By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
May 6, 2026
Shirley Newman, a resident of the city of Beech Grove, listed the concerns that motivated her to vote in the May primary: the high price of gas, the cost of groceries and the war in Iran.
However, Newman is most frustrated by the rhetoric spilling out of Washington, D.C. Namely, she is fed up with the criticisms, accusations and angry speeches, she said, that are coming from Democrats.
“I think the rhetoric from the Democrats really needs to be toned down,” Newman said, while noting she is a supporter of President Donald Trump and, to the chagrin of some family members, she watches Fox News. She attributed the exasperation on the left to “I hate Trump syndrome” and, she thinks, if anyone else were president, the sparing would not be as sharp.
Still, she conceded Trump has also launched some harsh rhetoric at his opponents.
“I think he loves to antagonize people, and he makes comments that he shouldn’t make,” Newman said of the president. “But for the most part, I think he’s done a good job. He knows way more than I do about what’s going on. I would not want to be in his shoes, so I have to put my trust in him.”
While seven state Senate races in Indiana have captured national attention, Newman and other voters casting their ballots on Tuesday afternoon at the Beech Grove Middle School polling site talked about a variety of issues that were on the top of their minds. None of the voters mentioned midcycle redistricting which was pushed by Trump but defeated by Indiana lawmakers in December. Seven of the senators who voted against redrawing Indiana’s congressional map ahead of the 2026 election, faced retribution from the president and at least five have lost their primary races to Trump-endorsed challengers.
Instead, the voters were focused, like Newman, on affordability and other issues close to home. They acknowledged problems and struggles they see in their community and in the country could not be solved by elected officials alone, but they want leaders and lawmakers to do more to address those issues.
Sam Springfield, who grew up in an Indianapolis housing project and ran a five-minute mile as a cross country athlete in high school, was focused on local issues rather than the disputes on Capitol Hill. He said he wants Indianapolis and the surrounding neighborhoods to improve and topping his list is curbing youth violence.
City officials have responded to the rise in shootings and homicides among Indianapolis teenagers by expanding its Youth Violence Reduction Initiative and considering a proposal to tighten the city-wide curfew on children 17 and younger.
Having lost a relative to gun violence, Springfield has a strong personal interest in the issue. He recalled his youth when boys and teenagers would fight and then be friends again a few minutes later, but now, he said, young people do not think about what can happen after they pull the trigger.
Although he said much of the violence is spurred by the accessibility of guns, Springfield is dubious about putting restrictions on ownership of firearms because, he said, the young will find a way to get the weapons.
The answer, he believes, is more programs and activities for the youth in Indianapolis to keep them off the street.
James Locander confessed as a voter he is focused on the single issue of banning all abortions. He said he is an abortion abolitionist and believes “the same laws that apply for the born should be applied to the pre-born.”
Locander equated abortion with murder and said pregnancies that result from rape or incest or that put the mother’s life in danger should not be terminated. Without citing to any evidence, he said he doubted a pregnancy could put a woman’s life at risk.
Galvanized by the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Locander became a devout abolitionist. He voted and believed his vote mattered, even though he said he is frustrated by candidates who take a strong pro-life stance on the campaign trail but fail to pass a total abortion ban when they get into office.
“Even if we put no contest on everything, it’s at least our vote,” Locander said of casting his ballot. “We’re showing that we’re not supporting any of it.
Sister Cathy Anne Lepore said she went to the polling place in part to use her vote to be a voice for the poor and working class. She said families are struggling to pay for food, housing and child care and should have help covering their basic needs. Moreover, she said people in communities and neighborhoods need help connecting so they get to know who lives next door to them.
Trying to explain why people have become so isolated, Lepore said the issue is complicated. She sees people harboring an underlying fear and “sense of scarcity” that, despite the country’s abundance, makes them feel there will not be enough for everyone.
Asked what is fueling the fear, Lepore took some time before answering.
“I think it comes from the top down,” Lepore said. She started to continue her thought but then paused. “I have to walk a very narrow line because I’m a Benedictine.”
She said people could overcome their fears by volunteering to help the less fortunate and by joining a church or community group to meet their neighbors. As for the representatives and senators on Washington, D.C., she urged them to be more understanding.
“I think have kindness, have hospitality, be compassionate,” Lepore said of her message to Capitol Hill. “I think that our people who are in Congress and the Senate are in a different socioeconomic class than 95% of the American people, and so I’m not sure that they have a true sense of what’s going on in the streets.”
Colleen Steffen, executive editor of TheStatehouseFile.com, edited this article. She worked as a newspaper reporter and editor for more than 13 years and is now in her 10th year teaching college journalists.
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org.
