Chris Bowen

Chris Bowen's career experience includes working as an advocate.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm Chris Bowen, advocate, activist, mom, and mimi in Seymour, Indiana. Originally from Texas, I studied elementary education with a mathematics emphasis at Texas A&M University-Commerce before making Indiana my home nearly 20 years ago. I live in a multigenerational household with my children and grandchildren, an everyday reminder of exactly who I'm fighting for.

I'm not a career politician. I'm a concerned citizen who filed on the first day of the filing period because this district can't wait. I won the Democratic nomination in May 2026 and will face the Republican incumbent in November.

I've spent years in church service, community organizing, and advocating for children with special needs, the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, and families living paycheck to paycheck. I bring fiscal responsibility, real leadership, and backbone to this race. I don't back down when things get hard. I don't trade my values for convenience. Government should work for people, not profits.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Southern Indiana's working families are being squeezed from every direction. Corporate monopolies control our farm markets. Rural hospitals are closing. Wages haven't kept pace with the cost of living. I'm running on a Rural New Deal: raise the minimum wage to a living wage, support Right to Repair so farmers can fix their own equipment, treat rural broadband like electricity as a public necessity, and hold corporate monopolies accountable. Your zip code should not determine your destiny.Nearly 30% of Indiana's rural hospitals are at risk of closing. Over 1 in 5 neighbors in our district relies on Medicaid, and nearly 2 in 5 children depend on Medicaid or CHIP for basic care. Mental healthcare is nearly nonexistent in more than 60 of Indiana's 92 counties. I will fight every cut to healthcare coverage, invest in rural health infrastructure, cap prescription drug costs, and ensure no Hoosier family goes bankrupt from a medical bill.District 69 deserves a representative who shows up every single day, not just six weeks before an election. I filed on the first day of the filing period because this community can't wait. I'll fight for legislative term limits, a ban on corporate donors, campaign finance reform, and an end to gerrymandering. I'm making a "Show Up Commitment": investing in county committees, training local leaders, and being present in every township, every year.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Rural healthcare access and stopping the closure of rural hospitals. Economic fairness for working families, independent farmers, and small business owners being squeezed out by corporate consolidation. Treating rural broadband as a public utility. Education investment, raising teacher pay, fully funding classrooms, and expanding vocational training for job-ready skills. Protecting Medicaid and reproductive rights. Campaign finance reform and legislative term limits to return power to working Hoosiers. And mental health access, a crisis nearly invisible in over 60 of our 92 counties.