Indiana's 8th Congressional District election, 2024

	2026 → ← 2022
Indiana's 8th Congressional District
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election
Election details
	Filing deadline: February 9, 2024
	Primary: May 7, 2024; General: November 5, 2024
How to vote
	Poll times: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Voting in Indiana
Race ratings
	Cook Political Report: Solid Republican; DDHQ and The Hill: Safe Republican; Inside Elections: Solid Republican; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
	U.S. Senate battlegrounds; U.S. House battlegrounds; Federal and state primary competitiveness; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2024
See also
	Indiana's 8th Congressional District; U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th; Indiana elections, 2024; U.S. Congress elections, 2024; U.S. Senate elections, 2024; U.S. House elections, 2024; Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House racesOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

Indiana 2024 elections

U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Supreme court • Appellate courts • State ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • All other local • How to run for office

All U.S. House districts, including the 8th Congressional District of Indiana, held elections in 2024. The general election was November 5, 2024. The primary was May 7, 2024. The filing deadline was February 9, 2024. The outcome of this race affected the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 119th Congress. All 435 House districts were up for election.

At the time of the election, Republicans held a 220-212 majority with three vacancies.^[1] As a result of the election, Republicans retained control of the U.S. House, winning 220 seats to Democrats' 215.^[2] To read more about the 2024 U.S. House elections, click here.

In the 2022 election in this district, the Republican candidate won 65.7%-31.5%. Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Donald Trump (R) would have defeated Joe Biden (D) 65.5%-32.7%.^[3]

This is one of 45 open races for the U.S. House in 2024 where an incumbent did not run for re-election. Across the country, 24 Democrats and 21 Republicans did not run for re-election. In 2022, 49 representatives did not seek re-election, including 31 Democrats and 18 Republicans.

The United Democracy Project (UDP) is a super PAC affiliated with the pro-Israel lobbying group the American Israel Public Affairs Commission (AIPAC). UDP contributed satellite spending in Indiana's 8th Congressional District election in 2024. To learn more about how influencers, including activists, lobbyists, and philanthropists influence elections, click here.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Indiana District 8

Mark Messmer defeated Erik Hurt and K. Richard Fitzlaff in the general election for U.S. House Indiana District 8 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Mark Messmer (R)	68.0	219,941
	Erik Hurt (D)	29.5	95,311
	K. Richard Fitzlaff (L)	2.6	8,381

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 323,633
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 8

Erik Hurt defeated Edward Upton Sein, Michael Talarzyk, and Peter Priest II in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Indiana District 8 on May 7, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Erik Hurt	45.1	8,204
		Edward Upton Sein	22.5	4,087
		Michael Talarzyk	20.9	3,796
	Submit photo	Peter Priest II	11.5	2,098

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 18,185
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Kellie Moore (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 8

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Indiana District 8 on May 7, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Mark Messmer	38.5	30,668
	John N. Hostettler	19.7	15,649
	Richard Moss	14.1	11,227
	Dominick Jack Kavanaugh	11.8	9,397
	Kristi Risk	9.2	7,350
	Luke Misner	2.9	2,287
	Jim Case	2.6	2,107
	Jeremy Heath	1.2	944

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 79,629
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Jon Schrock (R)
Larry Bucshon (R)

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Erik Hurt

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography: "My name is Erik Hurt and I am running for Congress in Indiana's 8th congressional district. I have spent my whole life trying to fight for the poor, the sick, and the marginalized, and I will continue that fight with this campaign."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

I will fight to expand benefits and the quality of life for working class people with policies like guaranteed paid vacation, guaranteed paid parental leave, guaranteed child care, an increased minimum wage, while also fighting to bring the cost of housing and goods down with things like wealth taxes and windfall profit taxes.

I will fight to combat climate change not only by promoting investments into clean energy but rethinking the way our cities are structured so that they are built around people and not cars so that we can bring down the amount of energy we're using.

I want to drastically increase investments into our public education system. From pre-K through university. From trade school to liberal arts colleges. I want to raise teacher salaries, expand student resources, make sure no child is going hungry at school, and that no student will be forced into debt for wanting to get an education.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Indiana District 8 in 2024.

Mark Messmer

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

Indiana State Senate (Assumed office: 2014)
Indiana House of Representatives (2008-2014)

Biography: Messmer received a bachelor's degree from Purdue University. His professional experience includes co-owning Messmer Mechanical, working as a project engineer with John Brown Engineering, and working as a mechanical engineer with Dow Chemical.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Messmer said, "I am pro-life, pro-gun, and pro-Trump."

On supporting businesses, Messmer said, "We have to try to do what you can to knock down impediments for business, to try to remove excessive regulations."

