Candidate · November 3, 2026
J.D. Ford
On the ballot for U.S. House · Indiana's 5th District
- raised through Oct 14, 2026
- $1.4M
- cash on hand
- $325K
- issues with public statements
- 15
- outside spending for or against
- $685K
§1On the ballot
Why this matters: This is exactly how the candidate appears on your ballot, from the state's official candidate list.
| Office | U.S. House · Indiana's 5th District1 |
|---|---|
| Party on the ballot | Democratic1 |
| Status | Challenger |
| Also on the ballot |
|
§2Who they are
Why this matters: Background and experience help you judge how someone might do the job. These come from public records and the candidate's own materials.
Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.
J.D. Ford is a member of the Indiana Senate, and his campaign website says he was elected in Senate District 29 and has served seven years.2 His campaign website says he has served as Minority Caucus Whip and Minority Caucus Chair, and as ranking minority member for the Senate Committee on Education, for Veterans Affairs and the Military, and for Family and Children Services.2 His campaign website says he was a substitute teacher before he ran for office.3
Why they say they're running
His campaign website says he is running because Hoosiers who work hard are still falling behind, and that he wants to bring their concerns to Washington and work to lower healthcare costs and make life more affordable.3,
Websites and accounts
- Campaign websiteelectjdford.com4,
5 - Facebookfacebook.com/jdfordforcongress4
- Instagraminstagram.com/jdfordforcongress4
- YouTubeyoutube.com/@electjdford4
- X (Twitter)x.com/jdford4congress4
§3What they've said on the issues
Why this matters: These are positions the candidate has stated publicly — on their campaign website or in public statements — summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Issues they haven't spoken about publicly are left out.
Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.
Each issue has its own range of views. A position is marked on that range only when the candidate's own statement clearly matches one option; there is no overall left–right score.
Housing
His campaign platform says he would make housing more affordable by banning international investors and big corporations from buying homes.3
Taxes and Budget
His campaign platform says that while in the Indiana Senate he voted to end the 7% sales tax on utility bills.3
Economy, Jobs and Trade
His campaign platform says he would take on President Trump's tariffs, which it says have left farmers with unsold harvests and priced small businesses out of the economy.3
His campaign platform says he would fight for fair wages, safe working conditions and the right to organize without interference.3
Energy and Climate
His campaign platform says he would hold data centers accountable for paying for their own water and utility expenses.3
- Encourage new data centers with tax breaks and faster approvals
- Require data centers to pay the full cost of the power plants and lines they need
- Pause or limit new data centers
Health Care
His campaign platform says he would fight to restore and protect Medicaid funding and oppose budget cuts that threaten access to emergency and preventive care.3
- Reduce federal Medicaid spending further, such as by giving states fixed yearly amounts (block grants or per-person limits)
- Keep the funding rules set by the 2025 law
- Reverse the 2025 changes or increase federal funding
Abortion and Reproductive Health
His campaign platform says he would protect reproductive freedom by writing Roe v. Wade into federal law.3
- Legal only to save the pregnant woman's life
- Legal only in cases of rape or incest, or to save the woman's life
- Legal early in pregnancy only, up to a limit such as 6, 12 or 15 weeks
- Legal until about 24 weeks, as under Roe v. Wade, and later to protect the woman's life or health
- Legal at every stage, with no limit based on weeks of pregnancy
His campaign platform says he would protect a woman's right to make her own healthcare decisions by writing Roe v. Wade into federal law.3
- A national law making abortion legal in every state, at least until viability, as under Roe v. Wade
- Leave abortion law to each state
- A national law limiting abortion (for example, after 15 weeks of pregnancy)
Courts, Rights and Civil Liberties
His campaign platform says he would pass the Equality Act to ensure no American faces discrimination in housing, employment or public spaces.3
- Pass broad protections such as the Equality Act
- Add protections with broad exemptions for religious groups and businesses
- No new federal protections; leave it to the states
Family and Social Policy
His campaign platform says he would stand by protections for marriage equality.3
- Keep same-sex marriage legal in every state
- Let each state decide whether to allow it
- Recognize only marriages between one man and one woman
Crime, Policing and Prisons
His campaign platform says he would modernize marijuana laws to reflect support among Hoosiers for some form of legalization.3
Guns
His campaign platform says he would implement universal background checks.3
- Require checks for all gun sales, including private sales (with exceptions such as gifts between family members)
- Require checks for private sales at gun shows and online, but not other private sales
- Keep current law, with checks required only for sales by licensed dealers
His campaign platform says he would protect red flag laws, including the Jake Laird law, and lists red flag laws among the gun safety measures he would enact.3
Education
His campaign platform says he opposes taking money from public schools to fund private schools that it calls unaccountable.3
Immigration
His campaign platform says he would reform oversight of ICE by requiring body cameras, ending masked raids and raising training standards.3
§4Money
Why this matters: Campaigns report where their money comes from and how much they have left. Outside groups that spend on their own, without coordinating with the campaign, report that too.
Reported to the Federal Election Commission for the 2025–2026 election cycle, through October 14, 2026.6
| Raised | $1,410,737 |
|---|---|
| Spent | $1,086,209 |
| Cash on hand | $324,529 |
Where the money came from
Outside spending
Groups spending independently reported $134,486 supporting and $550,854 opposing J.D. Ford this cycle, primary and general combined, in the 24- and 48-hour reports the law requires for larger expenditures, filed through October 26, 2026.7
| Group | Supporting | Opposing |
|---|---|---|
| NO GOING BACK PAC INC. | — | $550,854 |
| HOOSIER STATE VALUES PAC | $123,073 | — |
| Working America | $9,500 | — |
| Indivisible Project Inc. | $1,913 | — |
Smaller expenditures that appear only on a group's regular monthly or quarterly report aren't in these totals, so the full amounts can be somewhat higher. When a group amends a report, only its latest version is counted.