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Ryan M. Dvorak — portrait

Ryan M. Dvorak

DemocratIncumbentState House District 8· South Bend, IN
Photo: via Ballotpedia (public profile)
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Contact

Contact information verified 2026-04-22.

Snapshot

Fiscal responsibilityOppose
Limited governmentOppose
Second AmendmentSupport
Pro-life issuesOppose
Family valuesOppose

Background

Rep. Ryan M. Dvorak has represented Indiana House District 8, which covers portions of South Bend and northern St. Joseph County including the campuses of the University of Notre Dame, St. Mary's, and Holy Cross Colleges, since first being elected in 2002 (Source 1)(Source 2). He currently serves as a member of the Rules and Legislative Procedures Committee, the Natural Resources Committee, and the Judiciary Committee (Source 1). He serves as Assistant Minority Floor Leader and is among the most senior Democrats in the chamber (Source 2). District 8 had no Republican filing for 2026, making Dvorak's primary uncontested (Source 13).

Positions

Fiscal responsibility

Oppose

Dvorak voted **No** on SB 1 (2025), the property-tax relief and levy-cap bill, on the House third-reading vote of 65-29 (Source 5). He voted **No** on SB 1 (2026), the Medicaid/SNAP eligibility bill, which passed 62-31 with all Democrats opposed (Source 6). His Freedom Index 2025-2026 session score is 40% and his 2023-2024 score was 33% (cumulative 29%), indicating consistent opposition to most fiscal-restraint measures tracked by that index.

Limited government

Oppose

Dvorak voted **No** on HB 1032 (2025 special session), the mid-cycle redistricting bill, which passed 57-41 with all Democrats in opposition. His Freedom Index scores (40% in 2025-2026 session, 29% cumulative) reflect opposition to the majority of limited-government measures tracked by the Freedom Index.

Second Amendment

Support

Dvorak voted **Yes** on HB 1084 (2024), the 2A Privacy Act restricting firearms merchant category codes (Source 7). He also voted **Yes** on HB 1296 (2022), constitutional carry — the House passed HB 1296 with Dvorak in the Yea column per the official roll call PDF (Source 7). These two documented Yes votes on 2A bills distinguish his record from the Democratic caucus majority on this issue. Note: Per the IFI 2025 scorecard, his overall score is 33%; the IFI did not track a standalone 2A-specific bill in 2025.

Pro-life issues

Oppose

Per the Indiana Family Institute 2025 scorecard, Dvorak scored 33% overall and voted **No** on all IFI family/values-tracked bills except HB 1102 (religious liberty in early childhood programs, Yes) (Source 3). SB 236 (2026), the abortion-inducing drug ban, passed the Senate but died in the House Public Health Committee without a floor vote, so no record exists for that bill (Source 11). No public statement supporting pro-life legislation found.

Family values

Oppose

Per the Indiana Family Institute 2025 Legislative Scorecard, Dvorak scored 33% (2 out of 7 votes with IFI's position). He voted Yes on HB 1102 (religious liberty in early childhood programs), was Excused on SB 289 (DEI prohibition), and voted No on HB 1041 (Save Women's College Sports), HB 1348 (homeschool diploma recognition), SB 143 (Parental Rights), SB 287 (school board transparency), and SB 442 (school sexuality instruction transparency) (Source 3).

Voting record

BillSessionTitleVoteLens
HB 12962022Constitutional carry (permitless handgun carry)YeaSecond Amendment
HB 108420242A Privacy Act (firearms merchant codes)YeaSecond Amendment
SB 12025Property tax relief / levy capNayFiscal responsibility
HB 10412025Save Women's College SportsNayFamily values
SB 1432025Parental RightsNayFamily values
SB 2892025DEI prohibitionExcusedFamily values / Limited gov
SB 12026Medicaid/SNAP immigration verificationNayFiscal responsibility

Sources

  1. 1.
    Ryan Dvorak — Indiana House Democratic Caucus
    https://www.indianahousedemocrats.org/members/ryan-dvorak
  2. 2.
    Ballotpedia — Ryan Dvorak
    https://ballotpedia.org/Ryan_Dvorak
  3. 7.
    IGA — HB 1084 (2024) vote list
    https://legiscan.com/IN/votes/HB1084/2024
  4. 8.
    IGA — HB 1041 (2025) bill page
    https://legiscan.com/IN/bill/HB1041/2025
  5. 9.
    IGA — SB 143 (2025) bill page
    https://legiscan.com/IN/bill/SB0143/2025
  6. 10.
    IGA — SB 289 (2025) bill page
    https://legiscan.com/IN/bill/SB0289/2025
  7. 12.
  8. 13.
    Indiana Capital Chronicle / WFYI — 2026 candidate list
    https://indianacitizen.org/2026-indiana-primary-candidate-list/
Last researched: 2026-04-16