J. D. Ford

J. D. Ford (born November 6, 1982) is an American politician, currently a member of the Indiana Senate. Elected in the 2018 elections, he represents Senate District 29 as a member of the United States Democratic Party. 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.

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

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.

In November 2020, he was elected as the Caucus Chair of the Indiana Senate Democrats. 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

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

Electoral history
! Year ! ! Democratic ! Votes ! % ! ! Republican ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! %
 * + Indiana Senate 29th District: Results 2014–2018
 * 2014
 * |J. D. Ford
 * |12,685
 * |46%
 * |Mike Delph
 * |15,094
 * |54%
 * 2018
 * |J. D. Ford
 * |31,974
 * |57%
 * |Mike Delph
 * |24,403
 * |43%
 * 2022
 * |J. D. Ford
 * |22,636
 * |52%
 * |Alex Choi
 * |21,175
 * |48%
 * |Mike Delph
 * |24,403
 * |43%
 * 2022
 * |J. D. Ford
 * |22,636
 * |52%
 * |Alex Choi
 * |21,175
 * |48%
 * 2022
 * |J. D. Ford
 * |22,636
 * |52%
 * |Alex Choi
 * |21,175
 * |48%
 * |21,175
 * |48%