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2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Indiana Senate, District 11

Indiana Senate. 4-year term. Open seat: Linda Rogers is not on the ballot.

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What this office does

Members of the Indiana Senate write and vote on state laws as part of the Indiana General Assembly. The Senate has 50 members, each representing one district for a four-year term; about half the seats are elected every two years [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
4 years [1]
Term limit
None [1]
Seats
50 [1]
On the 2026 ballot
25 districts [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 25 years old when taking office and have lived in the district for at least a year, under Article 4 of the Indiana Constitution [1].

About this race

  • Senate District 11 covers parts of St. Joseph and Elkhart counties, including the Granger area. [5, 6]
  • Open seat: incumbent Linda Rogers lost the May 5, 2026 Republican primary to Brian Schmutzler, 5,461 votes to 3,758 (about 59%) in unofficial results. [4] Gabrianna Gratzol was the only candidate in the Democratic primary. [1]
  • The Republican primary centered on Rogers' December 2025 vote against congressional redistricting; Trump and Turning Point Action endorsed Schmutzler. [4, 6] An IU South Bend political scientist, Elizabeth Bennion, told ABC57 the endorsements were more about punishing those who opposed the push than about Rogers' overall voting record. [6]
  • Key differences in stated positions: Schmutzler has called SEA 1 a bad bill and described eliminating property taxes as a long-term goal; Gratzol has warned that eliminating property taxes without replacing school, police and fire funding would cut local services. [5, 8] On schools, Schmutzler wants state funding to follow families to homeschooling, microschools and private schools, while Gratzol opposes the expansion of private school vouchers. [9, 4, 8]

Candidates on the ballot

Gabrianna Gratzol

Democratic

Gabrianna Gratzol is a plastics-plant worker and first-time candidate who was unopposed for the Democratic nomination. [8, 1]

Gratzol's background

  • A profile by the Progressive Indiana Network, an advocacy group, reports she has worked in retail, residential behavioral health with teens, with children with autism, at a plastics manufacturing plant, and at the nonprofit health organization Beacon. [8]
  • The St. Joseph County Democratic Party lists her among its 2026 candidates. [12]

Gratzol's positions

Economy & jobs

  • The St. Joseph County Democratic Party says she supports a $15-per-hour living wage and strong labor unions. [12]
  • Supports protecting unions and adjusting corporate tax policy so companies that underpay workers are held responsible, according to Progressive Indiana. [8]

Property taxes

  • Has warned that eliminating property taxes without replacing school, police and fire funding would gut local services. [8]

Education

  • Supports funding public schools and opposes the expansion of private school vouchers, particularly the removal of income caps. [8]
  • Opposed Rogers' bill to replace the elected South Bend school board, saying action is needed to improve public schools but removing locally elected members is not the answer. [13]

Health care

  • Supports expanding the Healthy Indiana Plan, attention to Medicaid provider pay, and a state-level public option. [8]

Child care

  • Supports restoring child care vouchers and moving toward universal pre-K. [8]

Data centers

  • Opposes relying on data center projects as an economic growth strategy. [8]

Energy & utilities

  • Supports holding utility companies accountable for what she calls price gouging. [8]

How Gratzol would run the office

  • Campaign site lists public education, worker protections and affordability as priorities. [14]

Gratzol on the current officeholder

  • Criticized Rogers' 2026 South Bend school board bill as "justification for government overreach." [13]
  • Progressive Indiana reports she credited Rogers for work on firefighter health benefits, for pulling the school board bill after public feedback, and for voting against redistricting maps she believed were wrong. [8]
  • Says the Senate is made up of people "who employ other people" and argues it needs more working people and parents. [8, 14]

How Gratzol got on the ballot

  • Was the only candidate in the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary, receiving 4,577 votes. [1]
  • Announced as a challenger to Rogers by January 2026. [13]

What we could not find about Gratzol

  • No endorsements or fundraising totals were verified.
  • The Indiana Capital Chronicle voter guide entry for her could not be reviewed for this profile.
  • An endorsement by Pete Buttigieg listed on Wikipedia could not be confirmed from freely available sources.
  • No campaign finance figures found; an ActBlue donation page exists.
  • No statements about Republican nominee Brian Schmutzler by name found.
  • Coverage is limited mostly to an advocacy outlet profile (Progressive Indiana) and her own materials.
  • No general-election debate or forum for this race was found as of 2026-10-10.

