This Democrat Is Running To Upend His State’s GOP Supermajority

Chris Hartig watched with horror as Indiana Republicans introduced a flurry of bills targeting LGBTQ+ people at the beginning of 2022.

He was concerned about what the future of Indiana would look like, especially for two of his children who are part of the LGBTQ+ community.

That worry then morphed into grief. In August that same year, Hartig and his family mourned the loss of their child, Cameron Hartig, a bright, red-haired nonbinary 21-year-old who died by suicide. Cameron Hartig had been battling depression since high school, Chris Hartig said, and was deeply impacted by the rise of anti-LGBTQ legislation and hateful rhetoric around the country.

Chris Hartig, a professor of business management from Indianapolis, wanted the so-called “Hoosier values” of his home state — typically understood to mean accepting difference and allowing for freedom of speech — to extend to people like Cameron.

But in 2022, Indiana Republicans overrode a veto from GOP Gov. Eric Holcomb to enact a ban on transgender girls participating in school sports. The next year, Republicans passed bans on gender-affirming care for trans youth and required schools to have a policy on materials that could be seen as “obscene or harmful to minors.”

Now, Hartig is one of several Democrats hoping to be a stopgap against the state’s Republican supermajority. He’s running to represent House District 29 and is the first Democrat to throw his hat in the ring for the seat since 2020.

“I can honor Cam’s memory,” Hartig told HuffPost about his decision to run. “I have LGBTQ kids, friends and family. They’re just asking to exist and be seen as they are. You don’t even have to understand them, but just respect their existence.”

Republicans have controlled the