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2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Indiana Senate, District 17

Indiana Senate. 4-year term. Open seat: Nick McKinley 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 17 covers Grant, Huntington, and Wabash counties [3].
  • This is an open seat: Andy Zay resigned in January 2026 to chair the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, and caucus-appointed Sen. Nick McKinley lost the May 5, 2026 Republican primary [3, 4].
  • Republican primary (per Wikipedia's compilation of results): Chris Parker 5,667 (46.1%), Nick McKinley 5,113 (41.6%), Michael Hensley 1,512 (12.3%); Cynthia M. Wehr was unopposed for the Democratic nomination with 2,801 votes [4].
  • No debate or joint forum between Parker and Wehr was found in available coverage. Parker's campaign calendar lists a Sept. 14, 2026 data-center town hall in Marion among his appearances [6].
  • Both candidates say they oppose data centers and industrial solar projects in the district; they differ on education funding (Parker supports school choice with funding following the student, Wehr calls for fully funded public schools) and on health care and utility policy [7, 8, 9].

Candidates on the ballot

Chris Parker

Republican

Work
Real estate in northeastern Indiana for nearly two decades; opened Coffee Bean Counter in downtown Huntington [7]

Chris Parker is a Huntington real estate broker and coffee shop owner who previously held church pastoral roles and won the May 2026 Republican primary over Sen. Nick McKinley and Michael Hensley [10, 4].

Parker's background

  • According to his campaign, Parker moved to Huntington in 1996 to attend Huntington University, earned a B.S. in Youth Ministry in 1999, and served in pastoral leadership at several churches before moving into management and business leadership [10].
  • His campaign says he has worked in real estate in northeastern Indiana for nearly two decades, serves on the Upstate Alliance of Realtors board, and recently opened Coffee Bean Counter in downtown Huntington [10].
  • In an iVoterGuide questionnaire he said he has no prior political experience [11].
  • Lives in Huntington County [10].

Parker's positions

Energy & utilities

  • His platform says he opposes large-scale industrial solar, wind, and carbon-sequestration projects, saying they can undermine property values, local decision-making, and the agricultural economy [7].
  • In his iVoterGuide responses, he said his base wants moratoriums on data centers, carbon capture and sequestration, industrial solar farms, and wind turbines, and that he would rescind what his response called the 'Holcolmb' agricultural overlay for solar and wind on farmland [11].

Property taxes

  • His platform calls for reviewing and expanding the 2025 property-tax changes, focusing on state accountability and local transparency in county property assessments [7].

Economy & jobs

  • His campaign says he supports 'Hoosier First' growth focused on local jobs, domestic manufacturing, and local entrepreneurship, and opposes a possible casino relocation to the area [10].
  • He says he supports local home rule and opposes consolidating decision-making in Indianapolis [10].

Education

  • His platform says he supports school choice with funding that follows the student and more access to training and apprenticeship programs [7].

Public safety

  • His platform says he supports Second Amendment rights, law enforcement, and cooperation with federal immigration authorities [7].
  • In his iVoterGuide responses, he supported allowing qualified teachers to carry guns in schools [11].

Abortion & social issues

  • His platform says he will stand for 'the sanctity of life' and for protecting churches, schools, and families from government interference [7].
  • In his iVoterGuide responses, he strongly opposed legalizing recreational marijuana and opposed adding sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes in nondiscrimination law [11].

Health care

  • In his iVoterGuide responses, he proposed allowing insurance coverage across state lines, requiring transparent billing, and increasing competition [11].

How Parker would run the office

  • In his iVoterGuide responses, he did not commit to specific bills, saying freshman senators' bills often stall; he said he would prioritize limiting the erosion of home rule and banning foreign projects that monopolize natural resources [11].

How Parker got on the ballot

  • Won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary with 46.1% of the vote over incumbent Nick McKinley (41.6%) and Michael Hensley (12.3%), per Wikipedia's compilation of results [4].

Parker's endorsements and funding

  • iVoterGuide lists endorsements from Indiana Right to Life and Right to Life of Northeast Indiana [11].
  • Wikipedia's results compilation lists a post-primary endorsement from Indiana Farm Bureau's AgELECT PAC [4].

