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2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Indiana House, District 57

Indiana House of Representatives. 2-year term. Open seat: Craig Haggard is not on the ballot.

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What this office does

Members of the Indiana House of Representatives write and vote on state laws as part of the Indiana General Assembly. The House has 100 members, each representing one district for a two-year term [1].

The job in full — the duties the Indiana Code puts in it, the term, what it pays and who sets that, and what to ask a candidate.

Term
2 years [1]
Term limit
None [1]
Seats
100 [1]
On the 2026 ballot
All 100 [2]
What the law puts in this job (2)
  • Introduces and votes on state legislation as one of the two chambers of the Indiana General Assembly [1].
  • Must be at least 21 years old when taking office and have lived in the district for at least a year [1].

About this race

  • House District 57 lies just southwest of Indianapolis and includes parts of Hendricks, Johnson and Morgan counties, including Mooresville [3, 12].
  • Open seat: Haggard ran for Congress instead of reelection [5]; he lost the 4th District Republican primary to Rep. Jim Baird [4]. Haggard was reelected unopposed in 2024 [13].
  • May 5, 2026 Republican primary: Wes Bennett won a four-way race with 1,451 votes (31.2%) to Greg Knott's 1,372 (29.5%); a recount Knott requested in Hendricks County found no change, and the Indiana Recount Commission certified Bennett 3-0 in July [12]. Rob Stiles and Tina Turner also ran [5]. Fortenberry was the only Democrat [5].
  • The Indiana Capital Chronicle describes the district as heavily Republican [12].
  • Key differences: Bennett, a former state utility regulator and property-tax administrator, lists property tax reform, abortion restrictions and gun rights among his priorities [14]; no published policy positions from Fortenberry were found.
  • No debate or forum for this race was found.

Candidates on the ballot

Wes Bennett

Republican

Work
Former commissioner of the Department of Local Government Finance and member of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission; twelve years as Plainfield clerk-treasurer [14]

Wes Bennett is a former Plainfield clerk-treasurer who led the state Department of Local Government Finance and later served on the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission [12]. He won the Republican primary by 79 votes after a recount [12].

Bennett's background

  • Commissioner of the Department of Local Government Finance under Gov. Eric Holcomb, then appointed to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission in 2023; resigned from the IURC in October 2025 before launching his campaign [12].
  • Served twelve years as Plainfield clerk-treasurer and has private-sector experience in banking, insurance and investments, according to his campaign [14].
  • Member of the American Legion, Fraternal Order of Police, Plainfield Optimist and the Plainfield and Mooresville chambers of commerce [14].

Bennett's positions

Property taxes

  • Lists "Continuing to Fight for Property Tax Reform" among his priorities and cites six years leading the agency that oversees Indiana's property tax and assessment systems [14].

Abortion

  • Lists "Protecting the Unborn" among his priorities [14].

Guns

  • Lists "Defending the Second Amendment" among his priorities [14].

Government spending

  • Says he would protect taxpayers and advance "affordable and sustainable government spending" through data-driven decisions [14].

Economy & jobs

  • Lists working for small businesses and jobs, supporting farmers and backing first responders among his priorities [14].

How Bennett would run the office

  • His campaign describes a goal of "transparent governance, reliable and affordable services, and responsible fiscal management" [14].

How Bennett got on the ballot

  • Filed Jan. 8, 2026 [15]; won the May 5 Republican primary with 31.2% over Greg Knott, Rob Stiles and Tina Turner, confirmed by recount [12, 5].

Bennett's endorsements and funding

  • His campaign lists endorsements from U.S. Rep. Jim Baird, the Indiana Professional Fire Fighters, Indiana Right to Life, the Indiana Manufacturers Association, Indiana Business for Responsive Government, Sheriff Jack Sadler, Prosecutor Loren Delp, and Commissioners Dennis Dawes and Bob Gentry [14].

What we could not find about Bennett

  • No news interviews or candidate survey responses were found; positions come only from campaign-site headings.
  • His record as an IURC commissioner on specific utility cases was not researched.
  • No fundraising data found.
  • No statements by Bennett about Haggard's record or about Fortenberry were found.

Bennett's campaign website

Sources for Bennett

Suzanne Fortenberry

Democratic

Work
FedEx courier; owner of Equality Engraving [17]

Suzanne Fortenberry is the Democratic nominee; she was the party's 2024 nominee for state Senate District 36 [5, 16]. Few details on her 2026 campaign were found.

Fortenberry's background

  • Described in 2024 as a courier and executive director of Greenwood Pride [16].
  • Her BallotReady profile for this race lists her work as a FedEx courier and as owner of Equality Engraving [17].

How Fortenberry got on the ballot

  • Filed Jan. 7, 2026 [15]; the only Democrat in the May 5 primary [5].
  • Lost the 2024 Senate District 36 race to Sen. Cyndi Carrasco, 62.5% to 37.5% [16].

Fortenberry's endorsements and funding

  • iVoterGuide lists endorsements from Better Indiana and the Indiana Reproductive Freedom PAC [18].

What we could not find about Fortenberry

  • No campaign website or published policy positions were found; her Facebook page (Fortenberry4Indiana) could not be reviewed for this profile.
  • She did not answer the iVoterGuide questionnaire.
  • Local coverage (Daily Journal, Franklin) could not be reviewed for this profile; her residence and community work could not be confirmed from freely available sources.
  • No fundraising data found.
  • No statements by Fortenberry about Haggard's record, the seat or Bennett were found.

Sources for Fortenberry

Key points

  • House District 57 lies just southwest of Indianapolis and includes parts of Hendricks, Johnson and Morgan counties, including Mooresville. (Indiana House Republican Caucus)
  • Open seat: Haggard ran for Congress instead of reelection; he lost the 4th District Republican primary to Rep. Jim Baird. Haggard was reelected unopposed in 2024. (Wikipedia)
  • Key differences: Bennett, a former state utility regulator and property-tax administrator, lists property tax reform, abortion restrictions and gun rights among his priorities; no published policy positions from Fortenberry were found. (Friends of Wes Bennett)

Sources

Researched Saturday, October 10, 2026

  1. Indiana House of Representatives (Wikipedia)
  2. 2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
  3. State Rep. Craig Haggard: biography and committees (Indiana House Republican Caucus)
  4. Democrat Drew Cox to face incumbent Baird in U.S. House race (Purdue Exponent)
  5. 2026 Indiana House of Representatives election (Wikipedia)
  6. Recount commission confirms winner from contested Indiana House GOP primary (Indiana Capital Chronicle (via CNHI))
  7. 2024 Indiana House of Representatives election (Wikipedia)
  8. Wes Bennett for District 57 (home, about and endorsements) (Friends of Wes Bennett)
  9. 2026 primary candidate filings (Johnson County, Indiana)
  10. 2024 Indiana Senate election (Wikipedia)
  11. Suzanne Fortenberry (candidate profile) (BallotReady)
  12. Suzanne Fortenberry: State Representative, District 57 (iVoterGuide)
What's included
the U.S. House, statewide offices, every Indiana House and Senate district on the ballot, Indiana's statewide public questions and judicial retention questions, and county, township, city, town and school board races from the Indiana Election Division's candidate list.
Everything else
Local races (county, city, school board, judges) and anything else on your ballot are on your official sample ballot: IndianaVoters.in.gov.
Candidate lists
As of Sunday, October 18, 2026.
At the polls
Indiana law lets you bring a list of candidates and public questions into the polling place, including one stored on your phone, as long as you don't electioneer. IC 3-11-8-18.5

This is not an official ballot. Confirm your registration, polling place and ballot with your election office through vote.gov.