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Indiana Democrats ask ‘Where’s Houchin?’ at Bloomington town hall

By George Hale

Posted April 12, 2025

The "People's Town Hall" was held at City Hall. (George Hale, WFIU/WTIU News)

Indiana Democrats gathered Saturday in Bloomington for a “people’s town hall” to hear concerns about cuts to healthcare and other services.

They left one seat empty, reserved for Republican Rep. Erin Houchin, at City Hall.

Speakers answered questions from constituents and criticized Houchin for failing to make herself available to Ninth District constituents.

They also criticized her support for President Donald Trump’s moves to slash government services and jobs.

“We have to make our voices louder, stronger and unified. I don’t know what else to tell you,” party chair Karen Tallian said. “It’s going to trickle down to Indiana soon. We’re going to pass a state budget that reflects all those cuts.”

Saturday’s event was the latest by constituents and opponents of Houchin to draw attention to the congresswoman’s lack of availability.

Last month, Houchin’s staff stopped hosting mobile office hours in Bedford amid a nationwide backlash against GOP lawmakers.

Houchin’s pullback from public events follows U.S. house speaker Mike Johnson’s suggestion to Republican lawmakers stop doing town halls.

At Saturday’s town hall, Democratic State Rep. Matt Pierce acknowledged failures to turn out voters but blamed GOP-created “structural barriers."

“Half the people aren’t participating. We have to figure out why,” Pierce said. “These supermajorities, they have a lot of structural advantages they’ve created for themselves” such as gerrymandered districts and more funding.

Pierce also noted legislative efforts to tighten security around elections, including a proposal to remove student IDs as acceptable voter identification.

“And they’re going to eliminate that. They just don’t want those people voting,” he said. “It’s a shameless attempt to build more structural barriers.”

Houchin’s office didn’t immediately respond to messages over the weekend.