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Tonya Pfaff

DemocratIncumbentState House District 43· Terre Haute, IN
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Contact

Contact information verified 2026-04-22.

Snapshot

Fiscal responsibilityOppose
Limited governmentMixed
Second AmendmentOppose
Pro-life issuesNo public position found
Family valuesOppose

Background

Tonya Pfaff, a Democrat from Terre Haute, has represented House District 43 since first being elected in November 2018 (Source 3). She holds a B.S. in Mathematics/Secondary Education from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and an M.Ed. in Educational Administration from the University of Oklahoma, and has taught in the Vigo County School Corporation since 1991. Pfaff serves as the ranking Democrat on the Elections and Apportionment Committee and also sits on the Ways and Means and Education committees; her stated legislative goals include addressing public education challenges and bringing economic development to Terre Haute (Source 3).

Positions

Fiscal responsibility

Oppose

Pfaff voted NO on SB 1 (2025), the property-tax relief bill (Source 6). She also voted NO on SB 1 (2026), the Medicaid/SNAP immigration-verification fiscal-reform bill (Source 7). Her votes consistently align with Democratic opposition to Republican-authored fiscal measures.

Limited government

Mixed

Pfaff voted NO on HB 1032 (December 2025), the mid-cycle redistricting bill, opposing that exercise of legislative power — a position that coincidentally aligns with limited-government critics of the bill. However, her broader voting record reflects support for government programs rather than limited-government philosophy generally, making this a mixed signal rather than a principled limited-government stance.

Second Amendment

Oppose

Pfaff voted NO on HB 1084 (2024), the Firearms Financial Transactions Privacy Act; she was one of 26 Democratic House members to vote against the bill (Source 11). No 2A-supportive vote or statement was found for her tenure.

Pro-life issues

No public position found

No direct statement, pledge, or individually confirmed vote by Pfaff on a specifically pro-life bill was located. SB 236 (2026) vote was not confirmed. Her votes on parental-rights and women's sports legislation are reported under Family Values.

Family values

Oppose

Pfaff voted NO on SB 289 (2025), the DEI prohibition bill (Source 10). She voted YES on HB 1041 (2025), the Save Women's College Sports bill — one of a small number of Democrats to do so — making her record mixed on this specific measure (Source 8). She voted NO on SB 143 (2025), the parental rights bill (Source 9).

Voting record

BillSessionTitleVoteLens
HB 108420242A Firearms Privacy ActNaySecond Amendment
SB 12025Property tax reliefNayFiscal responsibility
HB 10412025Save Women's College SportsYeaFamily values
SB 1432025Parental rightsNayFamily values
SB 2892025DEI prohibitionNayFamily values / Limited gov
SB 12026Medicaid/SNAP immigration verificationNayFiscal responsibility

Endorsements

  • None confirmed from sources consulted for this candidate specifically.

Sources

  1. 4.
    Indiana Family Institute 2025 Legislative Agenda
    https://hoosierfamily.org/issues/2025-legislative-agenda/
  2. 5.
    Freedom Index scorecard (IN, 2025)
    https://thefreedomindex.org/in/
  3. 6.
    LegiScan — SB 1 (2025) vote summary
    https://legiscan.com/IN/bill/SB0001/2025
  4. 7.
    Open States / Plural Policy — SB 1 (2026) House vote
    https://open.pluralpolicy.com/vote/a0b3a2f3-7f6c-4d99-90d9-6e84111421a0/
  5. 8.
    FastDemocracy — HB 1041 (2025) individual votes
    https://fastdemocracy.com/bill-search/in/2025/bills/INB00013296/
  6. 9.
    FastDemocracy — SB 143 (2025) individual votes
    https://fastdemocracy.com/bill-search/in/2025/bills/INB00013498/
  7. 10.
    FastDemocracy — SB 289 (2025) individual votes
    https://fastdemocracy.com/bill-search/in/2025/bills/INB00013826/
  8. 11.
    LegiScan — HB 1084 (2024) House roll call
    https://legiscan.com/IN/rollcall/HB1084/id/1404747
Last researched: 2026-04-15