By Olivia O’Neal TheStatehouseFile.com April 27, 2026
U.S. Rep. André Carson, D-Indiana, has represented Indiana’s 7th District in Washington, D.C., for nearly 20 years, but despite five challengers looking to usurp him, Dr. Laura Merrifield Wilson, associate professor of political science at the University of Indianapolis, said his defeat is unlikely.
She argued there may be too many challengers dividing the voters who are ready for a change in congressional leadership.
The likelihood that Carson loses his seat is low “primarily because of incumbency advantage,” Merrifield Wilson said. There is a reason why, 97% of the time, incumbents have claimed victory in recent statehouse elections across the nation: They have access to donors and political action committees after already proving their ability to win.
Carson also carries the legacy of his grandmother, Julia May Carson, the first Black person and first woman to represent Indianapolis in Washington.
“The Carson name has long—like decades—dominated this district, and though the parameters, the boundaries of the district have changed, whether it was André Carson or his grandmother Julia Carson, they are a known quantity and, I think, generally, he’s thought of positively by his constituents,” Merrifield Wilson said. “Carson will win by landslide margins in the November general.”
Carson rarely faces challengers in a primary, she said, attributing the unusual increase of opponents to the state of national politics.
“There’s definitely invigoration and excitement within the Democratic Party,” she said. “Maybe people see this as an opportunity for change.”
That’s not just true in the 7th District. Merrifield Wilson compared the situation to that of the 5th District—where Rep. Victoria Spartz, a Republican, faces seven Democratic challengers. Additionally, Indiana lawmakers are seeing a surplus of Democratic candidates challenging all 25 state Senate districts and 91 of the 100 state House seats.
The two 7th District challengers Merrifield Wilson said stand out are George Hornedo and Destiny Wells, both Democrats.
Hornedo has strong ties to the Democratic Party, having worked as a communications aid for the Department of Justice under former President Barack Obama and collaborated with Pete Buttigieg (who is rumored to be planning a 2028 presidential campaign). Hornedo also represents the Indiana Latino Democratic Caucus.
He’s critical of “18 years of the same representation in this seat,” his campaign website says. Hornedo lists his goals as bringing federal resources to the state, building a stronger Democratic Party and building what “comes next” after the Trump Administration.
“I just got tired of looking around for leadership,” he told TheStatehouseFile.com. “This is obviously really difficult times. And as much as I like and respect the congressman, like many people, I think we have to tell the uncomfortable truth.”
Destiny Wells answered reporters’ questions after winning the Democratic nomination for attorney general at the Indiana Democratic State Convention in July 2024. (Photo/Arianna Hunt of TheStatehouseFile.com)
Hornedo cites Carson’s low ratings on the Center for Effective Lawmaking, which ranks U.S. lawmakers’ ability to follow through on their agenda items and advance legislation. Although he acknowledges the risk of going up against an incumbent, Hornedo said having “new people” involved in this years’ primary already constitutes a win.
“The ability to kind of prove the model that this is what we should be doing as candidates at large, this is what we should be doing as a party at large, you know, is the primary point of all of this,” he said. “Change is inevitable whether it’s the cycle, whether it’s in the future—change is coming.”
Destiny Wells faced current Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita as the Democratic nominee in 2024. Prior to this, she secured 40% of the vote for secretary of state in 2022, close behind now-Secretary of State Diego Morales, who received 54%.
Her campaign criticizes the Democratic Party and the need for new leadership. The latter is something she likens to the advocacy of No Kings protests: The government is not a dynasty but rather a democracy.
“I’ve gotten a lot of blowback from party insiders for calling out the campaign behaviors of the current congressman, and they are not happy that I’m bringing attention to the fact of how much corporate money he’s taken and that by all definitions he is a corporate Democrat,” Wells told TheStatehouseFile.com.
She’s asking for both Republican and Democratic politicians to be confronted on their prioritizing the interests of donors, law firms and corporations, she said. Wells aims to lower health-care costs, protect reproductive freedom and minority communities, and promote “responsible national security”—for example, having Congress debate and vote before sending Americans into conflict.
Her plans for Congress extend to limiting data centers. Wells intends to support the AI Data Center Moratorium Act that Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, are proposing. That bill is looking to pause the nation’s rapid artificial-intelligence advancements. She said she also plans to back the Break up Big Medicine Act by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts. It tackles the consolidation in the health-care industry.
Hornedo and Wells are standouts, according to Merrifield Wilson, but there are three other challengers.
George Hornedo, as pictured in a promotional photo from his campaign website. (Photo/https://www.georgehornedo.com/meetgeorge)
Denise Paul Hatch, a Democrat, worked on political campaigns for Sanders and Obama. She served as a constable for Center Township in 2022 and makes a campaign point out of carrying a criminal record, pleading guilty to two misdemeanors and a felony in Marion County Court related to unlawfully carrying a fire arms and disorderly conduct. Hatch said she has been “targeted by the powers that be” and wants to decriminalize marijuana, avoid unnecessary evictions and stop the destruction of property for evictees.
Carson faces two Republican challengers. Patrick McAuley supported Rep. Jefferson Shreve in his unsuccessful 2021 run for Indianapolis mayor against victor Joe Hogsett. He looks to use the “current Republican Party’s platform” to secure financial resources for “infrastructure, public safety, housing and creating great jobs for the next generation,” his campaign website says.
Republican Felipe Rios previously ran for state legislature for House District 94 and House District 99, and he is looking to ban same-sex marriage and oppose the Affordable Care Act. His campaign work has been relatively quiet, and the most recent campaign website TheStatehouseFile.com could find was from 2024.
The key to ending Carson’s term lies in one strong challenger, Merrifield Wilson said—someone with success in office and connections. Although she is skeptical of his defeat, the five challengers are a sign of change for the Democratic “superminority” in Indiana, she said. The Democratic party could attract independents, moderates and potentially Republicans who are against the party’s current actions as they advocate for change in a red landscape that Hoosiers seem to be increasingly frustrated by.
“The Democrats see this as an opportunity,” she said. “This might be the beginning of the resurrection for the Democrats in Indiana.”
Olivia O’Neal is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news site powered by Franklin College journalism students.
