Republican candidate for Indiana State Representative District 53 Ethan Lawson has received several endorsements in the weeks leading up to election day from organizations representing groups including first responders, farmers and business interests.
Greenfield Fire Territory chief Jason Horning endorsed Lawson, citing Lawson’s “values” in addition to his support for public safety.
Lawson said that he had spoken to Horning several times since hitting the campaign trail in January before receiving the endorsement.
“I’ve had multiple conversations with Chief Horning and other firefighters throughout that period of time and have indicated my support of all of our First Responders, firefighters, EMS, and just very honored to have his support here,” Lawson said. “There’s a lot of strain on our fire departments, our First Responders, our police departments, so staying in touch with people like Chief Horning and and other local elected officials to try to make sure that they have what they need is going to be really important and I look forward to.”
The Indiana Farm Bureau also put its support behind Lawson through its AgELECT political arm, which Lawson noted was important to him due to his grandfather being a farmer. The National Federation of Independent Businesses Indiana PAC endorsed Lawson as well. The PAC endorsed almost exclusively Republicans in the 2022 cycle, with the single exception of longstanding incumbent Terri Austin, who lost her reelection bid.
“I sat down and talked with the couple of local NFIB members in the district who run businesses and also talked with their state leadership and heard about some of the unique challenges that were being faced in the restaurant industry and advanced manufacturing small businesses within the district,” Lawson said. He noted that those challenges include inflation, which Lawson has pinned strictly on the Biden administration, and said that the state needs to do what it could to lower costs for those small businesses. Indiana already has the 15th-lowest state corporate tax rate (including states that have no corporate income tax) at 4.9%. When asked how the state could lower costs for those businesses with an already relatively low tax rate, Lawson said that the state needed to ensure that regulations were not placing too many obstacles in front of small businesses.
Lawson also received endorsements from the Indiana State Police Alliance and the National Rifle Association, both of which generally endorse Republicans, with the NRA exclusively endorsing Republicans across the state of Indiana in 2024.
Lawson is running against Democrat Nate Anderson in the race to represent Indiana’s 53rd District in the General Assembly. Early voting will continue through next Monday, Nov. 4, with voting concluding on Election Day Nov. 5.
Live results and reaction will be available on Election Night at greenfieldreporter.com.
