiana, and he is a pro-life candidate.

District 27 includes most of Lafayette and parts of eastern West Lafayette.

Indiana House District 38

Rep. Heath R. VanNatter, Republican, has served House District 38 for more than a decade. He is running unopposed in the primary.

In the 2021-2022 legislative session, VanNatter served as the chairman of the House Employment, Labor and Pensions Committee and served on the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee.

Within the 2022 legislative session, VanNatter authored five bills — HB 1070, HB 1174, HB 1175, HB 1329 and HB 1383 and one resolution. He co-authored ten bills and three resolutions, co-sponsored one bill. In total, he’s been involved with 20 pieces of legislation this year.

House District 13 includes portions of Clinton, Tippecanoe, Tipton and Carroll counties.

Currently, there are no Democratic candidates running for this office.

Indiana House District 41

For the past 28 years, House District 41 has been represented by state Rep. Timothy Brown, but in 2021 Brown announced his retirement.

House District 41 includes portions of Montgomery, Boone and Tippecanoe counties.

Due to Brown’s retirement, this year’s ballot has three new Republican candidates: Richard Bagsby, Mark Genda and Shane Weist.

The Democratic ticket only has one candidate running for House District 41, Greg A. Woods.

Bagsby has worked as a construction managing superintendent for Taylor Brothers Construction Co. and is an ordained minister.

A few key issues that Bagsby hopes to address include champing pro-life issues, addressing education-related issues like social initiative programs, and addressing the issue related to mask mandates and vaccinations.

Genda, a businessman out of Frankfort, has been a licensed funeral home director for 38 years and has previously served on a school board for eight years. Genda hopes to be a voice for the working class at the state level and help lift small businesses in District 41.

Weist is a native of Tippecanoe County and a graduate of Purdue University. He serves on the board of directors for the Builders Association of Greater Lafayette and the Indiana Builders Association and hopes, if he wins, to address limiting the reach of the federal government and promoting a state-government style of leadership, reforming education, promoting small businesses and investing in public safety.

Woods, the lone Democrat, throws his hat in the political ring for a second time, originally losing in 2020 to Brown.

Woods wants to address investing in teachers across Indiana in hopes of retaining talent, in renewable energy, and tackling the growing concern of affordable housing.

Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter at 1NoePadilla.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Indiana House of Representatives Lafayette area state seats open