U.S. House, Indiana 7th Congressional District · Election November 3, 2026 · Updated
Who should I vote for in Indiana's 7th Congressional District?
André Carson has the strongest record in Indiana's 7th Congressional District. André Carson scores 63 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, as of October 6, 2026. André Carson's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Patrick McAuley (6 of 15 criteria) and James Sceniak (5 of 15 criteria) have too little public record to score. Every score comes from public records on character, qualifications and performance, the same way for every party.
Democratic · incumbent
Strongest record
André Carson
63 / 100
Public evidence on 13 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 50
- Qualifications
- 80
- Performance
- 56
Republican
Patrick McAuley
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 6 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 50
- Qualifications
- 50
- Performance
- NR
Libertarian
James Sceniak
On the ballot as James M Sceniak
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 5 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 50
- Qualifications
- 50
- Performance
- NR
The good, the bad and the unresolved
The record
The notable facts of each candidate's public life, each tied to a source and confirmed to be this person. Unresolved matters are labeled with where they stand and do not move a score.
André Carson
- On the record2025-05-02
Held an hour-long community forum in Indianapolis with questions submitted in advance, saying the change followed three or four death threats tied to the phrase town hall.
Source: WRTV, May 2, 2025
- On the record2021-01-06
Voted Nay on both House objections to certified electoral votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania on Jan. 6 and 7, 2021.
- Credit2026-04
Secured about $13 million in federal community project funding in the most recent fiscal year, including lead pipe replacement and new IndyGo buses, per Mirror Indy.
Source: Mirror Indy, April 1, 2026
- Credit2022-05
Chaired the House Intelligence counterterrorism subcommittee and called its May 2022 hearing on unidentified aerial phenomena, the first such congressional hearing in more than 50 years.
Source: ABC7, May 2022
Patrick McAuley
- On the record2026-09-23
WFYI's fact-check of his interview found no evidence for his claim that youth gun violence in the district had risen more than 900 percent since 2008.
Source: WFYI 2026 Voter Guide
James Sceniak
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
Who they are
Character
Integrity
Tells the truth, keeps their word, and takes no private gain from public office.
André Carson. His 2025 annual financial disclosure was filed May 12, 2026, and the House Clerk index shows no periodic transaction reports for him from 2019 to 2026. No House Ethics matter or FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: House Clerk financial disclosure, Filing ID 10077495, House Committee on Ethics site search for Carson, FEC administrative fines search
Patrick McAuley. Filed an FEC statement of candidacy on April 22, 2026. WFYI reports no committee financial filing, which is not required below $5,000 raised or spent. No official finding found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, WFYI 2026 Voter Guide
James Sceniak. No public record found.
Courage
Takes a stand that costs them something, including telling their own side no.
André Carson. No public record found.
Patrick McAuley. No public record found.
James Sceniak. No public record found.
Accountability
Owns mistakes, answers hard questions, and works in the open.
André Carson. Held an hour-long in-person community forum in May 2025 with questions submitted in advance, held a virtual town hall in February 2025, and gave WFYI a full 2026 general election interview. No general election debate record found.
Sources: WRTV, May 2, 2025, Office newsletter, Feb. 19, 2025, WFYI 2026 Voter Guide, Sept. 23, 2026
Patrick McAuley. Gave WFYI a full general election interview and spoke at a public campaign event in Martindale-Brightwood in August 2026. No general election debate record found.
Sources: WFYI 2026 Voter Guide, WIBC, Aug. 10, 2026
James Sceniak. Gave WFYI a full general election interview. No debate record found.
Source: WFYI 2026 Voter Guide
Temperament and judgment
Steady under pressure, decides on evidence, and treats opponents and staff with respect.
André Carson. Has served in the House since March 2008 after work in Indiana's homeland security department. No censure, reprimand or House Ethics Committee finding found.
Sources: GovTrack, House Committee on Ethics site search for Carson
Patrick McAuley. No public record found.
James Sceniak. No public record found.
Fidelity to the oath
Uses power inside its limits: accepts certified results, obeys court rulings, follows the rules of the office.
André Carson. Has held sworn office in the House since 2008. Voted Nay on both January 2021 objections to certified electors. No misuse-of-office finding found.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 10, Jan. 6, 2021, House Clerk Roll Call 11, Jan. 7, 2021
Patrick McAuley. No public record found.
James Sceniak. No public record found.
What they bring
Qualifications
Relevant experience
Has done work that prepares them for this specific office.
André Carson. Serving a ninth full term in the U.S. House for this district since 2008, after service on the Indianapolis City-County Council and as an Indiana State Excise Police compliance officer.
Sources: GovTrack, Mirror Indy, April 1, 2026
Patrick McAuley. A 29-year-old associate at Broad Ripple Capital with a master's degree and prior U.S. Senate experience, per his campaign; no leadership role documented.
Sources: WFYI 2026 Voter Guide, Campaign site, About
James Sceniak. Lead registered behavior therapist at Centria Health Care and vice chair of the Libertarian Party of Indiana, per WFYI. No public office.
Source: WFYI 2026 Voter Guide
Command of the job
Knows the issues and knows what the office can and cannot do.
André Carson. Ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Aviation Subcommittee; chaired the Intelligence Committee's counterterrorism subcommittee in 2021 to 2022 and was CIA subcommittee ranking member in 2023 to 2024. Gave specific positions in his WFYI interview.
