Stephen R. Bartels

Bartels was excused from the SB 1 (2025) property tax relief House vote (Source 6). He voted YES on SB 1 (2026), the Medicaid/SNAP immigration-verification bill (Source 12). His campaign bio emphasizes that he is "conservative, financially responsible, and believes in people before politics" (Source 2). The Indiana Scorecard ranked Bartels 11th among House Republicans in the 2022 session with a score of 59, and the Freedom Index gives him a cumulative 45% score, indicating partial but not consistent alignment with pro-liberty fiscal positions.

Bartels voted NAY on HB 1032 (2025 special session), the mid-cycle redistricting bill (Source 5). His Freedom Index cumulative score of 45% suggests a moderate rather than strong limited-government record, below the Freedom Index's preferred threshold. These data points present a mixed picture.

Bartels voted YES on HB 1084 (2024), the Second Amendment Privacy Act (Source 7). He also voted YES on HB 1296 (2022), the constitutional carry bill (Source 10), which passed the House 68-1 in the final conference committee vote with strong Republican support, and the initial third-reading passed 91-0 (Source 10). The IFI scorecard shows him at 100% in 2025 (Source 1).

Bartels earned 100% on the IFI 2025 Legislative Scorecard, voting YES on all seven tracked bills including SB 143 (Parental Rights) and HB 1041 (Save Women's College Sports) (Source 1). SB 236 (2026) died in committee without a House floor vote (Source 13).

Bartels earned 100% on the IFI 2025 Legislative Scorecard, voting in favor of HB 1041 (Save Women's College Sports), HB 1102 (Religious Liberty), HB 1348 (Homeschool Discrimination), SB 143 (Parental Rights), SB 287 (School Board Transparency), SB 289 (DEI Prohibition), and SB 442 (Human Sexuality instruction transparency) (Source 1).