Sarah Blessing: Indiana House District 70 Candidate Guide

Sarah Blessing is the Democratic nominee for Indiana House District 70, a teacher and lifelong Southern Indiana resident from Palmyra who faces Republican Scott Fluhr on November 3, 2026. If you’re staring at a sample ballot wondering who she really is, you’re not alone. After comparing Ballotpedia, BallotReady, local news and campaign materials, we’ve pulled the facts into one place.

This voter guide covers her teaching background, Project Next Media, issue positions, endorsements and election history, plus the voting deadlines that matter right now. Registration closes October 5, so the clock is real. Read on to vote with confidence, not guesswork. (Not to be confused with the biblical “blessing of Sarah.”)

About Sarah Blessing

Sarah Blessing was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and graduated from Floyd Central High School. Her bachelor’s in elementary education came from Indiana University Southeast in 2003, and her master’s in education from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2008. She grew up in Floyds Knobs, Indiana.

Per her campaign, she lives in Palmyra with her husband, Chris, and their three children, who attend public schools in Harrison County. That small-town, family-first routine shapes her pitch to voters, and it explains why classroom funding and kitchen-table costs sit at the center of her campaign.

Professional Experience

Blessing spent 18 years teaching, mostly fifth grade, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School in New Albany. Since 2024 she has served as chief product officer at Project Next Media, an independent Indiana newsroom she co-founded, blending classroom communication skills with community journalism.

Degrees

Two degrees anchor her résumé: a 2003 bachelor’s in elementary education from Indiana University Southeast and a master’s in education from Indiana Wesleyan University. Both point toward the same theme voters hear repeatedly in her campaign materials, namely public school funding, teacher support, and classroom resources for Hoosier kids.

Why is Sarah running?

Blessing says the pandemic changed her path. After leaving the classroom, she worked with families facing housing instability and financial hardship, and concluded that state government too often serves special interests. She first ran in 2024, lost, and returned in 2026 for a seat that is now open.

What is Project Next Media?

Project Next Media is an independent Indiana newsroom Blessing co-founded in 2024 with Dr. Tim Peck, an emergency room physician running for Congress. Its pitch: remove fear and division from the news so neighbors can hear each other. She hosts long-form interviews with candidates, veterans, teachers, and community leaders.

Where Sarah Blessing Stands on the Issues

Blessing’s platform centers on public schools, rural healthcare, property tax relief and utility costs. Much of what follows comes from her campaign site and her Ballotpedia candidate surveys, so treat it as her own framing of priorities rather than a neutral grade card, and compare it with her opponent’s materials.

Her campaign style is bipartisan in tone. She says she would enjoy learning from Republicans, points to friends in office across her county, and argues that compromise on everyday issues, such as costs and schools, used to be normal in Indiana politics and can be again.

What does Sarah think about charter schools and vouchers?

She argues that public money is being diverted to religious and charter schools while public schools struggle. In 2024 she said her first bill would close loopholes letting failing charter schools collect taxpayer dollars, redirecting that funding to public schools, which she says educate over 90 percent of Hoosier kids.

Where does Sarah stand on data centers in rural Indiana?

Blessing opposes approving data centers without real conditions, describing her stance as guardrails rather than a blanket ban. Her campaign notes local moratoriums in Harrison County and New Albany, and says state tax exemptions for qualifying facilities can last decades, leaving rural communities to protect themselves.

Where does Sarah stand on abortion and reproductive rights?

Blessing supports leaving medical decisions to a woman and her doctors. In her 2024 survey she shared she lost two babies and nearly died from a complicated pregnancy, describing that experience as her reason for protecting women who no longer have the same rights under Indiana’s current abortion bans.

Will Sarah take corporate money?

She says no. Her 2026 survey states plainly, “I will not take corporate money,” and argues wealthy interests and corporations have too much sway over state lawmakers. Her campaign says donations come through ActBlue from individual supporters, which is worth remembering when you review the campaign finance reports yourself.

Sarah Blessing Issue Stances

BallotReady organizes Blessing’s positions into four buckets: economy, education, healthcare, and taxes and budget. It’s a handy cheat sheet if you want a fast scan before voting, because each bucket points back to the campaign’s own issues page for deeper reading.

