Indiana’s 8th Congressional District House Race 2026

A new Free Press Indiana/Bellwether Research poll shows Democrat Beau Bayh leading Republican Max Engling in the race for Indiana Secretary of State, 43% to 35%. Libertarian Lauri Shillings drew 6% and Lincoln Party candidate Greg Ballard, a former Indianapolis mayor, drew 5%, with 11% undecided. The race drew heightened attention after incumbent Diego Morales lost his GOP renomination bid at the party's June convention. Bayh led in most regions, including Indianapolis and the Chicago/South Bend/Elkhart/Lafayette area, while Engling performed best around Fort Wayne. Bayh also posted the highest favorability rating among the four candidates, while more than 40% of voters said they had never heard of Engling, Ballard or Shillings.

The same survey of 896 registered voters, conducted Oct. 8-11 with a margin of error of ±3.4%, found Democrat Jessica Bailey narrowly ahead in the State Comptroller race and Republican Daniel Elliott leading in the State Treasurer contest. Indiana's general election is Nov. 3, with absentee ballot applications due Oct. 22.

Indiana is scheduled to execute Jeffrey Weisheit on Nov. 5 at the Indiana State Prison, part of a broader national uptick in executions under the Trump administration, which has actively encouraged capital punishment even as death sentences remain historically rare. Weisheit was sentenced to death in 2013 for killing his girlfriend's two young children in a 2010 house fire in Evansville. The Indiana Supreme Court cleared the way for the execution in late August, and his attorneys filed a clemency petition citing brain injuries, lifelong impairments, and childhood trauma they say were inadequately presented at trial. The Indiana Parole Board has scheduled clemency proceedings for Oct. 16 and 19; Gov. Mike Braun denied clemency in two prior 2025 executions.

Nationally, 24 people have been executed in 2026 so far, trailing last year's 47, while death sentences remain well below 1990s-2000s levels. There has been no federal execution since 2021, though Trump has directed the Justice Department to pursue capital punishment more aggressively, reversing the Biden administration's moratorium.

The Indiana Parole Board held a clemency hearing for Jeffrey Allen Weisheit, sentenced to death for the 2010 murders of 5-year-old Caleb Lynch and 9-year-old Alyssa Lynch in an intentionally set house fire in Evansville. Weisheit hogtied and gagged Caleb before starting the blaze, then fled police in a high-speed chase into Kentucky. Family members described childhood signs of ADHD and bipolar disorder, and his attorney said the children's family has forgiven him. The defense is also seeking a delay to conduct a brain scan and await results of a Tennessee review into a botched execution using similar drugs. The board will recommend a decision to Gov. Braun, who has not intervened in prior executions.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun has renewed the state's gas tax holiday for a seventh straight month, extending relief from Oct. 6 through Nov. 4. The suspension covers both the state gas excise tax and gas usage tax, saving residents roughly 60 cents per gallon. The new order also lifts special fuel restrictions on dyed diesel, letting farmers use it for any farm-related activity during harvest season.

The holiday began in April under an energy emergency order tied to the Iran conflict; after 120 days, Braun issued a new order citing the Russia-Ukraine war and Canadian wildfires. As of late September, most Indiana cities averaged under $4 a gallon. The Indiana State Board of Finance continues reimbursing fuel retailers, with the most recent approval topping $138 million for July. The Indiana Farm Bureau praised the dyed diesel exemption as timely relief for farmers facing high input costs. Braun has framed the repeated extensions as part of a broader affordability push for Hoosier families.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and the state Republican Party are committing $1 million to a statewide ad buy backing GOP secretary of state candidate Max Engling, as the race draws unusual national attention. The money is split evenly between Braun's gubernatorial campaign account and the Indiana Republican Party, with two new ads set to air by the end of the week answering ads already run by Democrat Beau Bayh.

