J. D. Ford

J. D. Ford
Member of the Indiana Senate
from the 29th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
November 7, 2018
Preceded byMike Delph
Personal details
Born (1982-11-06) November 6, 1982 (age 42)
Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of Akron (BS)
Purdue University, Northwest (MEd)

J. D. Ford (born November 6, 1982) is an American politician, currently a member of the Indiana Senate.[1] Elected in the 2018 elections, he represents Senate District 29 as a member of the United States Democratic Party.[1] He earned a bachelor's degree from University of Akron in criminal justice and political science and a master's degree in education from Purdue University Northwest.[2]

He was the first, and so far only, openly LGBT person elected to Indiana's state legislature.[3]

He first ran for Indiana Senate District 29 in 2014 and lost to Republican incumbent Mike Delph but won four years later in a rematch.

In September 2020, he made a guest appearance on the podcast The Popular Vote.[4]

In November 2020, he was elected as the Caucus Chair of the Indiana Senate Democrats.[5] For the 2024 legislative session, Senator Ford serves on the following committees: Education and Career Development (Ranking Minority Member), Elections (Ranking Minority Member), Ethics, Family and Children Services (Ranking Minority Member), Health and Provider Services, Local Government, and Rules and Legislative Procedure[6]

In addition to these committee assignments, Ford was an Interim Senate Minority Member of the Legislative Council. [7]

  1. ^ a b "Democrat J.D. Ford becomes first LGBT candidate elected to Indiana General Assembly" Archived 2018-11-16 at the Wayback Machine. WXIN, November 6, 2018.
  2. ^ Carden, Dan (17 November 2020). "Senate Democrats seek fair redrawing of legislative district boundaries". Northwest Indiana Times. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  3. ^ "Senator J.D. Ford". Indiana Senate Democrats. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  4. ^ "The Popular Vote • A podcast on Anchor". Anchor. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
  5. ^ Smith, Brandon (2020-11-06). "Sen. Greg Taylor Is First Black Leader Of Legislative Caucus In State History". WFYI Public Media. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  6. ^ insendems. "Senator J.D. Ford | District 29". Indiana Senate Democrats. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  7. ^ "Indiana General Assembly". iga.in.gov. Retrieved 2024-06-17.