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2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Indiana Senate, District 19

Indiana Senate. 4-year term. Open seat: Travis Holdman 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 19 covers Adams, Blackford, Jay, and Wells counties and a portion of Allen County [3, 8].
  • This is an open seat: incumbent Travis Holdman lost the May 5, 2026 Republican primary to Bluffton City Council member Blake Fiechter [4]. Wikipedia's results compilation lists 8,684 votes (61.5%) for Fiechter to 5,441 for Holdman [9].
  • President Trump targeted Holdman after his vote against the December 2025 redistricting bill [5]. Fiechter told WANE that Trump's endorsement and the mailings featuring him gave him name recognition beyond Wells County; WANE reported that super PACs tied to Sen. Jim Banks and Gov. Mike Braun spent more than $8.3 million across seven such Senate primaries, according to AdImpact [8].
  • Democrat Timothy C. Murphy was uncontested in the primary [8].
  • No debate or forum between Fiechter and Murphy was found in available coverage.
  • The candidates' published platforms differ on taxes (Fiechter calls for cutting government spending and reforming property-tax laws; Murphy proposes progressive income and property taxes), abortion, and labor law [10, 11].

Candidates on the ballot

Blake Fiechter

Republican

Work
Real estate broker and small business owner; Bluffton City Council member [10]

Blake Fiechter is a real estate broker and first-term Bluffton City Council member who defeated Sen. Travis Holdman in the May 2026 Republican primary after President Trump endorsed him [5, 4].

Fiechter's background

  • A real estate broker in his first term as an at-large Bluffton City Council member, elected in 2023 [5].
  • His campaign says he is a small business owner, serves on a local redevelopment commission, and is a third-generation Bluffton resident [10].

Fiechter's positions

Economy & jobs

  • His campaign says he would address high costs for groceries, gas, and utilities by cutting government spending [10].
  • On primary night he said he wants to bring relief from rising expenses and 'fresh perspectives' to the Senate [4].

Property taxes

  • His campaign pledges to reform property-tax laws so families and seniors are not forced out of their homes [10].

Agriculture

  • His campaign says rural communities and farmers should be heard and receive their fair share of state funding [10].

Abortion & social issues

  • His campaign describes him as pro-life [10].

Public safety

  • His campaign says he would oppose efforts to restrict firearms and protect Second Amendment rights [10].

Elections & redistricting

  • His campaign says he supports term limits for elected officials [10].

How Fiechter would run the office

  • His campaign lists cutting government spending, property-tax reform, and term limits among his goals [10].

Fiechter on the current officeholder

  • On primary night he thanked Holdman for his years of service [4].

How Fiechter got on the ballot

  • Trump endorsed Fiechter on Jan. 22, 2026, before Fiechter had filed for the seat [5].
  • WANE reported he announced in February that he was stepping away from the race, then reversed that decision; WANE also reported endorsements from Trump and Gov. Mike Braun [8].
  • Won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary with over 60% of the vote in unofficial results [4].

Fiechter's endorsements and funding

  • Endorsed by President Trump and, per WANE, Gov. Mike Braun [5, 8].

What we could not find about Fiechter

  • The Indiana Capital Chronicle voter guide could not be reviewed for this profile.
  • Wikipedia lists additional endorsements (Sen. Jim Banks, Rep. Erin Houchin, Turning Point Action, Indiana Farm Bureau AgELECT PAC post-primary); not verified on a primary source.
  • Primary and general-election fundraising totals could not be confirmed from freely available sources; the state campaign finance portal was not reviewed.
  • No general-election interviews or Q&As were found.

Fiechter's campaign website

Sources for Fiechter

Timothy C. Murphy

Democratic

Work
Pastor of a local church [12]

Timothy C. Murphy is a pastor running for office for the first time who was unopposed for the Democratic nomination [12, 8].

Murphy's background

  • According to his campaign, he is the pastor of a local church, grew up in Kentucky, and has lived in Fort Wayne since 2018 [12].
  • His campaign says this is his first run for office [12].

Murphy's positions

Elections & redistricting

  • His platform proposes a citizen-led ballot initiative process and multi-member districts with proportional representation [11].

Property taxes

  • His platform proposes replacing Indiana's flat income tax with a progressive income tax and establishing a progressive property tax [11].

Economy & jobs

  • His platform proposes raising the minimum wage with inflation indexing, repealing right-to-work, and tax incentives for businesses that put workers on their boards [11].
  • It also calls for subsidized child care of no more than $10 per child per day, at least 13 weeks of paid parental leave, and at least five paid sick days a year [11].

Education

  • His platform calls for spending transparency for charter and private schools that receive public funds [11].

Health care

  • His platform calls for billing transparency, expanded access in every county, protecting Medicaid eligibility, and restoring abortion access [11].

Energy & utilities

  • His platform calls for stronger air- and water-quality rules and expanded battery storage and transmission for clean energy [11].

Housing

  • His platform calls for stronger tenant rights, community land trusts, and more affordable units in tax-advantaged public-private projects [11].

How Murphy would run the office

  • His platform also proposes more bus funding with free rides for riders under 18 and over 65 [11].

How Murphy got on the ballot

  • Uncontested in the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary [8].

What we could not find about Murphy

  • No news coverage of Murphy beyond primary-result mentions was found.
  • No fundraising totals found; the state campaign finance portal was not reviewed.
  • Whether his Fort Wayne residence is within the district's Allen County portion was not verified.
  • No statements by Murphy about Holdman, Fiechter, or the seat's record were found; his platform says the economic and political system 'does not work for most people' [11].
  • No endorsements are listed on his campaign site [13].

Murphy's campaign website

Sources for Murphy

Key points

  • Senate District 19 covers Adams, Blackford, Jay, and Wells counties and a portion of Allen County. (Indiana Senate Republicans)
  • The candidates' published platforms differ on taxes (Fiechter calls for cutting government spending and reforming property-tax laws; Murphy proposes progressive income and property taxes), abortion, and labor law. (Fiechter campaign site)
  • President Trump targeted Holdman after his vote against the December 2025 redistricting bill. (Indiana Capital Chronicle via Yahoo News)

Sources

Researched Saturday, October 10, 2026

  1. Indiana Senate (Wikipedia)
  2. 2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
  3. Sen. Travis Holdman (Indiana Senate Republicans)
  4. With Trump's backing, Bluffton's Blake Fiechter defeats Holdman (WBOI (Northeast Indiana Public Radio))
  5. Trump posts backing of possible challenger to a top Indiana senator over redistricting defeat (Indiana Capital Chronicle via Yahoo News)
  6. Primary election: GOP opponents in state Senate's District 19 (WANE 15)
  7. 2026 Indiana Senate election (Wikipedia)
  8. Blake Fiechter for State Senate (Fiechter campaign site)
  9. Platform (Murphy campaign site)
  10. Meet Timothy (Murphy campaign site)
  11. Murphy for 19 (Murphy campaign site)
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.