Three Democrats are already competing to lead Indianapolis: city Department of Public Works administrator David Bride, State Sen. Andrea Hunley and City-County Council member Vop Osili have each launched campaigns. Mayor Joe Hogsett has not yet said whether he'll run again.
The early entries set up a 2027 primary that could focus on public safety, data center growth, cost of living and the future of city schools.
David Bride, an administrator with the DPW stormwater division, announced his candidacy in April. Bride is a former president of the Central Indiana AFL-CIO and previously served as vice chair of the Marion County Democratic Party.
Bride said he wants to be accessible to the public. Some of his top priorities include infrastructure, improving city services for trash collection, snow removal and addressing youth gun violence.
“My whole life has been about serving and getting the work done,” Bride said.
Hunley confirmed earlier this week that she will run, putting to rest rumors after she did not renew a bid for her Statehouse seat. On Wednesday, she filed her candidacy paperwork with the Marion County Board of Elections.
Hunley’s campaign told WFYI she is not taking interviews until after a campaign launch event May 8.
Osili announced in January he would run. Osili previously served as council president and has been on the council for nearly 14 years. Before that, he also ran for Indiana Secretary of State in 2010, losing the general election to Republican Charlie White.
“This campaign isn’t about ideology or political labels,” Osili said in a January press release. “It’s about whether city government is delivering the basics people rely on every day — safe and stable housing, public safety rooted in trust and humanity, and real economic opportunity.”
The next mayor will inherit a city wrestling with persistent concerns about public safety, including reining in gun violence among young people that has tested Hogsett's administration in his final term. The winner will also face pressure from a fast-growing data center industry reshaping land use and energy demand throughout the city, and oversee the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, a new entity created to address financial concerns and accountability across Indianapolis Public Schools and the city's charter school sector.
Laura Merrifield Wilson, a political science professor at the University of Indianapolis, compared the early announcements to when U.S. Sen. Jim Banks announced his candidacy early in 2023. She said announcing this far out is unusual — but not without strategic logic.
“That’s part of the incentive of choosing to run early as a candidate, is you do try to deter others. You get in the race early, you get attention, you get funders. You’ve started your campaign,” she said. “You’ve essentially started running a race that others can join at a later point, but they’re going to be further behind.”
When three-term Mayor Joe Hogsett announced his bid for his current term in 2022, he said that it would be his last. So far, he has not said whether he will run in 2027. Hogsett fundraised through the end of the 2025 calendar year, according to campaign finance filings.
“Mayor Hogsett remains focused on governing for the remainder of this term — continuing to deliver safer neighborhoods, better roads, and investments that improve the quality of life for all Indianapolis residents,” Emily Gurwitz, who is with the Hogsett campaign, told WFYI in a text message.
Some longtime Democratic operatives aren't waiting to see if Hogsett enters the race.
Cordelia Lewis-Burks, Hogsett’s former campaign chair for his three previous bids for the office, said she will support Osili. Lewis-Burks has also served as vicechair of the Indiana Democratic Party and a precinct committee person, among other roles in politics and labor.
“There is no doubt in my mind who I will support, and I will be working very hard to see him elected,” Lewis-Burks said.
DeOnyae-Dior Valentina, a community activist, said while she is keeping an open mind, she currently favors Hunley.
"She shows up, she builds coalitions,” Valentina said. “She is really doing a good job at moving the work forward, even when the system really isn’t designed for success, especially for Black women and especially Democrats.”
Wilson said the field is already taking shape, even though the midterm election cycle will happen first.
“You’re talking about, certainly, two candidates who have a lot of name recognition, my guess is a lot of connection to donors, good networks, would be able to bring voters out,” she said. “Plus David Bride from DPW, who might seem like a bit of a dark horse at this point.”
Filing deadlines for the mayor and other municipal offices are in 2027.
Contact WFYI Data Journalist Zak Cassel at zcassel@wfyi.org
