Candidate Q&A: Ron Itnyre

Dr. Ronald Itnyre is running for Indiana State Senate District 27 as a Democratic candidate in the 2026 general election.

Bio highlights: I have a Bachelor of Science, Masters of Science, and Ph.D. from the College of Agriculture at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

I worked for three years as a corn breeder with the FFR Coop, the research wing of CountryMark Cooperative system, in Lafayette, IN, and 10 years as a corn breeder and station manager for Illinois Foundation Seeds, Arcanum, OH.

I am Senior Lecturer of Biology at Indiana University East, Richmond, IN, a teaching position I have held for 17 years.

Reasons you ran: After carefully considering the current turmoil and division that is going on in the Indiana Senate and around this country, I felt that I could not sit idly by while the freedoms that we have enjoyed in this country are being distorted and stripped away. Services we have come to expect from our government are being cut. Schools are being micromanaged and underfunded. I decided to stand up for constituencies that are being overlooked.

Top priorities: We need to enact Smart Tax policies, support Strong Schools, and protect Farms. Smart tax policies balance tax cuts with tax readjustments that do not jeopardize services we expect our government to provide.  SEA 1 (2025) did just that.  Almost every governmental body (county, city, school, library, police, and volunteer fire department) in Indiana face significant cuts to their budgets so the state legislature can give property-tax cuts to corporations. The state may even be pushing for county-consolidation of fire departments and school corporations to “fix” the lack of funds for individual municipalities. The lack of tax revenue has been disastrous to our schools and we were rated 45th in the country, earning an “F” for state support of public schools (Network for Public Education “Annual Report Card” 2026). The state’s tax cuts have harmed rural Indiana—the backbone of our state— disproportionately by dismantling their schools, hospitals, and services.

Specific skills: I am a sharp observer and empathetic listener. From my scientist-training, I always make observations, collect data, and check facts before making any decision. I would scrutinize bills and think about the consequences for our state (like SEA 1) before voting for their enactment. I am also an empathetic listener. As a churchgoer, I listen to church friends and try to help; as a teacher, I listen to students’ concerns and intervene. As a candidate, I have been listening to constituents’ frustrations and fears as their budgets shrink, their services are cut, and prices for their basic necessities sky-rocket.

Should continue: The State Senate represents 50 distinctive districts in our state and thus is meant to represent all areas across the state, their differing concerns and struggles, and to intervene to help on a state level on some of the biggest issues facing our citizens, from affordability to health-care, from education to personal freedoms. When each Senator represents their constituents, it is working well. 

Need to change: The State Senate is not doing the above right now. Instead, it is run by a super-majority that does not feel they need to listen to “the other side” at all, or any differing or distinct views of their constituents. They vote as one voting block, swayed by lobbyists and big businesses (as with SEA 1), pulling bills from states as far away as Texas and Florida (eg, SEA 202) without ever considering the consequences on Hoosiers. It is time to get transparency and accountability into the State Senate and create a legislative body that represents ALL Hoosiers.

Accept election results: Yes. I trust the clerks of the respective counties of District 27 to run the elections according to state law. I also trust the audits that are done to confirm the results.

Funding strategies: I ran a corn-breeding station for 10 years which involved overseeing several dozen employees and running its own breeding program and budget. Raised on a farm, I understand fiscal conservativism. We cannot spend money we do not have. I am experienced and comfortable working with numbers and budgets. When I have questions, though, I will reach out to economic and fiscal experts from public institutions across this state. I would also work with public officials (the auditors and treasurers) who work with their finances on a daily basis to know what taxes are needed and what services they could cut. Before enacting any budget bill, I would ask experts, officials, and constituents, “How will this affect you?” A government should be responsive to its constituents. This appeal to the state is what was lacking in the legislature’s SEA 1 decision in 2025.

Engaging the public: I would use online surveys and calls for public commentary. But I would also hold many forums across my district, from New Castle, to Brookville, Hagerstown, Liberty, Knightstown, and Richmond, publicly and routinely. I would attend city- and county-council meetings, fairs, and farmer’s markets, as I have been doing during this entire campaign. For too long, our lawmakers have passed bills without ever holding public forums or soliciting feedback from people other than in their own party. I would represent EVERYONE and make every effort to work with all parties to reach common ground.  We are all Hoosiers, after all!

Other comments: Since 2013, Indiana Republicans have held a supermajority in the State Legislature.  My opponent has been part of that majority for 12 years, and during that time, there has been too little listening to voices outside the majority. Even former Republican Governor Mitch Daniels wrote in 2024 that political competition “fosters innovation” and “compels a sensitivity and an outreach to the widest possible audiences.”

We are now seeing the consequences at the local level. Recent state property-tax changes are putting significant pressure on cities, towns, schools, and other local governments by reducing revenue available for essential services.

After 12 years, it is time for new voices, new ideas, and a legislature willing to listen to all of its constituents—not just the people already in the room. Our communities deserve representation that brings different perspectives to the table and works with local leaders to solve problems.

I am that person.