What we could not find about Parker

  • No fundraising totals were found; the Indiana campaign finance portal was not reviewed.
  • His campaign site's endorsement section lists Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, Rep. Lorissa Sweet, and the Coalition for a Better Indiana, but that section also contains text naming another candidate ('Mike Thompson') and appears to be unedited template content, so these endorsements were not confirmed.
  • Primary vote totals come from Wikipedia's compilation; certified totals were not confirmed from a news or official source.
  • No local news interview, candidate Q&A, debate or forum with Parker was found.
  • No statements by Parker about McKinley or the seat's previous record were found in available sources. His questionnaire said he waited for a 'good person' to run before entering the race [11].

Parker's campaign website

Sources for Parker

  • About Chris (Chris Parker for State Senate (campaign site))

Cynthia M. Wehr

Democratic

Work
Operating-room nurse for two decades; co-founder of a child advocacy center [9]

Cynthia 'Cyndi' Wehr is a former operating-room nurse, small-business owner, and co-founder of a Huntington County child advocacy center who was unopposed for the Democratic nomination [9, 4].

Wehr's background

  • According to her campaign, she spent two decades as an operating-room nurse, co-founded Mackenzie's Hope, a nonprofit child advocacy center that coordinates responses to child abuse and neglect, and has run a small business [9].
  • Her campaign says she grew up on a farm and has deep roots in Huntington County [9].

Wehr's positions

Health care

  • Her campaign lists equal access to health care and says she would expand access to quality care and lower costs, with support for providers and caregivers [8, 12].

Education

  • Her campaign calls for fully funded public education and investment 'in students, teachers, and classrooms' [8, 12].

Energy & utilities

  • Her campaign site lists a utility rate cap among her priorities [8].

Data centers

  • Her campaign site states 'No data centers, no solar farms!' and says she opposes data centers and industrial solar projects [8, 9].

Agriculture

  • Her campaign says she would protect family farms and local agriculture and Indiana's land, water, and ecosystems [12].

Economy & jobs

  • Her campaign lists support for small businesses, job training, local economic growth, affordable housing, and accessible child care; her fundraising page cites fair wages [12, 8, 13].

Elections & redistricting

  • Her campaign says she supports fair elections and accessible polling places [12].

How Wehr would run the office

  • Her campaign lists government accountability goals including transparency and responsible budgeting [12].

How Wehr got on the ballot

  • Unopposed in the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary, receiving 2,801 votes per Wikipedia's results compilation [4].

What we could not find about Wehr

  • Endorsements reported by Blue Voter Guide could not be confirmed from freely available sources.
  • No fundraising totals were found; campaign finance reports were not reviewed.
  • A 'Garage Talk' podcast episode featuring Wehr exists but was not reviewed.
  • No local news coverage of her candidacy was found.
  • No statements by Wehr about McKinley, Parker, or the seat's previous record were found; her site refers generally to transparency, accountability, and listening to constituents [8].
  • No endorsements are listed on her campaign site [8].

Wehr's campaign website

Sources for Wehr

  • About (Wehr campaign site)

Key points

  • Senate District 17 covers Grant, Huntington, and Wabash counties. (Indiana Capital Chronicle via IPM)
  • This is an open seat: Andy Zay resigned in January 2026 to chair the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, and caucus-appointed Sen. Nick McKinley lost the May 5, 2026 Republican primary. (Indiana Capital Chronicle via IPM)
  • Both candidates say they oppose data centers and industrial solar projects in the district; they differ on education funding (Parker supports school choice with funding following the student, Wehr calls for fully funded public schools) and on health care and utility policy. (Chris Parker for State Senate (campaign site))

Sources

Researched Saturday, October 10, 2026

  1. Indiana Senate (Wikipedia)
  2. 2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
  3. New senator takes office for final weeks of Indiana legislative session (Indiana Capital Chronicle via IPM)
  4. 2026 Indiana Senate election (Wikipedia)
  5. Connect (Chris Parker for State Senate (campaign site))
  6. Platform (Chris Parker for State Senate (campaign site))
  7. Cynthia Wehr for Indiana State Senate (Wehr campaign site)
  8. About (Wehr campaign site)
  9. About Chris (Chris Parker for State Senate (campaign site))
  10. Chris Parker candidate profile (iVoterGuide)
  11. Issues (Wehr campaign site)
  12. Donate to Cynthia Wehr (ActBlue)
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.