State Senate District 23 a relatively crowded field in the GOP primary – Journal & Courier

LAFAYETTE, Ind. A long-serving state senator representing parts of Tippecanoe County has an apparent easy enough route to the November election and perhaps another term, while a relatively crowded field in another Indiana Senaterace appears on the May 3 Primary ballot.

Senate District 22

State Sen. Ron Alting, a Republican, has served as the 22nd District since 1998. No Democrats have filed to run for the seatin the May 3 election.

During the 2022 legislative session, Alting authored14 billsand two rolutions. He co-authored four bills and 21 resolutions.

In response to the controversies swirling around two Tippecanoe County trustees,Alting co-authored Senate Bill 304, which was signed by Gov. Eric Holcomb and becomes law on July 1. The law creates a path to remove trustees who are unresponsive to constituents.

Alting alsosponsored three bills and two resolutions and co-sponsored three bills and one resolution. In total, hes been involved with 51 pieces of legislation this year.

State Senate District 22 includes West Lafayette, portions of Lafayette and Wabash Township.

Indiana District 23 Sen. Phil Boots of Crawfordsvilleannounced his retirement in 2021 after completing 16 years in office.

The open seat has garnered the attention of four Republican candidates: Bill Webster, Christian Beaver, Paula Copenhaver and Spencer Deery, as well as one Democratic candidate David Sanders.

Sanders, the lone Democrat,is an associate professor of biological sciences at Purdue University and currently serves as anat-large member ofthe West Lafayette City Council.

Sanders's campaign aims to address suchconcerns as investing in the infrastructure of District 23, advocating for veterans and investing in renewable energies.

Webster, opting for a second attemptat theIndiana State Senate seat, ran on the Republican ticket for the District 38 seat in 2010 but lost to Democratic incumbent Timothy Skinner.

Webster currently serves as the Parke County GOP chairman and previously served on the Parke County Planning and Zoning Commission.

Webster is a pro-life candidate also campaigning to reduce taxes, reform education, promote job growth, and protect voters' right to own guns.

Christian Beaver is a project manager at Beaver Construction Management but previously worked as the former leasing manager for Granite Student Living.

Beaver is a pro-life candidate who aims to stop late-term abortions. He also wants to invest in the infrastructure in rural communities, address Indianas drug and mental health crisis, reform education, invest in growing Purdue University and protect voters gun rights.

Paula Copenhaver currently serves as the Fountain County clerk and is a member of the Fountain County Republican Womens Club.

Copenhaver is a pro-life and pro-SecondAmendment candidate. She wants to create election reform, promote job and economic growth for citizens in Senate District 38 and reform education.

Spencer Deery currently serves as the deputy chief of staff and as a communications and public policy advisor to Purdue University President Mitch Daniels.

Prior to this election cycle, Deery has said he didnt have the ambition to run for politics, but that changed after the Senate District 23 seat opened.

Like the other candidates, Deery is campaigning on issues like prioritizing education by supporting teachers and focusing on parental rights, promoting job growth by supporting reform that prioritizes workforce development, aiming to reduce taxes, investing in the infrastructure of rural communities and is a pro-life and pro-second amendment candidate.

State Senate District 23covers all or parts of Vermillion, Parke, Fountain, Warren, Montgomery, and Tippecanoe counties.

Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on Twitterat1NoePadilla.

Continued here:
State Senate District 23 a relatively crowded field in the GOP primary - Journal & Courier