Four Democrats are competing in the May 5 primary for Indiana's 8th Congressional District for the chance to challenge Rep. Mark Messmer in November. Messmer is running for a second term after winning the seat in 2024 following the retirement of longtime Rep. Larry Bucshon, who held the seat from 2011 to 2025.
In his first term, Messmer has positioned himself as a small-business conservative and a vocal opponent of federal regulation. He has introduced the Heat Workforce Standards Act, which would repeal a Biden-administration OSHA rule on workplace heat-safety standards, calling it a "one-size-fits-all" federal mandate. A devout Catholic, Messmer has also been an active sponsor of anti-abortion legislation.
The district covers counties in southwestern Indiana, including Evansville, the district's largest city. Republicans have held the 8th District since 2011, but the district was historically known as "the Bloody 8th" for a long stretch of close races and party flips, including the disputed 1984 election that was decided by the U.S. House.
The four Democratic candidates are running on overlapping themes. None describes themselves as an establishment Democrat, and all four have framed their campaigns around reducing the influence of corporate money in politics.
WNIN and WFYI contacted each campaign to ask why the candidate is running and what their priorities are. For candidates who did not respond, information was gathered from their campaign websites and social media. Candidate statements have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Mary Allen
Party: Democrat
Residence: Evansville
Occupation: Evansville at-large city councilor; small business owner
Website: maryallenforcongress.com
Campaign message: Allen said on her website that she is running to address an "affordability crisis" in which Hoosiers working full-time are choosing between heating their homes and filling prescriptions. She said federal policy under the Trump administration is "abandoning the kids who need help most to pay for tax cuts for billionaires."
Top priorities: Allen's platform centers on protecting Medicaid and funding rural hospitals, raising wages and expanding affordable housing, fully funding child care vouchers and increasing pay for child care workers. She also wants to restore federal funding for public schools, breaking up agricultural monopolies and passing a national right-to-repair law for farm equipment.
Mark Messmer (incumbent)
Party: Republican
Age: 63
Residence: Jasper
Occupation: U.S. representative, former owner of Messmer Mechanical
Website: markmessmer.com
Campaign message: Messmer campaign describes him as a commonsense conservative. "As the Congressman representing Indiana's 8th District, Mark is working on priorities that put America first and advancing legislation to lower taxes, eliminate needless regulation and champion individual liberty for all Hoosiers."
Top priorities: "Messmer helped deliver historic tax relief by voting to pass 'The Working Families Tax Cut' Bill signed into law July 4th, 2025 by President Trump. Now, Congressman Messmer is working to build a defense industry and high tech corridor in Southwest Indiana to create jobs and economic growth for a generation."
Christopher Rector
Party: Democrat
Age: 63
Residence: Tell City
Occupation: Author, retired U.S. Army veteran
Website: 7evenforcongress.com
Campaign message: Rector, who served 25 years on active duty in the Army and 10 years as a sheriff's detective, said he is running to defeat Mark Messmer and to challenge what he called the influence of "billionaires and corrupt politicians" who have "ripped apart the very fabric of this country."
Top priorities: Rector's stated priorities include establishing universal health care, expanding care for veterans, ending what he called "endless wars," and raising the federal minimum wage. "I don't pretend that I know all the answers, but I believe we can build a system that represents all the people regardless of our race, age, color, and gender."
Mario Foradori
Party: Democrat
Occupation: Teacher
Website: marioforadoriforcongress.com
Campaign message: Foradori said in a campaign video posted to Facebook that his campaign is built around four pillars — affordability, health care, education and infrastructure — and that "people are working just as hard as they always have, but groceries cost more, rent keeps climbing" while the gap between working people and the ultra rich. He has also pledged to refuse corporate PAC money
Top priorities: Foradori's stated priorities include making housing more affordable by restricting large-scale corporate ownership of single-family homes and expanding support for first-time homebuyers, breaking up agricultural monopolies and enforcing antitrust laws against meatpackers. He also supports strengthening conflict-of-interest rules at the Food and Drug Administration, and shifting more of the federal tax burden onto billionaires and large corporations.
Tabitha Zeigler
Party: Democrat
Website: tabithazeiglerforcongress.com
Campaign message: Zeigler said she is running a grassroots campaign because she believes corporate money and special interests have crowded out the issues working families care about most, according to her campaign website and a March 2026 interview on the podcast The Recovered Republican. She describes herself as a former union worker, a domestic violence survivor and a member of the LGBTQ community.
Top priorities: Zeigler's stated priorities include expanding access to disability services, health care and education; defending public school funding and opposing the expansion of Indiana's school voucher program; reducing the influence of corporate money in politics; protecting Indiana farmland and natural resources; and supporting union workers and family farms.
WFYI's education editor Eric Weddle contributed to this story.
