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2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Indiana Senate, District 39

Indiana Senate. 4-year term. Open seat: Eric Bassler 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 39 is open: Sen. Eric Bassler, a Republican, is not seeking re-election [3, 2].
  • Jeff Ellington is the only candidate on the ballot [2].

Candidates on the ballot

Jeff Ellington

Republican

Work
Owner of Phoenix Demolition, Ellington Stables and J.R. Ellington Tree Experts; former Bloomington firefighter [4]

Republican Jeff Ellington, a former state representative (2015–2022) and former Monroe County Council member, is the only candidate for the open Senate District 39 seat [3, 2].

Ellington's background

  • Represented Indiana House District 62 from December 2015, when a Republican caucus appointed him, to November 2022 [3].
  • Monroe County Council member from 1997 to 2005 [3].
  • BallotReady lists him as owner of Phoenix Demolition, Ellington Stables and J.R. Ellington Tree Experts and a former Bloomington firefighter, with a 1982 bachelor's from Indiana University [4].

Ellington's positions

Stances listed by BallotReady (undated)

  • Economy: "I will never stop fighting to retain and bring employers to Southwest Indiana and the Wabash Valley" [4].
  • Energy: "We must make sure coal is part of the Indiana and USA power equation" [4].
  • Taxes: "We can reform and reduce these taxes, but it has to be done in a way that doesn't bloat the sales tax" [4].

How Ellington got on the ballot

  • Announced his Senate campaign in August 2025 for the seat Sen. Eric Bassler is leaving [3].
  • Won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary with 7,940 votes, ahead of Kristi Risk (5,378), Tanner Bouchie (3,865) [5].
  • Is the only candidate on the November ballot [2].

What we could not find about Ellington

  • BallotReady's stance quotes are undated and may come from earlier campaigns.
  • No 2026 campaign platform from a free local source was reviewed.

Sources for Ellington

Key points

  • Senate District 39 is open: Sen. Eric Bassler, a Republican, is not seeking re-election. (Wikipedia)
  • Jeff Ellington is the only candidate on the ballot. (Indiana Election Division)

Sources

Researched Tuesday, October 13, 2026

  1. Indiana Senate (Wikipedia)
  2. 2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
  3. Jeff Ellington (Wikipedia)
  4. Jeff Ellington (BallotReady)
  5. 2026 Primary Election results (certified), Indiana Election Night Reporting (Indiana Election Division)
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.