J. D. Ford

J. D. Ford
Member of the Indiana Senate from the 29th district
Incumbent
Assumed office November 7, 2018
Preceded by	Mike Delph
Personal details
Born	(1982-11-06) November 6, 1982 (age 42) Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	University of Akron (BS) Purdue University, Northwest (MEd)

J. D. Ford (born November 6, 1982) is an American politician, currently a member of the Indiana Senate.[1] Elected in the 2018 elections, he represents Senate District 29 as a member of the United States Democratic Party.[1] He earned a bachelor's degree from University of Akron in criminal justice and political science and a master's degree in education from Purdue University Northwest.[2]

He was the first, and so far only, openly LGBT person elected to Indiana's state legislature.[3]

He first ran for Indiana Senate District 29 in 2014 and lost to Republican incumbent Mike Delph but won four years later in a rematch.

In September 2020, he made a guest appearance on the podcast The Popular Vote.[4]

In November 2020, he was elected as the Caucus Chair of the Indiana Senate Democrats.[5] For the 2024 legislative session, Senator Ford serves on the following committees: Education and Career Development (Ranking Minority Member), Elections (Ranking Minority Member), Ethics, Family and Children Services (Ranking Minority Member), Health and Provider Services, Local Government, and Rules and Legislative Procedure[6]

In addition to these committee assignments, Ford was an Interim Senate Minority Member of the Legislative Council. [7]

Electoral history

Indiana Senate 29th District: Results 2014–22[8][9]

Year		Democratic	Votes	%		Republican	Votes	%		Third Party	Party	Votes	%
2014		J. D. Ford	12,685	46%		Mike Delph	15,094	54%
2018		J. D. Ford	31,974	57%		Mike Delph	24,403	43%
2022		J. D. Ford	22,636	52%		Alex Choi	21,175	48%

References

1. "Democrat J.D. Ford becomes first LGBT candidate elected to Indiana General Assembly" Archived 2018-11-16 at the Wayback Machine. WXIN, November 6, 2018.
2. Carden, Dan (17 November 2020). "Senate Democrats seek fair redrawing of legislative district boundaries". Northwest Indiana Times. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
3. "Senator J.D. Ford". Indiana Senate Democrats. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
4. "The Popular Vote • A podcast on Anchor". Anchor. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
5. Smith, Brandon (2020-11-06). "Sen. Greg Taylor Is First Black Leader Of Legislative Caucus In State History". WFYI Public Media. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
6. insendems. "Senator J.D. Ford | District 29". Indiana Senate Democrats. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
7. "Indiana General Assembly". iga.in.gov. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
8. "November 4, 2014 General Election". Secretary of State of Indiana. March 11, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
9. "November 6, 2018 General Election". Secretary of State of Indiana. November 6, 2018. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2019.