Republican incumbent Jim Baird wins reelection in Indiana’s 4th Congressional District

U.S. Representative Jim Baird held his seat for the 4th Congressional District with more than 65% of the vote.

The district includes much of rural northwest Indiana, including Lafayette and Crawfordsville, and has been represented by a Republican since Democrat Jill Long was elected in 1992.

The Associated Press called the race at 8:48 p.m.

Baird defeated Democrat Derrick Holder, who won more than 30% of the vote, and Libertarian Ashley Groff, who won more than 4%. Precincts are still reporting.

Baird, who has a Ph.D. in animal science, will represent the predominantly rural district for a fourth term. In a statement, he said he is honored to continue serving his constituents and standing up for Hoosier values.

“Your overwhelming support speaks volumes about our shared commitment to conservative values, strong leadership, and a vision for a stronger America,” the statement said.

In an interview with WFYI after Baird was announced the winner, Mark Warner, a consultant for Baird’s campaign, said one of Baird’s biggest priorities is finishing and passing a new farm bill — which affects many of his constituents.

“Jim serves that district well,” Warner said. “He is always available to his constituents, and he travels the district, and that's a testament to his getting reelected because he's not invisible to that district.”

Baird said his top legislative priorities include inflation and energy. During the campaign, he told WFYI in an interview that he opposes a “war on fossil fuels” and suggested that the inflation is caused by the Biden administration’s energy policies.

“I’m not saying that we shouldn’t move to some alternative fuels, but I think it should be a reasonable process, and let economics dictate how those move forward, rather than all of a sudden move to electric vehicles, or something like that,” Baird said.

The district’s top industries by workforce include educational services, health care, and social assistance (26.4%); manufacturing (15.7%); and retail (9.8%). Agriculture is the 11th top industry, but agricultural powerhouse Purdue University is directly in the center of the district.

Baird graduated from Purdue with a bachelor’s and a master’s before he was enlisted to serve in Vietnam.

During the 118th Congress, which will continue until January 2025, Baird has sat on three House committees: Foreign Affairs; Science, Space, and Technology; and Agriculture, for which he is the chairman.

One of the big pieces of legislation that comes out of the Agriculture committee is the farm bill, which includes financial assistance for farmers and is the federal government’s foremost policy on nutrition: it includes SNAP.

A divided Congress failed to pass a renewal of the farm bill, with competing bills between the Republican-controlled House and the Democrat-controlled Senate. Baird supported the proposed House bill, which would have made large cuts to SNAP and climate-forward requirements farmers must meet to qualify for certain financial assistance.

That bill was a no-go for Democrats.

Although the bill passed out of the House committee, Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson did not bring it to the floor for a vote. We are still operating on a second extension of the 2018 farm bill.

Baird said he’s open to discussing more funding for SNAP, but he doesn’t support welfare without requirements.

“I’m always willing to discuss needs for people in need, and I don’t mind providing need — those that need a hand up. But I’m not supportive of a hand-out kind of approach,” he said. “I do think that for those individuals that are single and do not have dependents, I think there could be — or should be — a work requirement.”

Baird supports the Republican party’s positions on immigration and supports overhauling the current immigration system.

He supports research-informed decision-making on climate change, and thinks that “we can adapt as a species.”

During the Congressional certification on January 6, 2021, Baird voted against certifying the vote counts for Arizona and Pennsylvania and lent his name to a lawsuit challenging the results of the election.

Baird’s democratic challenger, Derrick Holder, said he’s planning on running again for the same congressional seat in 2026.

“I'm here for the long haul because I care that much about people in the district,” Holder said after the results were announced. “They deserve better.”