Ford explains what drives his desire for public service

By AIDA KARIM
news@readthereporter.com

Affordability for Hoosiers is the name of the game for this candidate.

The Reporter spoke with JD Ford, Democratic challenger to incumbent Republican Victoria Spartz in the Nov. 3 election for U.S. Representative of Indiana’s 5th Congressional District, which includes Hamilton, Madison, Delaware, Grant, and Tipton counties, as well as the large majority of Howard County.

Ford was elected to the State Senate in 2018, representing District 29 and flipping his district from red to blue.

“I was going to be a one-term state senator, but I got into office and I got to work on behalf of Hoosiers,” Ford said.

Background

Ford grew up in a union family in the Midwest. His dad was a truck driver and his mom was his school secretary, ending her career with work in an assisted care facility.

According to Ford, they worked hard to provide for his family.

“My grandparents served as local officials,” Ford said. “Through this I learned that public service is about people, not power.”

According to Ford, his parents and grandparents gave him a “Northern Star” that inspired him in his professional endeavors.

Ford told The Reporter he worked on a college campus, fraternity, and the Julian Center, with this experience guiding him as a current state senator.

“And now it guides me as I throw my hat into the ring to run for Congress.”

In the State Senate

According to Ford, he worked in a bipartisan way to best fulfill the needs of his community.

“I’ve spent eight years in the State Senate passing over 200 pieces of bipartisan legislation,” Ford said. “So I hope that shows people I am able to work across the aisle, especially when it’s a good deal for the people of my district.”

Pivoting to affordability, Ford voted to end the 7 percent sales tax on utility bills to help lower Hoosiers’ costs, sponsoring House Bill 1002 (tinyurl.com/HB1002-2026).

“There wasn’t everything I wanted to include in that bill, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction to ease the burden of rising costs,” Ford said.

Ford said he believes his biggest accomplishment in office was showing up and listening to his community.

Ford told The Reporter he had talked about putting barriers around retention ponds in previous years.

“Unfortunately, there has been a very tragic situation in our state where a child died in a retention pond,” Ford said, “[In 2025] I put forward a piece of legislation that would help protect the children of our state.”

Senate Bill 69 (tinyurl.com/SB69-2025), authored by Ford in 2025, did not receive a hearing.

The situation Ford spoke about was covered by our news gathering partners at WISH-TV, and you can read about it at tinyurl.com/muhxces9.

Ford said healthcare is another major component of his platform.

“We’ve got lower healthcare costs to make sure every family, no matter where they live, can access affordable quality care,” he said.

According to Ford, he championed capping the prices of insulin and EpiPens and reducing prescription costs in addition to banning non-competes to allow doctors to practice in our state.

Plans for office

Ford told The Reporter he’s running to “help Hoosiers, to hear what’s on people’s minds, and to bring solutions to Washington, D.C.”

Ford said he will fight against big corporations that are getting tax breaks and handouts for projects that communities don’t want.

“I want to keep Hoosier affordability at the top of my priority list,” Ford said. “I have to believe that people are sitting down at their dinner tables, talking about things that are gonna make their life easier.”

Ford said he emphasizes the importance of representing Hoosiers who have high utility, grocery, and gas bills. He intends to give Hoosiers access to jobs that pay a living wage and make housing affordable.

“How we make housing more affordable for Hoosiers is by banning international investors and big corporations from buying homes to use as rentals, which limits the housing stock and drives up costs,” Ford said.

Ford said he aims to lower healthcare costs and make child, senior, and mental support more accessible.

“I have people who are willing to get back into the workforce. But they can’t because they have children and they can’t afford childcare,” Ford said. “If childcare is 500 or 1,000 bucks a week, that’s a significant chunk of change families would have to come up with.”

According to Ford, his family navigated senior care when his grandfather was admitted into an assisted living facility. He said, “People really need that flexibility with space to take care of their loved ones when they’re aging.”

Ford also hosted a round table concerning mental health, meeting with providers, students, and parents. He said, “The environment in Indiana needs to really change when it comes to student mental health.”

Ford told The Reporter Congress ought to stand with organized labor to make sure that workers are never left behind.

“I’m always going to try and put Hoosiers first,” Ford said.

Ford said, as a state senator, he regularly held coffee meetings where he bought constituents a cup of coffee while discussing their concerns.

“They could come, sit down with me and talk about their ideas and solutions,” Ford said. “I got into service because I want to listen to folks and find solutions to their concerns.”

Ford encourages the public to read more about his platform at electjdford.com. He also said anyone is welcome to reach out to him through email at hello@electjdford.com.