Indiana Rural Summit
A story of coming together to fight gerrymandering.
If there was ever an example of the effects of gerrymandering, I was seeing it at the Indiana Democratic Convention this weekend. Delegates and candidates were grouped by Congressional District, County, Caucus, and many other identifiers as we spread out throughout the Indianapolis Convention Center. For me, I saw that layered identity most closely when I was trying to speak with the different delegates within precincts that crossed three congressional districts (2 precincts in Monroe Co. [CD 9], 33 precincts in Morgan Co. [CD 4] and 13 precincts in Johnson Co.) [CD 6]. To my chagrin, I misread a room assignment and ended up speaking with folks from CD 8 instead of CD 6 - which explains why I did not recognize a single person in that room. Bad news - I missed speaking to my Johnson Co. delegates. Good news - I encouraged rural voters in CD 8 and motivated them to turn out voters this election cycle.
Which brings me back to gerrymandering. The way our state has been carved up by redistricting is horrible. Most of our districts are rural or artificially rural, meaning communities of interest (like major towns, universities, large employers, or business and community centers) have been intentionally removed from our districts, keeping rural voters isolated and their voices largely unheard. Rarely are small-town and rural voters asked about their vision for Indiana or the opportunity to speak with their elected officials. It’s difficult to develop a forward-thinking vision without someone willing to facilitate those conversations. Some of the best collaborative conversations are not just local or even district by district but actually more regional because we are impacted by regional decisions. Rural voters are often desperately misunderstood and left out of those conversations. We all need a seat at the table.
When they created HD 60 with such “precision” that my neighbors directly around the corner from my house were not in my district, they didn’t realize that the street they did keep included me - someone with 7 years of organizing experience. So despite the challenges posed by gerrymandered districts, I found a way to connect with other candidates where our counties overlapped, uniting our bases. These candidates, in turn, extended their invitations.
Together, we are transforming the issue of gerrymandering into a regional coalition.
Our goal is to unite all our people in the fight against this problem and work together to solve the larger issues, like access to healthcare, housing, and education that affect us all.
Indiana Rural Summit 2024
6 Rural Summits across South Central Indiana
Organizing 8 House District Candidates
Connecting 21 counties
Covering 23% of Indiana
Engaging THOUSANDS of Rural Voters
E Pluribus Unum…Out of Many, One!
Our tour will be throughout August and September, culminating in a statewide Zoom call in October with statewide candidates, launching GOTV initiatives.
Who We Are:
HD 46 Kurtis Cummings [Vigo/Clay/Owen/Monroe Counties]
HD 47 Michael Potter [Johnson/Shelby Counties]
HD 60 Michelle Higgs [Monroe/Morgan/Johnson Counties]
HD 62 Thomas Horrocks [Monroe/Brown Counties]
HD 63 Teresa Kendall [Davies/Martin/Pike/Dubois Counties]
HD 66 Jennifer David [Scott/Jefferson/Clark Counties]
HD 69 Trish Whitcomb [Bartholomew, Jackson, Scott, and Washington Counties]
HD 73 Hollie Payton [Shelby/Bartholomew/Decatur/Jennings Counties]
Please SAVE THE DATE of Tuesday, September 24, 2024 - that will be our Morgan County Summit Tour Stop.
To continue reading Mondays with Michelle 7/15/2024, go HERE.