Gratzol's campaign website

Sources for Gratzol

Brian S. Schmutzler

Republican

Work
Physician; executive vice president of medical affairs, CCI Anesthesia [10]

Brian Schmutzler is a physician and anesthesiology executive who won the 2026 Republican nomination by defeating incumbent Sen. Linda Rogers. [4, 10]

Schmutzler's background

  • Physician; his BallotReady profile lists him as executive vice president of medical affairs at CCI Anesthesia (2023–present), chief anesthesiologist and medical director of the operating room at Unity Physicians Hospital (2021–present), and owner of Anesthesia Consulting and Clinical Specialists (2018–present). [10]
  • First run for office; he told WNDU that COVID-era shutdowns, elective-surgery restrictions, and mask and vaccine mandates first drew him into politics [5].
  • Announced his campaign in January 2026, citing school choice and property taxes as priorities [9].

Schmutzler's positions

Property taxes

  • Called the 2025 property tax law (SEA 1) a bad bill that did little to fix property taxes and raised local income taxes; said his long-term goal is eliminating property taxes while acknowledging side effects, and floated taxing homes on purchase or build value rather than current market value. [5]
  • His campaign site says state and local government can do more to ease the tax burden; his BallotReady profile says he will fight "Endless government debt and unfair property taxes." [11, 10]

Education

  • Wants to expand school choice beyond public and charter schools to homeschooling, microschools and private schools. [4]
  • Supports broader eligibility for microschools, hybrid schooling and homeschooling, with state funding directed to families rather than institutions. [9]

Health care

  • Describes himself as a supporter of the MAHA movement and says patients deserve care "without insurance companies standing between patients and doctors"; calls rural access a top priority. [10, 9]
  • His campaign site says he would advocate for transparency in health care billing and more care options in underserved and rural communities. [11]

Energy & utilities

  • His campaign site says he will focus on rising energy, grocery and housing costs and would "hold energy companies accountable." [11] He also named gas taxes and energy costs as priorities after the primary. [4]

Elections & redistricting

  • Said he would have voted for redistricting, calling the vote "a huge missed opportunity for us as a republican party, and for us here in Indiana," and said most voters he met while door-knocking favored it. [6]

Government spending

  • His campaign site pledges transparency on how government spends taxpayer money and opposes "more spending on special projects and corporate handouts." [11]

How Schmutzler would run the office

  • Campaign site lists three areas: affordable living, access to health care, and accountability. [11]
  • After the primary he named property taxes, gas taxes, energy costs, health care and school choice as priorities. [4]

Schmutzler on the current officeholder

  • Said the Senate was not prepared to address what Hoosiers need, citing the redistricting vote and rising property and gas taxes, and disputed Rogers' defense of SEA 1. [5]
  • At his campaign launch he said some lawmakers have lost touch with Hoosiers and pledged to restore accountability in the Senate. [9]

How Schmutzler got on the ballot

  • Won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary over incumbent Linda Rogers, 5,461 votes to 3,758 in unofficial results. [4]
  • Said the Senate's December 2025 redistricting vote was the final push for his candidacy. [5]

Schmutzler's endorsements and funding

  • Endorsed in the primary by President Trump and by Turning Point Action. [6, 4]

What we could not find about Schmutzler

  • No fundraising totals were verified.
  • Endorsements reported in secondary listings (including U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman, Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, Gov. Mike Braun, the Indiana Freedom Caucus and Indiana Farm Bureau's AgELECT PAC) could not be confirmed from freely available sources.
  • The Indiana Capital Chronicle voter guide entry for him could not be reviewed for this profile.
  • No statements about Democratic nominee Gabrianna Gratzol found.
  • No general-election debate or forum for this race was found as of 2026-10-10.

Schmutzler's campaign website

Sources for Schmutzler

Key points

  • Senate District 11 covers parts of St. Joseph and Elkhart counties, including the Granger area. (WNDU)
  • Open seat: incumbent Linda Rogers lost the May 5, 2026 Republican primary to Brian Schmutzler, 5,461 votes to 3,758 (about 59%) in unofficial results. Gabrianna Gratzol was the only candidate in the Democratic primary. (WNDU)

Sources

Researched Saturday, October 10, 2026

  1. Indiana Senate (Wikipedia)
  2. 2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
  3. Dr. Brian Schmutzler defeats incumbent Linda Rogers in Indiana Senate District 11 GOP primary (WNDU)
  4. Republican primary for Indiana Senate District 11 features incumbent Rogers, challenger Schmutzler (WNDU)
  5. Candidates for Indiana state senate speak following President Trump endorsement (ABC57)
  6. Gabrianna Gratzol Wants Working Hoosiers in the Room (Progressive Indiana Network)
  7. Dr. Brian Schmutzler announces bid for Indiana Senate District 11 (95.3 MNC)
  8. Brian S. Schmutzler (BallotReady)
  9. Dr. Brian for Indiana (campaign website) (Dr. Brian Schmutzler for Indiana Senate)
  10. 2026 Candidates (St. Joseph County Democratic Party)
  11. Rogers' opponent says Clay High controversy behind state takeover (WVPE)
  12. Gabrianna Gratzol for Senate District 11 (campaign website) (Gabrianna Gratzol campaign)
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.