Messmer said, "My experience balancing Indiana's budget and generating a surplus will be essential as I join the effort to return fiscal responsibility to Washington, D.C."

Show sources

Sources: Dubois County Free Press, "Messmer announces 8th Congressional District candidacy," January 26, 2024; TriState Homepage, "State Sen. Messmer launches bid for Congress," February 3, 2024; Dubois County Free Press, "Messier announces 8th Congressional District candidacy," January 26, 2024; LinkedIn, "Mark Messmer," accessed March 26, 2024

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Indiana District 8 in 2024.

K. Richard Fitzlaff

Party: Libertarian Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography: "K. Richard Fitzlaff is a lifelong midwesterner. K. Richard has spent the past 12 years in Indiana. As an entrepreneur he has helped lead and grow several organizations. Leading by serving he has tirelessly worked with several non profits to grow their brand and expand their reach. Throughout his life, values such as Honesty, Integrity and Accountability have guided him and through those values he seeks to defend the Constitution for all Hoosiers and by extension all Americans."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

I believe it is time once and for all to End Deficit Spending. Hoosiers and Americans as a whole cannot afford a government that is not accountable to its employers- the American people. For generations we have created debt that many future generations must work and pay for in an unsustainable way. If government must exist it must live within the confines of the will of the people who elect it.

Lower Federal Taxes for all people of every economic background. Hoosiers deserve integrity. They deserve someone who isn't afraid to vote no on a 5,000 page bill loaded with frivolous pet spending projects to appease a corporation across the country. Public servants should act as such and be good stewards of the money entrusted to them.

Defend The Constitution. For generations the Constitution has been stripped of its meaning and the rights guaranteed to all people has been marginalized and misappropriated. The Constitution was not a list of privileges granted to you by government to be taken away when they saw fit. It is and always should be a list of protections that shall not be infringed. Congress should realize their duty and oath to the American people to defend those rights and freedoms no matter the cost.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Indiana District 8 in 2024.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Indiana

Election information in Indiana: Nov. 5, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Oct. 7, 2024
By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 7, 2024
Online: Oct. 7, 2024

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

No

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: Oct. 24, 2024
By mail: Received by Oct. 24, 2024
Online: Oct. 24, 2024

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
By mail: Received by Nov. 5, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 8, 2024 to Nov. 4, 2024

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (EST/CST)

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Expand all | Collapse all

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/KRFitzlaff2024.jpg

K. Richard Fitzlaff (L)

I believe it is time once and for all to End Deficit Spending. Hoosiers and Americans as a whole cannot afford a government that is not accountable to its employers- the American people. For generations we have created debt that many future generations must work and pay for in an unsustainable way.

If government must exist it must live within the confines of the will of the people who elect it.

Lower Federal Taxes for all people of every economic background. Hoosiers deserve integrity. They deserve someone who isn't afraid to vote no on a 5,000 page bill loaded with frivolous pet spending projects to appease a corporation across the country.

Public servants should act as such and be good stewards of the money entrusted to them.

Defend The Constitution.

For generations the Constitution has been stripped of its meaning and the rights guaranteed to all people has been marginalized and misappropriated.

The Constitution was not a list of privileges granted to you by government to be taken away when they saw fit. It is and always should be a list of protections that shall not be infringed.

Congress should realize their duty and oath to the American people to defend those rights and freedoms no matter the cost.

Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/ErikHurt2024.jpg

Erik Hurt (D)

I will fight to expand benefits and the quality of life for working class people with policies like guaranteed paid vacation, guaranteed paid parental leave, guaranteed child care, an increased minimum wage, while also fighting to bring the cost of housing and goods down with things like wealth taxes and windfall profit taxes.

I will fight to combat climate change not only by promoting investments into clean energy but rethinking the way our cities are structured so that they are built around people and not cars so that we can bring down the amount of energy we're using.

I want to drastically increase investments into our public education system. From pre-K through university. From trade school to liberal arts colleges. I want to raise teacher salaries, expand student resources, make sure no child is going hungry at school, and that no student will be forced into debt for wanting to get an education.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

K. Richard Fitzlaff (L)

I am passionate about seeing an America that is free and safe for all peoples. An America that doesn't look at race, creed, gender, economic class or any other factor that has separated people. One where government is not a benevolent overload picking winners and losers and giving rights to certain groups at certain times. An America that is strong and confident in knowing that we live by principles and ethics. A shining beacon unto the world of freedom and respect for our fellow people.

