Indiana State Senate District 47

Tue, Nov 3 · Represented by Gary Byrne Republican · Member list as of Oct 28

Gary ByrneRepublican · Incumbent4 years since first win

No published poll names both candidates.Last result · 2022 general: Gary Byrne (R) 66.8, Kathleen Forte (D) 33.2

Ethan Sweetland-MayDemocratic

Last election: Gary Byrne (Republican) won by 33.6 points, 2022
On the 2026 ballot: 2 candidates

All State Senate districts

Side by side

Left column: ByrneRight column: Sweetland-May

Donor-based spectrum: LiberalCentristConservativeByrneNo published score for Sweetland-May
Races: Won 1 of 1; None listed
Years since first win: 4; Not available

How these are counted

The spectrum is a published research score, not our rating. How this works. Wins and losses count the races in our results files, the same as each profile.

More about this race

Candidates on the ballot

Ethan Sweetland-MayDemocratic
Gary ByrneIncumbentRepublican

Source: in.gov (XLSX), dated Sep 22

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Official results for Indiana

History (13 elections for this seat)

Indiana Senate District 47, 1974 to 2022, 2022, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
RepublicanGary ByrneWon	Republican	28,95966.8%	66.8%
DemocraticKathleen Forte	Democratic	14,40433.2%	33.2%

Votes for listed candidates: 47,917
Election day: November 6, 2018
District map: Older district map (2012 to 2021)

Indiana Senate District 47, 1974 to 2022, 2018, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
RepublicanErin HouchinWon(incumbent)	Republican	31,85366.5%	66.5%
DemocraticNicholas A. Siler	Democratic	16,06433.5%	33.5%

Votes for listed candidates: 36,814
Election day: November 4, 2014
District map: Older district map (2012 to 2021)

Indiana Senate District 47, 1974 to 2022, 2014, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
RepublicanErin HouchinWon	Republican	21,39558.1%	58.1%
DemocraticRichard D. Young(incumbent)	Democratic	15,41941.9%	41.9%

Votes for listed candidates: 44,885
Election day: November 2, 2010
District map: Older district map (2002 to 2011)

Indiana Senate District 47, 1974 to 2022, 2010, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticRichard D. Young Jr.Won(incumbent)	Democratic	22,97051.2%	51.2%
RepublicanTed Metzger	Republican	21,91548.8%	48.8%

Votes for listed candidates: 42,977
Election day: November 7, 2006
District map: Older district map (2002 to 2011)

Indiana Senate District 47, 1974 to 2022, 2006, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticRichard D. Young Jr.Won(incumbent)	Democratic	27,68864.4%	64.4%
RepublicanBrian C. Thomas	Republican	15,28935.6%	35.6%

Votes for listed candidates: 39,679
Election day: November 5, 2002
District map: Older district map (2002 to 2011)

Indiana Senate District 47, 1974 to 2022, 2002, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticRichard D. Young Jr.Won(incumbent)	Democratic	22,46856.6%	56.6%
RepublicanChristopher L. Byrd	Republican	17,21143.4%	43.4%

Indiana Senate District 47, 1974 to 2022, 1998, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticRichard D. Young Jr.Won(incumbent)	Democratic	27,474100.0%	100.0%

Votes for listed candidates: 39,650
Election day: November 8, 1994
District map: Older district map (1992 to 2001)

Indiana Senate District 47, 1974 to 2022, 1994, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticRichard D. Young Jr.Won(incumbent)	Democratic	23,40459.0%	59.0%
RepublicanA. David Street	Republican	16,24641.0%	41.0%

Votes for listed candidates: 38,832
Election day: November 6, 1990
District map: Older district map (1982 to 1991)

Indiana Senate District 47, 1974 to 2022, 1990, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticRichard D. Young Jr.Won	Democratic	25,32865.2%	65.2%
RepublicanDaniel G. Crecelius	Republican	13,50434.8%	34.8%

Indiana Senate District 47, 1974 to 2022, 1986, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticFrank L. ObannonWon(incumbent)	Democratic	28,562100.0%	100.0%

Indiana Senate District 47, 1974 to 2022, 1982, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticFrank L. ObannonWon(incumbent)	Democratic	28,130100.0%	100.0%

Votes for listed candidates: 40,909
Election day: November 7, 1978
District map: Older district map (1972 to 1981)

Indiana Senate District 47, 1974 to 2022, 1978, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticMichael C. KendallWon	Democratic	22,43054.8%	54.8%
RepublicanMichael H. McDermott	Republican	18,47945.2%	45.2%

Indiana Senate District 47, 1974 to 2022, 1974, every candidate
Candidate	Party	Votes and share	Share
DemocraticJoseph G. BruggenschmidtWon(incumbent)	Democratic	28,413100.0%	100.0%

1974 to 2022: State Legislative Election Returns, 1967-2022 (Carl Klarner, Harvard Dataverse), retrieved Oct 28, 2026. Compiled by Carl Klarner (Harvard Dataverse) from official returns; not an official source

Only part of this chamber is up in a given cycle. Which districts vote on which date is not on file. Last contest in this district on file: 2022.

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Election Wrld. (2026). Indiana State Senate District 47, election results 1974 to 2022. https://www.electionwrld.com/in/senate/47. Retrieved October 30, 2026.

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Sources

Sources: Census TIGERweb Legislative MapServer (120th CDs layer 0, 119th CDs layer 4, 2026 SLD upper layer 1 and lower layer 2) (US Census Bureau, public domain), retrieved Oct 28, 2026; Open Civic Data division identifiers (census_autogenerated us_sldl/us_sldu and openstates state files); also (sld-recent.json): Open Civic Data division identifiers (country-us) (CC0 (repository); also (sld-recent.json): CC0 1.0), retrieved Oct 28, 2026; Open States people (current) CSVs (CC0-1.0 (Open States people data)), retrieved Oct 28, 2026, compiled by Open States volunteers and staff (rosters from state legislature sites) from official returns, not an official source; State Legislative Election Returns, 1967-2022 (Carl Klarner, Harvard Dataverse) (CC0 1.0), retrieved Oct 28, 2026, compiled by Carl Klarner (Harvard Dataverse) from official returns, not an official source.

District id: ocd-division/country:us/state:in/sldu:47

DataState data (JSON)Sources: State Legislative Election Returns, 1967-2022 (Carl Klarner, Harvard Dataverse), DIME (ODC-BY)Data as of Oct 28, 2026