Who's running in Indiana's 8th congressional district
2 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.
2 candidates · ballot order · Mark Messmer currently holds this seat
Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
Lower taxes, including the 2025 tax law he calls the Working Families Tax Cut.
Eliminating needless federal regulation, including repealing the federal workplace heat-safety rule.
Building a defence industry and high-tech corridor in southwest Indiana.
Individual liberty and America First priorities.
Anti-abortion legislation.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
US Representative for Indiana's 8th District since January 2025.
Indiana House of Representatives 2008–2014; Indiana Senate 2014–2024; Senate majority leader 2018–2022.
Serves on the House Agriculture, Armed Services, and Education and Workforce committees; member of the Republican Governance Group.
Voted for the 2025 tax and spending law signed July 4, 2025.
Introduced the Heat Workforce Standards Act to repeal an OSHA heat-safety rule.
Won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary unopposed.
In August 2026 aired a television advertisement paid for with official House franking funds, approved by the House Communications Standards Commission.
Held about $713,500 in campaign cash as of June 30, 2026.
Arguments in favor
He is a commonsense conservative who helped deliver historic tax relief and is now working to build a defence and high-tech corridor that would bring jobs and growth to southwest Indiana for a generation.
— Mark Messmer campaign, statement to WFYI and WNIN
He brings a small-business owner's opposition to one-size-fits-all federal mandates, and a decade of legislative leadership in the Indiana Senate.
— Mark Messmer campaign; WFYI profile of his first term
Arguments against
Using taxpayer franking money on a TV ad 80 days before the election, featuring the trumpet from his 2024 campaign ads, is 'legal' but not ethical: 'these are the types of things that feed that narrative' of low public trust.
— Mary Allen, Democratic opponent, to WIBC
He has not held an in-person town hall in Evansville since taking office, skipped a June 2026 town hall to which he was invited, and constituents at his 2025 telephone town hall said they could not get their questions through.
— Indivisible Evansville; constituents quoted by WEHT Eyewitness News
What we couldn’t verify
No DCCC material naming Messmer in 2026 could be found; the district is not on the committee's target list.
Whether Messmer will debate Allen had not been reported.
The full text of Messmer's statement defending the franked advertisement was not published beyond noting it had been approved by the House commission.
Fully funding child care vouchers and raising pay for child care workers.
Restoring federal funding for public schools.
Breaking up agricultural monopolies and a national right-to-repair law for farm equipment.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
At-large member of the Evansville City Council since 2023; chairs the board of the Evansville Enterprise Zone.
Army Reserve veteran; small business owner; ten years in urban nonprofit ministry.
Won the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary with 66.7% in a four-candidate field.
Endorsed by the 8th District Indiana Democrats; signed the Political Integrity Pledge refusing corporate PAC money.
Had $179,307 in campaign cash as of June 30, 2026.
Arguments in favor
Hoosiers working full time are choosing between heating their homes and filling prescriptions, and federal policy is abandoning the children who most need help to pay for tax cuts for billionaires; she would protect Medicaid and rural hospitals.
— Mary Allen campaign, statement to WFYI and WNIN
Voters are tired of money shaping their representatives' decisions; she refuses corporate PAC and foreign lobby money and has driven more than 25,000 miles across the district's 21 counties to meet voters, planning to out-work a better-funded opponent.
— Mary Allen, to WNIN
Arguments against
She had less than half of Messmer's campaign cash at mid-year, in a district Republicans have held since 2011 and that the Cook Political Report rates Indiana's most Republican.
— Federal Election Commission filings; Cook Political Report via IndyStar
What we couldn’t verify
No published criticism of Allen by name could be found — not from Messmer's campaign, the NRCC, or coverage in WNIN, WEHT, 14 News or the Evansville Courier & Press.
Her record on specific Evansville City Council votes has not been raised by either campaign in the coverage found.
Whether she will debate Messmer had not been reported.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
Indiana held its primaries on May 5, 2026. Two candidates appear on the November ballot: Republican incumbent Mark Messmer and Democrat Mary Allen. The roster is confirmed against the Indiana Secretary of State's certified general election candidate list, updated August 27, 2026, which lists no write-in or independent candidates for this seat; an independent, James Burke, had been reported as a prospective candidate in 2025 but does not appear on the certified list. The district covers 21 counties of southwestern Indiana, including Evansville, Terre Haute and Jasper. Its lines are unchanged because the Indiana Senate rejected mid-decade redistricting in December 2025. Once known as 'the Bloody Eighth' for its close contests, it has been held by Republicans since 2011, and the Cook Political Report rates it Indiana's most Republican district. Messmer was unopposed in his primary. As of mid-2026 Messmer had about $713,500 in cash on hand to Allen's $179,307.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
A Indiana ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.