I moved back to Jasper in 2023. Within months, I learned a billion-dollar highway was being pushed through our county — and almost nobody knew about it. The more I dug, the worse it got: no real public input, manipulated polling, costs that didn't add up. So I did what I do. I pulled the data. I commissioned a real poll — 636 registered voters, conducted by Public Policy Polling. The result: 81% of Dubois County opposed the project. Not a slim margin. Not ambiguous. Eighty-one percent. I organized eight town halls across the county. I spoke at council meetings. I presented the numbers and asked for a vote. Somewhere along the way, I realized this wasn't just about one highway. It was about a pattern. Decisions being made without the people who live here. Representatives who stopped representing. A government that forgot who it works for. That's why I'm running for Indiana State Senate, District 48. Not because I've always wanted to be a politician — I haven't. Because the people of this district deserve someone who will do the homework, ask the hard questions, and fight for their answer. I intend to prove it.

If your electric bill has been climbing, you're not imagining it. Indiana residential rates jumped 17.5% in a single year — the steepest increase in two decades. And CenterPoint Energy, which serves most of District 48, now charges the highest residential electric bills in the entire state. Here's what happened: utilities spent over $500 million installing pollution controls on aging coal plants, then retired those same plants. Ratepayers are now repaying that investment — plus profit margins — for power stations generating zero watts. The IURC approved an $80 million annual revenue increase for CenterPoint in February 2025. Average residential bills rose about $44 per month. Meanwhile, the CenterPoint CEO earns approximately $18 million in total compensation. And 174,015 Indiana households were disconnected from electricity in a single year. Even Governor Braun — not exactly a consumer advocate — said in September 2025: 'We can't take it anymore.' When the governor says rates are too high, you know it's bad. This is one of the core issues I'll fight for in the State Senate. Utility companies should not be allowed to charge ratepayers for investments in plants they then shut down. Executive compensation should be disclosed and scrutinized in every rate case. And our district — home to three of the nation's largest coal plants — deserves a real energy transition plan, not ju

Senate Enrolled Act 1, signed by Governor Braun in April 2025, promises $1.3 billion in homeowner property tax relief over three years. That includes a 10% credit up to $300 per homestead, an additional $150 for seniors, and adjusted agricultural land assessments that save farmers an estimated $116 million. On the surface, that sounds like good news. Senator Schmitt promoted it as a win for District 48. But here's what the press release doesn't mention: the law also freezes local operating levies in 2026 and caps future growth at 1-2%. For rural communities with small tax bases, that means service cuts. Worse, the bill authorizes cities over 3,500 to impose new local income taxes up to 1.2%. Rural officials across southern Indiana have warned that this effectively trades property tax relief for income tax increases and reduced local services. The stakes are especially high in Spencer County, where the Rockport coal plant's $7 million annual tax contribution disappears when the plant closes in 2028. And in Gibson County, where the Toyota TIF district expired in December 2025 after funding $45.7 million in community projects. I'll be clear about what good tax policy looks like: transparent, fair, and honest about trade-offs. Don't hand voters a $300 check and then gut the services their communities depend on. Do the homework. Ask the people. Fight for their answer.

On February 23, 2026, I stood in front of the Dubois County Council in a standing-room-only chamber that stretched into the hallway and presented a resolution to withdraw Dubois County from the Mid-States Corridor Regional Development Authority. I came with data. The Dubois County poll: 81% opposition among 636 registered voters. A brand-new statewide poll of 554 Indiana voters: 74% want the project canceled, 41% strongly. Both conducted by Public Policy Polling with margins of error under 4 percent. I reminded the council what the RDA's own legal counsel said at the December meeting: there's 'virtually nothing left for the RDA to do.' No revenue source. No taxing authority. In his own words, a 'paper tiger.' So why does it still exist? The withdrawal process is straightforward. Indiana Code 36-7.6-2-5: adopt an ordinance, provide written notice to the RDA, have the RDA notify the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. I handed them the resolution and asked for a roll call vote. Council President Kluesner deferred to the regular March meeting. Councilman Doug Uebelhor tried to start a conversation, but no other members joined him. So I said what needed to be said: 'If you vote yes tonight, we can work together. We can fix real problems. We move on. If you don't, we're still here at every meeting. In every district talking to your voters. Not because we're vindictive, bu

We always knew the opposition to the Mid-States Corridor ran deep in Dubois County. But we suspected it went further. So we commissioned a second poll — this time statewide. Public Policy Polling surveyed 554 registered Indiana voters. The results: 74% want the Mid-States Corridor canceled, with 41% strongly opposing. The margin of error was approximately 4 percent. I announced these results at the Dubois County Council meeting on February 23, alongside the Dubois County data. The combined picture is clear: opposition to this project isn't a local quirk. It's a statewide consensus. This data arrived as the Indiana legislature was considering an amendment to Senate Bill 27 that would create oversight of INDOT projects costing more than $250 million — directly inspired by the Mid-States Corridor controversy. Two polls. Nearly 1,200 respondents combined. Professional methodology. Bipartisan opposition. The data doesn't lie. The question is whether the people making decisions will listen to it.

Three of the six counties in District 48 — Crawford, Pike, and Spencer — have no hospital. Crawford County residents face a 45-minute drive to the nearest emergency room. Spencer County residents must cross into adjacent counties or into Kentucky for emergency care. Perry County Memorial Hospital in Tell City — a 25-bed critical access facility — stopped providing obstetric and delivery services at the end of 2023 after delivering only 38 babies that year. Expectant mothers now drive up to an hour. Statewide, 14 OB units have closed in five years, and Indiana ranks 7th nationally in infant mortality. In Gibson County, Deaconess Gibson Hospital in Princeton has a primary care provider ratio of 3,040 to 1 and a mental health provider ratio of 4,210 to 1 — roughly 3.5 times worse than the Indiana average. The federal picture is getting worse. New Medicaid work-reporting requirements threaten coverage losses for our most vulnerable residents. Indiana hospitals already absorb $2.7 billion annually in unpaid care, and the Indiana Hospital Association estimates up to 12 rural hospitals are at risk of closure. Healthcare access in rural Indiana isn't a political talking point — it's a matter of life and death. We need a state senator who will fight for rural hospital funding, telehealth expansion, and provider recruitment incentives. Our families shouldn't have to gamble on geograp