Indiana’s 9th Congressional District is a largely rural, solidly Republican seat covering roughly 6,000 square miles of southern Indiana, home to about 764,000 people. Republican Erin Houchin has represented the district since 2023 and faces Democrat Brad Meyer, a manufacturing veteran and former Navy civilian engineer, in the November 2026 general election.
Where the District Is and Who Lives There
The 9th stretches across southern Indiana’s rolling hills and farmland, with no dominant urban center. Its largest population clusters sit along the Ohio River in New Albany and Jeffersonville. At roughly 127 people per square mile, it is sparsely populated compared with Indiana’s urban districts. Median household income is about $70,510, per capita income about $38,062, and the poverty rate is 12.8%.1Census Reporter. Congressional District 9, IN The 2010 Census recorded a 91% white non-Hispanic population, with small Black, Asian, and Hispanic communities making up the remainder.2Indiana University. 2010 Census Profile, Congressional District 9
Politically, the district carries a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+15 and is rated “Solid Republican” by the Cook Political Report.3Cook Political Report. IN-09 Race Rating It wasn’t always that way. Democrat Lee Hamilton held the seat for 34 years, from 1965 to 1999, surviving a 1981 Republican remap that removed his home county of Bartholomew by moving and winning reelection with 67% of the vote.4Indiana University Libraries. Lee Hamilton and the Ninth District of Indiana After Hamilton retired, the seat’s rural, conservative character reasserted itself.
Who Represents the District
Erin Houchin grew up in southern Indiana, earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, and later completed a master’s in political management at George Washington University. Before elected office, she ran a small communications firm focused on law enforcement and served as the Southeast Indiana regional director for U.S. Senator Dan Coats.5Office of Congresswoman Erin Houchin. About Congresswoman Houchin She won election to the Indiana State Senate in 2014, defeating a 26-year Democratic incumbent, and served eight years in the state senate before winning her U.S. House seat in 2022.6Erin Houchin for Congress. About Erin
In the House, Houchin sits on the Energy and Commerce Committee, the Budget Committee, and the Rules Committee.7Office of Congresswoman Erin Houchin. Committees and Caucuses Her legislative work has concentrated on education, health care, and financial regulation.8GovTrack. Rep. Erin Houchin
Key Legislation
Houchin’s Rural Broadband Protection Act of 2025 passed the House unanimously by voice vote in April 2025. It directs the FCC to create a formal vetting process for providers seeking funding through the Universal Service Fund’s high-cost programs, evaluating applicants on their experience, technical capability, and track record of deploying broadband infrastructure.9Office of Congresswoman Erin Houchin. House Unanimously Passes Rep. Houchin’s Rural Broadband Protection Act
In March 2026, Houchin introduced the Dalilah Law, named after Five-year-old Dalilah Coleman of Bakersfield, California, who suffered permanent neurological damage when an undocumented immigrant driving a semi-truck caused a six-car pileup in June 2024.10Ripon Advance. GOP Members Unveil Bill to Bar Illegal Immigrants From Obtaining Commercial Drivers Licenses The bill would condition federal transportation funding on states limiting commercial driver’s license eligibility to U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and certain work visa holders, require CDL testing in English, and revoke licenses currently held by individuals not meeting those requirements.11U.S. Congress. H.R. 7793, Dalilah Law It was referred to the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit and remains pending.
She also introduced the bipartisan Campus Lifeline Act of 2026 with Democrats Lori Trahan and Mark Pocan and Republican David Valadao. The bill encourages colleges to print the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline number on student ID cards and authorizes Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Grants for student-led early intervention programs.12Office of Congresswoman Erin Houchin. Houchin, Trahan, Valadao, Pocan Introduce Bipartisan Campus Lifeline Act It was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee in May 2026.13U.S. Congress. H.R. 8657, Campus Lifeline Act
Where She Stands
Houchin describes herself as a fiscal conservative who supports cutting government spending, reducing taxes, and pursuing a Balanced Budget Amendment. On immigration, she backs completing the border wall and deporting individuals in the country illegally who have criminal records, and she supported the Secure the Border Act and the Laken Riley Act.14Erin Houchin for Congress. Issues She opposes ESG-related mandates in investing and has introduced bills to limit shareholder proposals on environmental and social governance topics.15Office of Congresswoman Erin Houchin. Economy She identifies as pro-life, holds endorsements from the National Right to Life and the Susan B. Anthony List, and supports Second Amendment rights; she authored Indiana’s “Constitutional Carry” gun law as a state senator.
The 2026 Race
Houchin faced no Republican primary challenger in May 2026 and advanced automatically to the general election.16Indiana Capital Chronicle. Indiana Incumbents Fend Off Primary Election Challengers in Congressional Races Four Democrats competed for their party’s nomination.
Brad Meyer won the Democratic primary on May 5, 2026, with 12,784 votes (37.9%). Tim Peck, the party’s 2024 nominee, finished second with 11,170 votes (33.1%). James Graham took 17.3% and Keil Roark received 11.7%.17The New York Times. Indiana U.S. House District 9 Primary Results Total Democratic primary turnout was roughly 33,700 votes.
Brad Meyer
Meyer, a seventh-generation Hoosier raised in Brownsburg, holds an electronics engineering degree from Purdue and spent more than two decades in local manufacturing before working as a civilian engineer at Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center. He left that position to run for Congress and has never held public office. His platform centers on economic issues: raising the federal minimum wage to $20 an hour, expanding overtime protections for salaried workers earning under $100,000, ending tariffs, and shifting federal agricultural support away from large corporate farms toward small family operations.18Indiana Daily Student. Brad Meyer to Snag District 9 Democratic Primary Win He also supports what he calls “universal nonprofit healthcare” and holding polluters accountable for environmental damage.19Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. District 9 Congressional Candidates 2026
Outlook
The district’s heavy Republican lean makes Houchin a strong favorite in November 2026. In 2024 she received 222,884 votes (64.5%) against Peck’s 113,400 (32.8%), with Libertarian Russell Brooksbank taking the remaining 2.7%, a margin of nearly 32 points.20The New York Times. Indiana U.S. House District 9 Results In her reelection announcement, Houchin framed her campaign around “lower taxes, secure borders, and energy independence.”21WFYI. Four Democrats Are Running to Unseat Congresswoman Erin Houchin Meyer plans to argue that a district shaped by manufacturing jobs and rural economic pressures needs a representative focused on wages and healthcare access.