Cynthia Wirth

Cynthia Wirth was born in Columbus, Indiana. She graduated from Columbus North High School.[1] She earned a B.A. in biology and Spanish from the University of Evansville in 1992 and an M.A. in anthropology/archaeology/underwater cultural resource management from Indiana University at Bloomington in 2009.[2][3] Wirth earned a Ph.D. from Ball State University in 2025.[4]

Wirth's career experience includes working as a research consultant, a legislative fellow with the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship, and a facilitator of biology and environmental science with CSA New Tech. She also worked as a high school biology and environmental science teacher and small business owner. She has been affiliated with the following organizations:[2][3]

U.S. Dept of Energy, Albert Einstein Fellow

BCSC Mindy Lewis Above and Beyond Diversity Award

BCSC Friends of Miyoshi, Japan, Educational Ambassador

National New Tech Network Teaching Honors

BCSC Foundation Innovation Grants

Sustainable Furniture Council

International Association of Caribbean Archaeologists

Society of American Archaeologists

Registered Professional Archaeologists

Sunrise Rotary

Leadership Bartholomew County

Columbus Service League Sustainer

Columbus Comprehensive Plan Committee

VP Downtown Merchants Association

Pres &VP Columbus Lacrosse Club

Chairwoman of the BCHS Historic Homes Tour

Historic Columbus Development

Friends of The Commons

Uncommon Cause Committee Chair

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Columbus Chapter

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a teacher, a scientist, and a small business owner. I was born, raised, and still live in the 6th district. I have raised a family here, taught public school here, own a small business here, worked on Capitol Hill, written and passed public policy, and am the first from my family to graduate college.

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?

I believe in investing in a 21st century workforce that will create an economy that serves all Hoosiers. Wages should be adequate to ensure a basic quality of life including safe housing, and reliable access to food and other essentials. A lack of quality affordable childcare should never stand in the way of a fulfilling career.Quality public education opens doors, creates opportunities, and improves our standards of living. That’s why Cinde is committed to supporting high-quality public schools and expanding access to higher education.People make the best decisions about their own healthcare. We need to invest in a single-payer healthcare system and community health centers that serve all people, especially our most at-risk groups, in both urban and rural areas.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Affordability, healthcare, LGBTQIA+ Rights, Education, Environmental Rights, Civil Rights, and legalized cannabis.

