LPM Southern Indiana Primary Voter Guide: State Representative District 70

Voters in Clark and Floyd counties will choose the Republican nominee to represent Indiana House District 70 in the primary election. No Democrats are running. LPM News asked each candidate in contested races to submit information about their background and priorities if elected. Responses have been slightly edited for clarity and length.

Republicans

John D. Colburn

I was born in New Albany, grew up in Sellersburg and graduated from Silver Creek. I attended Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology where I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. I started my first business in 1999. I still own my own accounting firm. This has provided me the experience of making a business work within the smothering myriad of governmental regulations and knowing what it means to sign the front of a paycheck, not just the back. Politically, I describe myself as a constitutional conservative and free market capitalist.

Priorities:

To reduce the size, the scope, and the power of the Indiana state government. A state representative willing and able to fight for our rights and liberties, and capable of helping protect us from a governor willing to overstep his constitutional authority.

Karen Engleman (incumbent)

State Rep. Karen Engleman of Georgetown represents House District 70, which includes all of Harrison County and portions of Clark, Floyd and Washington counties. Before elected to the Legislature in 2016, Engleman served three terms as Harrison County Auditor and spent seven years as Crandall Town Clerk-Treasurer. She and her husband, Gary, have five children, 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She is a member of Oak Grove Church of Corydon and the Corydon Rotary Club. Karen is the only candidate in this race endorsed by the National Rifle Association and Indiana Right to Life.

Priorities:

My priority will be the adoption of a balanced budget that protects taxpayers, while adequately funding K-12 and state services. I co-authored the largest tax cut in state history in 2022 and voted to return over $545 million to Hoosiers via a taxpayer refund. I will always fight for taxpayers.

Coverage of Southern Indiana is funded, in part, by Samtec Inc., the Hazel & Walter T. Bales Foundation, and the Caesars Foundation of Floyd County.