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Ethan J. Lawson — portrait

Ethan J. Lawson

RepublicanIncumbentState House District 53· House District 53, E Indiana (Wayne/Henry County area)
Photo: via Ballotpedia (public profile)
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Contact

Contact information verified 2026-04-22.

Snapshot

Fiscal responsibilitySupport
Limited governmentSupport
Second AmendmentSupport
Pro-life issuesSupport
Family valuesSupport

Background

Ethan J. Lawson (R) represents House District 53, which covers portions of Wayne and adjacent east-central Indiana counties, having succeeded retiring Rep. Bob Cherry (Source 1). He serves as a member of the Republican majority caucus and his roll-call votes are available through the IGA and Open States tracking systems (Sources 1, 6). He faces a Democratic challenger, Reece Axel-Adams, in 2026 (Source 3). District 53 is in eastern Indiana, a strongly Republican-leaning area (Source 1).

Positions

Fiscal responsibility

Support

Lawson voted YES on SB 1 (2025), the property tax relief and local government finance reform bill, which passed the House 65–29 (Source 5). He also voted YES on SB 1 (2026), the Medicaid/SNAP verification and eligibility reform bill; he was not among the four Republicans who voted no (Source 6).

Limited government

Support

Lawson voted YES on HB 1032 (2025 special session), the mid-cycle redistricting bill (57–41); he was not among the 12 Republicans who crossed party lines to vote no (Source 8). He voted YES on SB 289 (2025), the DEI prohibition bill (Source 11). No broader limited-government platform statement from Lawson's own campaign materials confirmed independently.

Second Amendment

Support

Lawson voted YES on HB 1084 (2024), the Firearms Financial Transactions Privacy Act (Source 9). No NRA-PVF rating or signed pledge confirmed specifically for Lawson as of April 2026.

Pro-life issues

Support

Lawson voted YES on SB 236 (2026), the abortion-inducing drug ban and liability bill (Source 12). No Indiana Right to Life rating or campaign statement found specifically for Lawson.

Family values

Support

Lawson voted YES on HB 1041 (2025), the collegiate transgender sports ban (Source 7), and YES on SB 143 (2025), the Parental Rights Act (Source 10). He also voted YES on SB 289 (2025), the DEI prohibition (Source 11).

Voting record

BillSessionTitleVoteLens
SB 12025Property tax relief / local govt financeYeaFiscal responsibility
SB 12026Medicaid/SNAP immigration verificationYeaFiscal responsibility
HB 108420242A Firearms Financial Privacy ActYeaSecond Amendment
HB 10412025Save Women's College Sports (collegiate)YeaFamily values
HB 10322025SMid-cycle redistrictingYeaLimited government
SB 1432025Parental Rights ActYeaFamily values
SB 2892025DEI prohibitionYeaLimited government / Family values
SB 2362026Abortion-inducing drug ban/liabilityYeaPro-life issues

Endorsements

  • None independently confirmed as of April 2026. Rule 8 scorecard sources listed above (Sources 4, 5).

Sources

  1. 4.
    Freedom Index scorecard
    https://freedomindex.us/
  2. 5.
    SB 1 (2025) property tax relief House vote roll call
    https://open.pluralpolicy.com/vote/3e747de2-1442-4429-af30-11db2a57570b/
  3. 7.
    HB 1041 (2025) Save Women's College Sports House vote
    https://legiscan.com/IN/rollcall/HB1041/id/1491031
  4. 10.
    SB 143 (2025) Parental Rights House vote
    https://legiscan.com/IN/bill/SB0143/2025
  5. 11.
    SB 289 (2025) DEI prohibition House vote
    https://legiscan.com/IN/bill/SB0289/2025
Last researched: 2026-04-16