Campaign websiteWirth's campaign website stated the following:Support Working FamiliesCinde believes in investing in a 21st century workforce that will create an economy that serves all Hoosiers. Wages should be adequate to ensure a basic quality of life including safe housing, and reliable access to food and other essentials.  A lack of quality affordable childcare should never stand in the way of a fulfilling career.Good Paying JobsWe need to create an economy that works for all Hoosiers.Indiana ranks 45th in labor supply. No matter how low taxes are, businesses won’t move to Indiana or expand if they lack a supply of workers with the right skills. Cinde supports ensuring Indiana has the appropriately paid 21st-century workforce we need to lead us toward a more prosperous future.No one who works 40 hours a week should be facing poverty, living without safe housing, or struggling to meet basic needs. Cinde will work to raise the minimum wage so that Hoosiers have a better quality of life.Safe, Affordable HousingEveryone should be able to afford their rent and have money left over for savings. Right now in Indiana, private investors are buying up residences and jacking up rates beyond what most folks can afford. This is exploitative and needs to stop.Safe housing is a human right and no one should be living in the street, in the woods, or in their car because they can’t find affordable housing. We need to create incentives for first-time home buyers and for those looking to move into homes that meet their changing needs.Quality, Affordable ChildcareEnsuring parents have reliable, affordable childcare is an economic issue. Right now, parents in Indiana are spending thousands of dollars annually on daycare so they can work for meager wages. Through subsidies and federal investments, we can create the universal, educational childcare programs that working families need.Paid Family LeavePaid family leave isn’t just for new parents; it also benefits those facing devastating illness or caring for ailing loved ones. By normalizing and expanding access to paid family leave, we put families first and give people the freedom to work through their toughest times without fear of job loss.  Strengthen Public EducationQuality public education opens doors, creates opportunities, and improves our standards of living. That’s why Cinde is committed to supporting high-quality public schools and expanding access to higher education.Fund and Expand Public EducationLike many Americans, Cinde values quality public education because it is an important part of her own story: Cinde attended neighborhood public schools through high school, and her children were both educated in Indiana public schools. She believes that the legacy of quality public education should continue for generations to come. An investment in education is an investment in the future.Support TeachersWe need to recognize teaching as the profession it is and ensure teachers have the classroom resources they need to best prepare their students. Congress must support public education by enhancing previous funding formulas and supporting the needs of teachers and students. We must support teachers by encouraging educational best practices and focusing on what’s best for students. By doing so, we can re-build our world-class education system in communities of every size.Make Our School & Communities SaferCinde is a teacher and a mother. She has seen the fear in children’s eyes from inside her locked down classroom during lockdown drills and in the aftermath of nearby mass shootings.Cinde supports common-sense gun laws that are necessary to keep our children, schools, and neighborhoods safe, the kinds of ideals that most logical gun owners agree and support. Cinde grew up shooting hunting rifles with her brother and grandfather; she has practiced target and skeet shooting. But these experiences do not change her immovable position that guns should be well-regulated, firearm background checks expanded, and gun-safety programs also expanded.Improve Access to Affordable HealthcarePeople make the best decisions about their own healthcare. We need to invest in a single-payer healthcare system and community health centers that serve all people, especially our most at-risk groups, in both urban and rural areas.Provide High-Quality, Affordable and Accessible HealthcareCinde supports practical ways to lower healthcare costs and improve access to care for every Hoosier community, including crafting a single-payer healthcare system.We need to invest in community health centers and provide incentives for patients, health practitioners, and doctors to promote routine preventative care. Cinde favors restoring quality, local community healthcare options, reducing costs by making premiums more affordable, and reducing out-of-pocket expenses. She’ll also work to cap prescription drug costs while maintaining protections for those with preexisting conditions and prohibiting lifetime coverage caps.These protections are especially important for LGBTQIA+ persons and those seeking reproductive and pregnancy care. Legislators have no place in the exam room, and we must trust people to make those decisions for themselves. Cinde will fight to protect and safeguard healthcare freedoms – for every Hoosier.Expand and Protect Social Security, Medicare, and MedicaidCinde believes in Medicare for all. She supports preserving Social Security and Medicare for the generations to come. Healthy aging and the ability to age in the place one chooses is critical to healthy communities.Fully Fund the VACinde is committed to ensuring those who have served our nation receive the highest quality healthcare possible. Our Veterans give of themselves and it is our duty to ensure they have access to the care they need when they need care.Legalize CannabisCinde supports legalizing medical cannabis and decriminalizing the possession of cannabis. She has spoken out in support of ending the federal ban on cannabis and cannabis products.Indiana needs to join surrounding states to work with law enforcement agencies, health care groups, and other stakeholders so that ​Hoosier patients with medical conditions can legally access cannabis and hemp products as alternatives to highly addictive opiates.Protect Our EnvironmentWe need clean air, clean water and clean soil that will sustain future generations of Hoosiers.Invest in Clean Energy​Indiana ranks 41st in air quality and 38th in drinking water quality, according to the U.S. News & World Report from 2023.Say NO to Data CentersHoosiers have made it clear: They do not want their rural lands ripped up to make room for data centers that will drain our aquifers, pollute our waterways, and increase air pollution through massive energy needs from coal-fired power plants.— Cynthia Wirth's campaign website (April 15, 2026)Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Cynthia (Cinde) Wirth is a 7th generation Hoosier, a biologist, archaeologist, small business owner, community leader, and public school educator who served as an officer in the Downtown Merchants Association for Downtown Columbus businesses.

Cinde holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Evansville in Biology and Spanish and a master’s degree from Indiana University-Bloomington in Anthropology. Wirth most recently taught Biology and Environmental Science at Columbus Signature Academy- New Tech High School, receiving two (2) National New Tech Network Project Teaching Honors and three (3) Bartholomew Consolidated School Foundation Innovation Grants.

Cinde is public school educated and a first generation college graduate, serving as both as an Educational Ambassador to Miyoshi, Japan and a nationally selected Albert Einstein Fellow, where she honed her policy writing skills with one of the federal bills she wrote becoming law in 2020.

For the past 30 years Cinde and her husband, Trent, have resided in Historic Downtown Columbus in the home they renovated themselves. They have two grown children.

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?

