This week we're previewing races for the May 3 Indiana primary election.
U.S. House of Representatives: District 7 (D)
Democrat Andre Carson (I) has represented the 7th District of Indiana since 2008. He currently serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Carson has previously served on the Indianapolis City Council and worked in law enforcement. He lives in Center Township with his wife, Mariana Carson, and one child.
Democrat Curtis D. Godfrey ran for this office in 2014, but was defeated in the primary by incumbent Andre Carson. Godfrey is a graduate of Indiana University. His platform includes expanding opportunities for free education or technical training, protecting the environment, ensuring that health care is a basic right, and developing cooperative home communities.
Democrat Pierre Quincy Pullins is a graduate of IUPUI and served in the Army Reserves and National Guard for 18 years before an Honorable Discharge. He has since worked in airport security with the Indiana Army National Guard and the TSA. Pullins has run in the Democratic primary for this office in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014.
U.S. House of Representatives: District 7 (R)
Republican Wayne "Gunny" Harmon is a 6th generation Hoosier and a graduate of Indiana University. Harmon works as a probation and parole officer, after serving in the Marine Corps for over 20 years. He has previously sought this office in the 2012 and 2014 Republican primary elections, but was defeated each time.
Republican JD Miniear is a graduate of Northwestern University. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife, Kristina. He has previously south this office in 2012 and 2014. He is the co-host of the Conservative Commandos Radio Show and a broker at Crownmark Group, and previously worked as the President/Vice President of Gideons International Indianapolis South East Camp.
Republican Catherine "Cat" Ping is a graduate of Northwood University. She is a retired Lieutenant Colonel of the U.S. Army, where she served for 33 years. Ping has previously worked as a military instructor of strategic warfare tactics, senior staff level officer training. She owns an IT Computer Technology company.
U.S. House of Representatives: District 8 (D)
Democrat Ron Drake is a graduate of Indiana State University and Indiana University. He has served in the Indiana National Guard and the Army Reserve. He has previously taught at Sullivan County's North Central High School. Drake is a former president of the Sullivan County and the 8th (formerly 7th) Congressional District Young Democrats. He is married and has twin daughters.
Democrat David Orentlicher is an educator, physician, attorney and former three-term member of the Indiana House of Representatives. He has testified before Congress, authored legal briefs for the Supreme Court, and served on many advisory groups for the government and non-profit organizations. He is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and Harvard Law School. He is married and has two children.
U.S. House of Representatives: District 8 (R)
Republican Larry Buschon (I) has served as the representative of Indiana's 8th district since 2011. He served in the U.S. Navy Reserve for nearly 10 years, then pursued a career in medicine, graduating from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and completing medical school at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Buschon has served as the President of Ohio Valley HeartCare. He is married and has four children.
Republican Richard Moss is an Otolaryngologist/ear, nose and throat surgeon practicing in Indiana for more than 20 years. He is an author, columnist, and created and formerly owned the Bronx Bagel. Moss was a candidate in the Republican primary for the Indiana House of Representatives in District 63 in 2014, but lost to Mike Braun.
