Sanders looks to unseat Spencer Deery in Indiana State Senate race

David Sanders is not your typical political candidate seeking a seat.

The Democratic candidate for Indiana State Senate District 23, which includes Parke and Vermillion counties, is an associate professor of biological sciences at Purdue University, holds a Bachelor's of Science from Yale, and has a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Cal-Berkeley. Additionally, he has contributed to scientific research, including work on the Ebola virus and holds two patents. 

"I am interested in public education and supporting that. The reason I am running is because I believe many of the issues we face as a society have a technological or scientific basis. Whether we are talking about water resources, the climate, healthcare, data centers or carbon sequestration, these issues have a scientific or technological basis. I am the first to admit they don't necessarily have a technological or scientific solution, but it is important to understand them on a first hand basis. I am not arguing that every person in the Indiana Legislature should be a scientist, but I think it would be a good idea to have at least one who doesn't have to rely on lobbyists on one side or another. I can evaluate the material on my own, and if I don't know the answers, I know the people I can contact and they can have the confidence that I can understand their explanations," Sanders told The Parke County Post. 

As a West Lafayette City Councilman, Sanders previously used his scientific background to build a bipartisan coalition to protect the Wabash River from the LEAP-Lebanon project. 

"The LEAP-Lebanon project was trying to take up to one hundred million gallons a day from the aquifers associated with the Wabash River in Tippecanoe County and ship it through a $2 billion taxpayer paid pipeline. We heard about that, and as a scientist, I knew this was a terrible idea for multiple reasons. We were told there was nothing we could do about it. I didn't believe that, and through the City Council I got a resolution passed opposing it, and that became the model in at least 18 other jurisdictions around the state opposing it. Republicans and Democrats across the state realized the threat this posed. I want to unite people, not divide them to protect their communities," Sanders said. 

Sanders is running against Republican incumbent Spencer Deery for the second consecutive election. 

In 2022, Deery defeated Sanders by a margin of 20,109 votes to 11,517 (63.6 percent to 36.4 percent). He is running again this time with a focus on rural Indiana, as well as personal freedom. 

As Sanders makes his way across the district, he hears residents frequently discussing affordability and other issues. 

"Affordability is at the top of people's concerns. There are certain things we can't do. Much of what determines the price of diesel, fertilizer or gasoline is not under the control of the state legislature. These are geopolitical concerns, but there are some things we can confront. For example, medical debt is turning into bankruptcy. I believe we should act on that as a state legislature. We should protect people from being forced into bankruptcy because of medical debt. I also believe we need to be considerate of those who are not as well off and need access to healthcare. I also care about the public schools," Sanders said. 

As a West Lafayette councilman, the Democrat sees the daily ripple effects of Senate Bill 1, which addressed property taxes, he said. 

"SB1, which was the tax reform bill, has been a disaster for the state of Indiana. It is starving our schools and it is also making it nearly impossible for many local municipalities to provide the services they need. And, it did not provide real property tax reform for anyone. We need to address this. I was opposed to this at the time. As a city legislature, I have seen the harmful effects it has had on my city, and I have talked with people around the state about the harmful effects it is having on our cities and schools," Sanders said. 

Sanders said West Lafayette is already looking at dipping into its reserves to keep the city functioning. 

"I believe reserves are for natural disasters or when there is a recession. It should not be for poor decisions by the state legislature. The state legislature is forcing us to use our rainy day fund to compensate for their poor planning. Secondarily, we have a referendum on the ballot to keep our schools afloat because of SB1 and many places around the state are being forced into those decisions. Because of the continual diversion of money from public education to private education, the schools are poorly off, and this is a concern in the rural areas. They don't have the choices to send their kids to private schools, and with school consolidation, children are going to have to spend more and more time on the bus getting to and from school. This is what I hear about from people locally," Sanders said. 

In addition, Sanders said the Republican super majority has "ignored" the rural parts of Indiana. 

"We have to make rural Indiana a place where children who grew up here want to come back. I have my cell phone with me, and it's off. It doesn't work in large parts of this district. It ceases to function. We also don't have access to high speed internet everywhere. There is a lack of digital equity in Indiana, and ensuring good, quality cell service throughout the state—especially in rural areas—and access to the internet will be one of my top priorities. There is no question people feel abandoned by the state government and there isn't a sort of investment in long term good in these communities," Sanders said. 

He said people should vote for him because he engages in "ethical campaigning."

"I go and knock on everyone's door. I explain my issues. If you want to look online, you can find my positions on the issues. I do not engage in attack ads. I think many people may remember the primary election and it was really marred by $3 million of advertising where the two candidates just attacked each other. That's not what I do. I tell people. I believe that is the sort of candidate people want to vote for -- someone who will tell them where they stand, someone who will meet them at their homes and that's what I do," Sanders said.