The majority of Americans believe that a woman has the right to make decisions about her own body. Women who are experiencing pregnancy complications should not be left to bleed out in a parking lot waiting until doctors and healthcare providers are legally cleared to save her life. These decisions are between a women and her healthcare provider and are private. Legislators have no place in a medical exam room. I’ll fight for this right to be permanently restored.Americans have paid into social security and, along with medicare, these allow for American to retire with dignity and allow retirees the ability to address healthcare concerns. Over 65 million Americans depend on our social security and medicate programs to be strong and functioning as intended. I’ll fight to ensure our seniors are respected and social security and medicare are preserved and protected as they were designed to be.Public education is the bedrock of our democracy and attempts to discredit and destroy our world-class public education system that is for ALL students need to be stopped. I’ll work to ensure that ALL students have access to a high quality, free education.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Indiana’s 6th District needs a representative who lives within the district, and in the real world- where we live with budgets and limited income. A representative who will write legislation and vote for bills that help everyday hard-working people in Indiana.

Everyday Hoosiers are not billionaires and we need to stop giving breaks to the ultra-wealthy and well-connected- folks who are worth $500 Million or more.

We need to invest in solutions for working families, strengthening the middle class and unions, and preserving and protecting social security and medicare for our seniors.

We can hold corporations accountable for price gouging

and strengthen anti-trust laws so that workers, taxpayers, and consumers financially benefit.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, integrity, and a true spirit of service to others that puts people first are all critically important for a representative of the people in our U.S. House of Representatives.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first jobs were babysitting neighbor children and teaching swimming lessons. I worked through high school and college doing both and they each taught me things I use today. Teaching swimming allowed me to help both children and adults overcome their fears to be able to enjoy themselves in and around water.

Campaign website

Wirth’s campaign website stated the following:

Public Education

We need to support public education in Indiana in a way that restores previous funding formulas and supports the needs of teachers and students.

Cinde Wirth for Congress supports empowering teachers and students, so that Indiana can rebuild our world-class system of public education in every size community.

Support for Teachers & Students

We must support teachers and students by encouraging educational best practices and focusing on what’s best for students.

Invest in Education

An investment in education is an investment in the future. To have a world-class education in Indiana, we need to incentivize teaching and a profession and make sure teachers have the classroom resources they need to teach.

Good Paying Jobs

Indiana ranks 45th in labor supply. No matter how low taxes are, businesses won’t move to Indiana or expand if they lack a supply of workers with the right skills.

Investing in Hoosiers means a better economy for all Hoosiers. Cinde Wirth for Congress supports working toward ensuring Indiana has the 21st-century workforce we need to lead us toward a more prosperous future.

Raising Incomes

No one who works 40 hrs/week should have to live in poverty. Cinde Wirth for Congress will work with businesses to incrementally raise the minimum wage so that both businesses and Hoosiers win.

Cost Effective Healthcare

Cinde Wirth for Congress supports practical ways to lower healthcare costs for Hoosiers.

Cinde favors incentivizing and restoring quality, local community healthcare options, reducing health care costs by making premiums more affordable, reducing out-of-pocket expenses, and capping prescription drug costs while maintaining protections for those with preexisting conditions and prohibitions on lifetime coverage caps.

We need to invest in community health centers and provide incentives for patients, health practitioners, and doctors to promote routine preventative care.

LGBTQIA+ Support

Veiled and overt discrimination of LGBTQIA+ persons in schools, higher educational settings, and workplaces are real, are common, and must end. Cinde Wirth for Congress will fight for Civil Equality for all.

Hate Crimes Law

To support the LGBTQIA+ members of our community, particularly marginalized youth, Cinde Wirth for Congress will work to pass a tough, comprehensive hate crimes law.

Promoting Equality For All

Cinde Wirth for Congress will promote LGBTQIA+ equality in schools, workplaces and in higher-education through increasing funding for LGBTQIA+ resource groups and highlighting school and businesses that strongly model civil equality through inclusion of LGBTQIA+ persons at every level.

Common-Sense Gun Laws

Cinde grew up shooting hunting rifles with her brother and grandfather. Her grandfather was an Indiana NRA member who advocated strongly for gun safety. It was drilled into the children in the family. Cinde has target shot and skeet shot. She learned to bow-hunt and hunt invasive species underwater with a spear. She understands the thrill that comes with feeling and controlling the power of shooting a gun and a bow. She knows what it is to hunt, clean, and eat your prey. These experiences do not change her immovable position that guns should be well-regulated , firearm background checks expanded, and gun-safety programs also expanded.

Better Gun Safety Regulations

Cinde does not believe in taking everyone’s guns away. She believes that the outrageous, fear-mongering 2nd Amendment claims made by the gun industry against these common-sense gun safety regulations needs to stop. Most gun owners support common-sense gun safety regulations.

