The Democratic nominee for Indiana Senate District 39 has withdrawn from the November race, citing a shortage of campaign money and a conflict between holding public office and his religious beliefs.
Joseph Baughman announced the decision Monday in a statement posted to his personal Facebook page. Baughman won the Democratic nomination in the May 5 primary, where his eligibility went unchallenged.
“It is with a heavy heart, but a clear conscience, that I am announcing my withdrawal from the race for Indiana State Senate,” he wrote.
Baughman said his campaign had been unable to raise the resources needed to compete in a state legislative race. He wrote that sustaining such a campaign “takes immense financial resources and institutional backing,” and that his effort had “run into a lack of the money and structural support required to cross the finish line against an entrenched establishment.”
He also described the decision as a matter of faith. Baughman wrote that “the nature of modern politics conflicts with my spiritual path” and that he did not believe he could “carry the full weight of the Senate seat” while remaining true to his beliefs.
Rather than make way for a Democratic replacement, Baughman urged voters to write in an alternative candidate instead of supporting his Republican opponent, Jeff Ellington. He wrote that he could not “in good conscience, endorse the status quo,” and encouraged voters to “demand better.”
The withdrawal leaves District 39 Democrats to decide whether to fill the ballot vacancy through a caucus of the district’s precinct committee members. As of Monday, it was not clear whether a caucus had been scheduled. Baughman’s call for write-in votes runs counter to that process, which would produce a replacement nominee whose name would appear on the ballot.
Senate District 39 covers Greene, Knox, Daviess, Martin, Sullivan and Owen counties in southwestern and west-central Indiana. The seat is currently held by Republican Sen. Eric Bassler, who was not a candidate in 2026. Ellington advanced from a three-way Republican primary that also included Tanner Bouchie and Kristi Risk.
The district leans Republican, and Democrats faced long odds in the seat regardless of the nominee.
In his statement, Baughman thanked his supporters and his wife, and said his goal had been to represent working families in the district’s rural counties. “Our work to build a better, fairer community does not end today,” he wrote. “It simply takes a different path.”
