IN-09: Erin Houchin (R)

REPLACING:

Trey Hollingsworth (R)

WORK HISTORY:

Indiana State Senate (State Senator, District 47); Office of US Senator Dan Coats (Southeast Indiana Regional Director); Indiana Commission for Women (Governor’s Appointee); Contend Communications (Founder / President); Washington County Republican Party (Vice Chairman); Indiana Republican Party (Chairman, District 9); Indiana Federation of Republican Women (Chairman, District 9)[i]

EDUCATION:

BA, Indiana University; MA, George Washington University[ii]

CAMPAIGNED ON:

Second Amendment Rights; Defending the Unborn; Protecting the Integrity of Our Elections; Standing With Law Enforcement; Border Security; Inflation[iii]

ON THE ISSUES

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS:

Houchin helped pass anti-abortion legislation in the Indiana State Senate, and she describes herself as pro-life.[iv] She was endorsed by SBA Pro-Life America and praised the overturning of Roe v. Wade.[v] [vi]

ECONOMY, JOBS & TAXES:

Though her platform does not specify plans to combat inflation, Houchin promises to “fight against runaway spending” and touts her record on “honestly balanced budgets.”[vii] She supports the House Republican “Commitment to America,” advocating for energy independence, strengthening the supply chain, and expanding manufacturing. [viii] She was endorsed by the National Federation of Independent Business and signed Americans for Tax Reform’s “No New Taxes” pledge.[ix] [x]

HEALTHCARE & SOCIAL SAFETY NET:

Houchin supported efforts to repeal Obamacare, advocating for a “patient-focused approach that relies on the private sector and not the government.”[xi] During her tenure in the Indiana State Senate, Houchin led a bill (SB 11) to create tax-exempt savings accounts for the disabled.[xii]

IMMIGRATION & BORDER SECURITY:

On her campaign website, Houchin pledges to “put a stop” to illegal immigration. She has recently highlighted the drug smuggling aspect of the southern border crisis and chastised the Biden administration for ending Title 42.[xiii] [xiv] [xv]She has previously called for overhauling the visa screening process and advocated for no amnesty.[xvi] [xvii]

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY:

On her campaign website, Houchin pledges to “always back the blue.”[xviii] She has attacked the Biden administration for supporting “soft on crime” policies, including defunding the police, downgrading crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, and weakening bail policies.[xix]

GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS & ELECTION SECURITY:

Houchin was not included in The Washington Post’s list of 2020 presidential election deniers. That cycle, she worked as Campaign Chair in Todd Rokita’s bid for Indiana Attorney General; Rokita notably suggested there was election and ballot fraud throughout the year and into 2021.[xx] [xxi] [xxii] [xxiii]

EDUCATION:

In September 2022, Houchin decried the government “chipping away at our individual liberties” in the education system, including parents being purportedly labelled “domestic terrorists” for trying to inquire about curriculums.[xxiv] During her tenure in the Indiana State Senate, Houchin led a bill (SB 217) to assist students with dyslexia.[xxv] In 2020, she supported allowing local school leaders make decisions on re-opening amid the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.[xxvi]

CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT:

Houchin opposed the Inflation Reduction Act, decrying its tax incentives for electric vehicles and describing it as a “$739 billion dollar climate change and tax package.”[xxvii] During the Obama administration, she praised the US Supreme Court’s 2016 ruling blocking the Clean Power Plan, which sought to curb emissions from coal-fired plants.[xxviii] She supports “maximizing the production of reliable American-made energy.”[xxix]

BIG TECH & DATA PRIVACY:

Houchin has described Big Tech as an “area where our freedoms are threatened,” adding that “Left-leaning tech platforms have been crystalizing an ideological echo chamber.”[xxx]

GUN SAFETY:

Houchin supports the 2^nd Amendment (describing it as “one of our most fundamental and sacred rights”) and received an “A+” rating from the NRA.[xxxi] [xxxii] [xxxiii] She previously lambasted the Obama administration’s executive orders on gun violence.[xxxiv]

FOREIGN POLICY:

Houchin supports the House Republican “Commitment to America,” including moving supply chains away from China.[xxxv] In 2016, she decried President Obama’s “lead from behind foreign policy and lack of strong support for Israel.”[xxxvi]