A Teacher and a Mom’s Perspective

Cinde is a teacher and a mother. She has seen the fear in her own children’s eyes as well as her students’ eyes when inside a locked down classroom, and following the aftermath of a school or mass shooting in another geographical location. Common-sense gun safety regulations are a must for the future of our children and our communities.[5]

—Cynthia Wirth’s campaign website (2024)[6][7][8][9][10]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a K-12 public school educated, first generation college graduate and have earned a B.A. in biology and Spanish from the University of Evansville and an M.A. in anthropology from Indiana University at Bloomington. My career experience includes being a small business owner, working as a scientific and educational research consultant, a legislative fellow with the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship, and a public school classroom teacher of biology and environmental science at CSA New Tech in Columbus, Indiana.

My family has called Indiana home for well over 7 generations. We live in a beautiful State filled with bright, innovative, hard-working Hoosiers who deserve better healthcare, better deals for family farms, and clean, healthy air, water, and land to ensure a better life for themselves and their families. I understand how well-written laws and policy have the power to positively transform every-day people’s lives and Hoosiers deserve new, fresh, competent, experienced representation in all these critical areas.

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?

Easily accessible and affordable healthcare for all Hoosiers, regardless of rural or urban location or employment status, is needed to keep our families and communities strong and healthy. Job loss shouldn't impact whether you can see a doctor or not and GoFundMe pages for medical expenses are not a system of healthcare.New, liveable-wage paying job opportunities, such as jobs in higher-paying technology areas, along with training programs for displaced or underemployed workers, are needed to increase the quality of life for hard-working Hoosiers.Indiana ranks 46th (or below in 2022) in air quality for 2021-2022. Higher air, water, and land quality standards and enforcement of those standards are needed to help young and not-so-young Hoosiers breathe better so they can lead healthier, more enjoyable lives.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Health Care, Jobs that pay a living wage, Education, and the Environment are all areas of public policy that I am passionate about.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Sylvia Earle is someone I look up to. She is a leading marine biologist (and now activist ) who has studied the oceans for decades and currently works to raise awareness of the importance of protecting the oceans for the health of the entire earth. I had the opportunity to meet her when I was in high school and her words to me changed my life.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember watching Watergate on the tv news with my brother and parents as a young child.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I was a swimming instructor and babysitter in middle and high school and continued as a swimming instructor and lifeguard through college.

Campaign website

Wirth's campaign website stated the following:

Public Education

Rebuild a world-class public education.

Public Education

We need to support public education in Indiana in a way that restores previous funding formulas and supports the needs of teachers and students.

Cinde Wirth for Congress supports empowering teachers and students, so that Indiana can rebuild our world-class system of public education in every size community.

Support for Teachers & Students

We must support teachers and students by encouraging educational best practices and focusing on what’s best for students.

Invest in Education

An investment in education is an investment in the future. To have a world-class education in Indiana, we need to incentivize teaching and a profession and make sure teachers have the classroom resources they need to teach.

Cinde Knows the Value of Public Education!

Like many Americans, Cinde Wirth for Congress values public education because it is an important part of her story. Cinde went to local public schools from grade school through high school. Their children Lauren and Ryan, were educated in public schools as well.

Cinde started her education journey at Parkside Elementary. Next, she attended Northside Middle School, and later Columbus North High School. After high school, Cinde graduated with degrees from Indiana University and The University of Evansville, and is now a graduate student at Ball State University.

Many Hoosiers share a similar story. Public education has opened doors, created opportunities, and bettered the standard of living for countless Americans. That’s why Cinde is committed to supporting public schools and expanding access to higher education. She believes that the legacy of good public education should continue for generations to come.

Good Paying Jobs

Invest in Hoosiers to create a 21st century workforce. Create an economy that works for all Hoosiers.

Good Paying Jobs

Indiana ranks 45th in labor supply. No matter how low taxes are, businesses won’t move to Indiana or expand if they lack a supply of workers with the right skills.

Investing in Hoosiers means a better economy for all Hoosiers. Cinde Wirth for Congress supports working toward ensuring Indiana has the 21st-century workforce we need to lead us toward a more prosperous future.

Raising Incomes

No one who works 40 hrs/week should have to live in poverty. Cinde Wirth for Congress will work with businesses to incrementally raise the minimum wage so that both businesses and Hoosiers win.

Clean Environment

Support an environment able to sustain future generations of Hoosiers.

A Clean Environment

Indiana currently ranks 49th in air quality in the United States. We must incentivize industry to improve air quality.

As a scientist, citizen, Cinde Wirth for Congress supports aggressively working toward a healthier, clean environment for all Hoosiers.