The race also features Greg Ballard, a former Republican Indianapolis mayor running as an independent under a new "Lincoln Party," and Libertarian Lauri Shillings. Bayh, son of former U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh, has significantly outraised Engling, who entered the race in May with backing from U.S. Sen. Jim Banks after incumbent Diego Morales lost the GOP nomination amid scandal. A University of Virginia political analysis recently reclassified the contest as a "toss up," calling it possibly the most competitive secretary of state race in the country this year. The election is set for Nov. 3.

Four candidates for Indiana secretary of state met Wednesday night in their first debate ahead of the November race to lead the office overseeing the state's elections. Democrat Beau Bayh, Lincoln Party candidate Greg Ballard and Libertarian Lauri Shillings largely aligned on voter ID, election security and mail-in voting, while Republican Max Engling — chosen at the GOP convention over embattled incumbent Diego Morales — stood apart, notably as the only candidate to back the SAVE Act and the only one not to question the Indiana Recount Commission's disputed ruling in a close state Senate race.

Bayh, Ballard and Shillings all pledged to audit the office if elected to probe alleged misuse under Morales; Engling declined to commit. All four agreed on the need for transparency in business registration and said they intend to serve full four-year terms. A second debate is set for Oct. 7.

Following a FOX59/CBS4 debate, Democrat Beau Bayh and Republican Max Engling agreed on core Secretary of State issues like voter participation and prosecuting illegal voting, but split sharply on investigating current officeholder Diego Morales and on dueling campaign ad attacks. Engling called Bayh's investigation approach unserious, favoring an inspector general-led review, and said Bayh strayed into unrelated issues; he also said he's considering a defamation suit over Bayh's ads. Bayh countered that Engling can't differentiate himself from Morales and pledged to personally pursue accountability. The race, triggered by Morales's convention loss, has drawn heavy spending ahead of Indiana's Nov. 3 election.

Ohio voters on Nov. 3 will pick a successor to term-limited Gov. Mike DeWine, with Republican Vivek Ramaswamy facing Democrat Amy Acton and Libertarian Don Kissick. The same ballot includes a special U.S. Senate election to fill the remainder of JD Vance's term, pitting incumbent appointee Jon Husted against challengers; the winner serves until 2028. All 15 Ohio U.S. House seats are also up, under a new Republican-favorable congressional map targeting Democratic-held districts. In Kentucky, Republican Andy Barr and Democrat Charles Booker are competing for the seat long held by retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell. Indiana will re-elect its House delegation, and ballot measures appear in all three states.

Following a FOX59/CBS4 debate between Democrat Beau Bayh and Republican Max Engling, Indiana's minor-party Secretary of State candidates, Lincoln Party's Greg Ballard and Libertarian Lauri Shillings, gave their own reactions. Both were excluded from the debate after polling below 10% support, with Bayh and Engling drawing the bulk of backing in a prior Free Press Indiana poll. Ballard and Shillings criticized the major candidates' sparring, pledged to avoid negative campaigning, and said they would have refused to share voter rolls with the federal government. Both also questioned the U.S. Department of Justice's plan to send election monitors to Marion and Lake counties for the midterms. Election Day is November 3, with early voting already underway.

Independent candidate Greg Ballard, a former Republican Indianapolis mayor now running in Indiana's secretary of state race, has called on the state legislature to make the office nonpartisan. His proposal would bar the secretary of state from endorsing candidates, fundraising for parties, holding party leadership roles, or speaking at political events, while still allowing a sitting officeholder to campaign for reelection and retain voting and party-registration rights. Ballard urged the other three candidates to pledge to avoid partisan activity if elected.

Republican candidate Max Engling's campaign did not directly address the proposal, noting existing law already bars using the office for campaign functions. Democrat Beau Bayh's campaign rejected it, arguing officeholders shouldn't lose personal political rights. Libertarian Lauri Shillings also declined, saying it would force her to give up party membership, and instead proposed recusing herself from matters involving candidates she has backed.

The debate follows past controversies, including Republican Todd Rokita's taxpayer-funded mailers as secretary of state and current officeholder Diego Morales' attendance at a Republican National Committee convention as a delegate.