Constitution-Shredding Erin Houchin Is a Horrible Pick for Conference Chair And Here’s Why

Indiana Rino Erin Houchin is not fit to be Chair of the House Republican Conference.

Fishers, Indiana: Nov 9th, 2026

Erin Houchin is crawling for a House Republican leadership job after another midterm disaster, peddling herself as the polished communicator who can “rebuild” the party. The truth is uglier: she is unfit, and her Indiana Senate record proves it.

While she held a state Senate seat, Houchin helped ram through the two-primary rule—an arrogant, machine-protection statute that rewrote the rules of who gets to run for office. Candidates are now barred from a party primary unless they voted in that party’s primary in the two most recent primaries they participated in, or they obtain a signed permission slip from the county party chairman. One primary used to suffice. Houchin’s standard hands the keys to the same party bosses who already run the show.

This is a naked assault on the Indiana Constitution. Article 4, Section 7 sets the minimum age for the House of Representatives at 21. Voting age is 18. Primaries occur every two years. A 21-year-old who meets every constitutional requirement and has voted in only one primary is blocked cold unless an unelected county chair blesses them. Republican state Rep. Curt Nisly called the law “blatantly unconstitutional” on the House floor. Courts later recognized the same conflict. Houchin’s rule effectively raised the constitutional age and installed party officials as gatekeepers. That is not integrity. That is a cartel locking the door against anyone who hasn’t already been stamped approved.

Christian conservatives claim to defend the Constitution, limited government, and open elections. Houchin’s legislation did the reverse. It treated the founding document as disposable the moment it threatened the incumbents and the machine. It systematically shut out younger, constitutionally eligible candidates while concentrating power in the hands of county chairs who can kill challengers with a single refusal. Pro-life scorecards and parental-rights soundbites do not erase a statute written to suppress competition and protect the same tired officeholders.

Houchin abandoned the state Senate for Congress and is now angling for a national messaging post. Messaging is irrelevant when the substance is a law that overrides the Indiana Constitution to keep young Hoosiers off the ballot. Voters in the 9th District and across the state already know the score. A politician who helped erect barriers against constitutionally qualified candidates has no claim to lead anything.

The Constitution sets the age and the qualifications. Party chairs do not.

Houchin chose the chairs and the machine. She is not fit.