How We Can Improve Our Environment

Work to reduce Indiana’s carbon footprint

Offer incentives for participation in wind and solar programs

Offer incentives to help Hoosiers buy new and pre-owned fuel-efficient vehicles

Support measures to protect our supply of clean water

Encourage investment and practices in sustainable farming, fishing, forestry research, and farmland preservation

Better Healthcare for Hoosiers

Support healthier communities and lower the cost of quality care.

Cost Effective Healthcare

Cinde Wirth for Congress supports practical ways to lower healthcare costs for Hoosiers.

Cinde favors incentivizing and restoring quality, local community healthcare options, reducing health care costs by making premiums more affordable, reducing out-of-pocket expenses, and capping prescription drug costs while maintaining protections for those with preexisting conditions and prohibitions on lifetime coverage caps.

We need to invest in community health centers and provide incentives for patients, health practitioners, and doctors to promote routine preventative care.

Protect Patient Privacy

Protect Hoosier Healthcare by eliminating aggressive, political intrusion into the physician-patient relationship.

Mental Healthcare

To have a healthy, prosperous community, we must expand access to mental health counseling, as well as treatment and rehab for addictions.

The Opioid Crisis

To beat the opioid crisis, we must prevent and treat addiction, as well as track, investigate, and prosecute pill mills and dealers.

Reproductive Healthcare

IMPROVE ACCESS & TRUST PEOPLE

People make the best decisions about their healthcare. Cinde Wirth for Congress will fight to protect and improve access to reproductive healthcare for every Hoosier.

Legislators have no place in the exam room, and we must trust people to make those decisions for themselves.

Cannabis

All states need to join other surrounding states to work with law enforcement agencies, health care groups, and other stakeholders to legalize marijuana for medical and personal uses, cannibis products, and hemp production. Hoosier patients with medical conditions need to be able to legally access cannabinoid alternatives to high-powered opiates.

Cinde Wirth for Congress supports ending the federal ban on cannabis and cannabis product.

LGBTQIA+ Support

Cinde will work to pass a tough, comprehensive hate-crimes law and work to find the rights of Transgendger students.

LGBTQIA+ Support

Veiled and overt discrimination of LGBTQIA+ persons in schools, higher educational settings, and workplaces are real, are common, and must end. Cinde Wirth for Congress will fight for Civil Equality for all.

Hate Crimes Law

To support the LGBTQIA+ members of our community, particularly marginalized youth, Cinde Wirth for Congress will work to pass a tough, comprehensive hate crimes law.

Promoting Equality For All

Cinde Wirth for Congress will promote LGBTQIA+ equality in schools, workplaces and in higher-education through increasing funding for LGBTQIA+ resource groups and highlighting school and businesses that strongly model civil equality through inclusion of LGBTQIA+ persons at every level.

Common-Sense Gun Laws

Cinde supports common-sense gun laws needed to keep our children, schools and neighborhoods safe.

Common-Sense Gun Laws

Cinde grew up shooting hunting rifles with her brother and grandfather. Her grandfather was an Indiana NRA member who advocated strongly for gun safety. It was drilled into the children in the family. Cinde has target shot and skeet shot. She learned to bow-hunt and hunt invasive species underwater with a spear. She understands the thrill that comes with feeling and controlling the power of shooting a gun and a bow. She knows what it is to hunt, clean, and eat your prey. These experiences do not change her immovable position that guns should be well-regulated , firearm background checks expanded, and gun-safety programs also expanded.

Better Gun Safety Regulations

Cinde does not believe in taking everyone’s guns away. She believes that the outrageous, fear-mongering 2nd Amendment claims made by the gun industry against these common-sense gun safety regulations needs to stop. Most gun owners support common-sense gun safety regulations.

A Teacher and a Mom’s Perspective

Cinde is a teacher and a mother. She has seen the fear in her own children’s eyes as well as her students’ eyes when inside a locked down classroom, and following the aftermath of a school or mass shooting in another geographical location. Common-sense gun safety regulations are a must for the future of our children and our communities.[5]

—Cynthia Wirth's campaign website (2022)[11]

Indiana State Senate

Cynthia Wirth did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Indiana House of Representatives

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My family has called Bartholomew County, Indiana home for over 7 generations. We live in a beautiful State filled with bright, innovative, hard-working Hoosiers who deserve well-funded public schools, jobs paying a living wage, and clean, healthy air, water, and land to ensure a better health and life for themselves and their families. Hoosiers deserve new, fresh, competent, experienced representation in all of these critical areas. My expertise in science, teaching, and small business ownership, along with my experience writing and analyzing legislatio