Erik Hurt (D)

I am passionate about rights for the working class, protecting our environment, improving education, protecting the rights for POC and members of the LGBTQ+ community, about expanding public transportation, guaranteeing health care, reworking law enforcement so that it gets to the roots of problems and doesn't just throw cops and prisons at the problems. I want to combat gun violence, protect abortion rights, and protect our democracy from fascist threats.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

K. Richard Fitzlaff (L)

Former President Calvin Coolidge. Who was quoted as saying "It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones." This quote speaks to myself and many Americans because it represents the limited intentions of our constitution and what our federal government was designed to be.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

K. Richard Fitzlaff (L)

Libertarianism: A Primer by David Boaz

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

K. Richard Fitzlaff (L)

"elected official" is a poor term. Anyone elected is a public servant.

As such they are responsible to the will of those that elected them while holding fast to defending the rule of law and the Constitution.

A public servant must serve with honesty, integrity and accountability, professionalism and ownership.

What legacy would you like to leave?

K. Richard Fitzlaff (L)

I seek a world set free in our lifetimes. I world of prosperity and value created for future generations.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

K. Richard Fitzlaff (L)

The very first historical event I remember seeing was the first invasion of Iraq. I was 6 years old.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

K. Richard Fitzlaff (L)

I worked for a small non profit in Hammond Indiana for 4 years.

What is your favorite book? Why?

K. Richard Fitzlaff (L)

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

K. Richard Fitzlaff (L)

I do. I also believe that Senate should be limited to 2 terms of 4 years and the President should be limited to 1 term of 6 years.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

K. Richard Fitzlaff (L)

I strongly believe in term limits. No one seeking to serve their fellow man should be able to make a career out of working for the taxpayers.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

K. Richard Fitzlaff (L)

Justin Amash

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

K. Richard Fitzlaff (L)

I believe that as "the great melting pot" America must be willing to make compromise and work across the aisle to achieve things that are fair and equitable for all.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

K. Richard Fitzlaff (L)

Any finances that are managed by the government are the property of the people. As such there should be absolute and complete transparency with all funds entrusted to them. As such any citizen should be able to access complete copies of where every dollar is spent and if there is mismanagement or waste found the government should be accountable by correcting that immediately and those responsible for that waste or mismanagement of public funds should be terminated immediately.

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Erik Hurt	Democratic Party	$23,917	$22,719	$1,198	As of November 25, 2024
Peter Priest II	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Edward Upton Sein	Democratic Party	$13,821	$21,349	$0	As of October 15, 2024
Michael Talarzyk	Democratic Party	$0	$0	$0	As of April 24, 2024
Jim Case	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Jeremy Heath	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
John N. Hostettler	Republican Party	$53,972	$53,972	$0	As of December 12, 2024
Dominick Jack Kavanaugh	Republican Party	$528,366	$528,366	$0	As of June 30, 2024
Mark Messmer	Republican Party	$1,545,284	$1,337,178	$208,106	As of December 31, 2024
Luke Misner	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Richard Moss	Republican Party	$757,656	$757,656	$0	As of May 20, 2024
Kristi Risk	Republican Party	$70,744	$70,811	$-67	As of July 17, 2024
K. Richard Fitzlaff	Libertarian Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. * Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[4]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Race ratings: Indiana's 8th Congressional District election, 2024
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2024	October 29, 2024	October 22, 2024	October 15, 2024
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican	Solid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican	Safe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Indiana in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Indiana, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Indiana	U.S. House	Ballot-qualified party	N/A (only declaration of candidacy required)	N/A	2/6/2024	Source
Indiana	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	2% of total votes cast for the secretary of state in the district in the last election	N/A	7/1/2024	Source

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2024 U.S. House elections in the state.
Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.

District map

Competitiveness
Presidential elections

State party control

Below was the map in use at the time of the election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2024

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Indiana.

Indiana U.S. House competitiveness, 2014-2024
Office	Districts/ offices	Seats	Open seats	Candidates	Possible primaries	Contested Democratic primaries	Contested Republican primaries	% of contested primaries	Incumbents in contested primaries	% of incumbents in contested primaries
2024	9	9	3	63	18	6	8	77.8%	4	66.7%
2022	9	9	1	49	18	8	4	66.7%	3	37.5%
2020	9	9	2	78	18	9	6	83.3%	4	57.1%
2018	9	9	2	71	18	8	7	83.3%	4	57.1%
2016	9	9	2	51	18	8	8	88.9%	7	100.0%
2014	9	9	0	49	18	7	6	72.2%	6	66.7%

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Indiana in 2024. Information below was calculated on March 19, 2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Sixty-three candidates ran for Indiana’s nine U.S. House districts, including 18 Democrats and 45 Republicans. That’s seven candidates per district, higher than the 5.6 candidates that ran in 2022, but lower than the 8.7 candidates who ran in 2020.

Three districts—the 3rd, the 6th, and the 8th—were open, meaning no incumbents ran. That’s the most open districts in an election cycle this decade.