Sources: GovTrack, committee membership, Ballotpedia, committee assignments, WFYI 2026 Voter Guide
Patrick McAuley. Publishes general positions on public safety, housing and homelessness, and career pathways, and named a federal housing program in his WFYI interview.
Sources: Campaign site, Issues, WFYI 2026 Voter Guide
James Sceniak. Gave general positions on taxes, inflation, data center siting and a veterans' health care choice proposal in his WFYI interview.
Source: WFYI 2026 Voter Guide
Communication
Explains plainly, persuades, and listens.
André Carson. Communicates through an office newsletter, virtual town halls, issue pages on his House site and a recorded WFYI interview. He has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 survey.
Sources: Office newsletter, Feb. 19, 2025, WFYI 2026 Voter Guide, Ballotpedia
Patrick McAuley. Publishes an issues page and gave a recorded WFYI interview. Has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 survey.
Sources: Campaign site, Issues, WFYI 2026 Voter Guide, Ballotpedia
James Sceniak. Gave a recorded WFYI interview. Has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 survey and has no campaign website on record.
Sources: WFYI 2026 Voter Guide, Ballotpedia
Roots in the constituency
Lives there, knows the people, and is funded by them.
André Carson. Born and raised on Indianapolis's east side, which is in the district. FEC by-state totals show about 49 percent of itemized individual contributions from Indiana in 2025 to 2026 ($214,515 of $440,412).
Sources: Mirror Indy, April 1, 2026, FEC contribution totals by state
Patrick McAuley. Lifelong Indianapolis resident and North Central High School graduate, per his campaign and WFYI. No itemized FEC contributions on record to compute an in-state share.
Sources: Campaign site, About, WFYI 2026 Voter Guide
James Sceniak. Lives in Indianapolis, per WFYI. No itemized FEC contributions on record.
Source: WFYI 2026 Voter Guide
Management
Can build and run an organization.
André Carson. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through June 30, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search
Patrick McAuley. No public record found.
James Sceniak. No public record found.
What they deliver
Performance
Results
Turns ideas into outcomes.
André Carson. Legislative Effectiveness Score of 0.088 in the 118th Congress against a benchmark of 0.551, below expectations (also below in the 117th). Primary sponsor of three enacted bills, the most recent a 2019 post office naming.
Sources: Center for Effective Lawmaking House dataset, 93rd to 118th Congress, GovTrack, enacted legislation
Patrick McAuley. No public record found.
James Sceniak. No public record found.
Showing up
Does the basic work of the job.
André Carson. Missed 235 of 11,421 roll call votes, 2.1 percent, from March 2008 to September 2026.
Source: GovTrack, missed votes
Patrick McAuley. No public record found.
James Sceniak. No public record found.
Constituent service
Solves problems for the people they represent.
André Carson. Keeps an Indianapolis district office, offers federal agency casework, and holds virtual town halls, an in-person community forum and job and resource fairs.
Sources: Office site, office locations, Office newsletter, Feb. 19, 2025, WRTV, May 2, 2025
Patrick McAuley. No public record found.
James Sceniak. No public record found.
Coalition building
Wins support beyond their own faction.
André Carson. Lugar Center Bipartisan Index score of -0.97198 in the latest posted House scores (2023), ranked 324 of 436.
Source: Lugar Center and McCourt School Bipartisan Index, House Scores
Patrick McAuley. No public record found.
James Sceniak. No public record found.
Stewardship of public money
Treats tax dollars as someone else's money.
André Carson. No public record found.
Patrick McAuley. No public record found.
James Sceniak. No public record found.
How to read this
Each criterion is scored 0 to 4 against the written rubric in the Ballot Standard. NR means no record: there is no reliable public evidence either way, so the criterion is left out and never counts against the candidate. A total is published when at least 8 of 15 criteria have evidence.
A sitting officeholder has a longer public record than a first-time candidate, so the two totals rest on different amounts of evidence. Read the count of criteria beside each score. Low marks require an official finding or a primary record. Allegations and opinion are not used.
No policy position is scored. Evidence checked October 6, 2026. Campaigns and readers can send a correction with a public source to tpg@thepoliticalgroup.com.
Questions
Who should I vote for in Indiana's 7th Congressional District?
André Carson has the strongest record in Indiana's 7th Congressional District. André Carson scores 63 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, as of October 6, 2026. André Carson's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Patrick McAuley (6 of 15 criteria) and James Sceniak (5 of 15 criteria) have too little public record to score. Every score comes from public records on character, qualifications and performance, the same way for every party.
Who is running in Indiana's 7th Congressional District in 2026?
André Carson (Democratic, incumbent), Patrick McAuley (Republican), James Sceniak (Libertarian). The general election is November 3, 2026.
Is André Carson a good candidate for Congress?
André Carson scores 63 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, with public evidence on 13 of 15 criteria: character 50 of 100, qualifications 80 of 100, performance 56 of 100. The standard measures character, qualifications and performance, not policy positions.
Is Patrick McAuley a good candidate for Congress?
Patrick McAuley has public evidence on 6 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
Is James Sceniak a good candidate for Congress?
James Sceniak has public evidence on 5 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
How is the strongest record decided?
The candidate with the highest Ballot Standard score has the strongest record. Each of 15 criteria on character, qualifications and performance is scored 0 to 4 from public records and established reporting, the same way for every party. No policy position is scored, and unresolved accusations never move a score.
More on this race: every Indiana race scored, and the Indiana 2026 election guide. Independent scorecard by The Political Group, not affiliated with any candidate or party.