Notice what’s missing: hard numbers. The listed stances describe goals such as relief, transparency, and access rather than bill text or price tags. That’s common in campaign platforms, but it means you should press candidates for specifics at forums, in debates, and in local newspaper questionnaires.

Economy

Her economy plank backs family farms, rural economies, small businesses, and local entrepreneurs, with an emphasis on fair competition so smaller players aren’t squeezed by the biggest ones. In a district built on agriculture, local manufacturing, and Louisville-area commuters, that framing speaks directly to everyday jobs and paychecks.

Education

On education, Blessing wants public schools funded at the level students and teachers need, with fair pay and classroom resources for educators. Her pitch to parents is confidence: strong local schools mean families can trust the system their kids actually attend.

Healthcare

Her healthcare agenda focuses on keeping rural hospitals open, expanding access to doctors, specialists, and mental health care, and keeping local treatment affordable. She has also reported on rural OB/GYN program closures and hospital consolidation through Project Next Media, which gives the issue a journalist’s lens.

Taxes / Budget

Her tax and budget section promises real property tax relief for homeowners, more transparency in how assessments are calculated, and limits on utilities passing infrastructure costs to residents. It also says large corporations and data centers should pay their fair share, a theme repeated in her cost-of-living messaging.

Sarah Blessing Elections

Ballotpedia tracks Blessing’s election history by cycle, listing primaries and general elections side by side with vote totals. If you only remember one thing, it’s this: she has already been on the District 70 ballot before; her 2024 numbers offer useful context for the 2026 race.

Context matters, though. District 70 leans Republican, and statewide Republicans hold 70 of the Indiana House’s 100 seats. A challenger here is climbing uphill, which is exactly why local turnout, candidate quality, and an open seat can change how competitive the race feels.

General election

In the 2024 general election, incumbent Republican Karen Engleman defeated Blessing 73.4 percent to 26.6 percent, or 25,765 votes to 9,325 out of 35,090 cast. Ballotpedia’s finance summary lists $652 in reported contributions and $0 in expenditures for that run.

Democratic primary

On May 5, 2026, Blessing won a three-way Democratic primary against Jerry Finn and Tamyra Persinger-Andres, and her campaign reports a clear majority with 99 percent of precincts counted. Republican Scott Fluhr, of Corydon, took his party’s nod over John Colburn with roughly two-thirds of the vote.

Sarah Blessing Recent Candidacies

BallotReady lists five recent candidacies for Blessing: Harrison County Council District 2 in the 2022 primary and general election, Indiana House District 70 in 2024, and the same state House seat in the 2026 primary and general. Together they show a pattern of local-to-state escalation rather than a one-off run.

Notice that BallotReady doesn’t publish 2022 results in that list, so check your county clerk for the numbers. Persistence is a legitimate data point for voters, though it isn’t a verdict on readiness. Judge the person by the platform, the answers at forums, and the work she’s done outside politics.

Sarah Blessing and the 2026 Race

The 2026 contest is an open-seat race because Republican Karen Engleman, first elected in 2016, isn’t seeking another term. On the ballot are Blessing, Republican Scott L. Fluhr, and, according to the Corydon Democrat, Libertarian Brandi Tibben. Open seats usually reset the conversation, since no incumbent’s record is on trial.

Picture a voter in Corydon at the kitchen table at 10 p.m., sample ballot in hand, scrolling past names she doesn’t recognize. Down-ballot races rarely make headlines, yet this one helps decide who shapes school, health, and tax law for her district.

Who is Sarah running against?

Her main opponent is Scott L. Fluhr of Corydon, who won the Republican primary on May 5 by a wide margin over John Colburn. Libertarian Brandi Tibben is listed, according to local reporting. Read each candidate’s materials before deciding, then compare answers on schools, property taxes, healthcare, and data centers.

When is the general election?

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026, with polls open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time. Registration closes Monday, October 5, and early in-person voting begins October 6; Indiana has no same-day registration, so check your status through Indiana’s official voter portal before the deadline passes. Early voting runs through noon November 2.

What towns are in House District 70?

District 70 covers Harrison and Washington counties and parts of Floyd County, home to over 67,000 residents, and local reporting also places parts of Clark County inside it. Communities include Corydon, Palmyra, Greenville, Lanesville, Elizabeth, Milltown, Crandall, and Mauckport. Confirm your address with the state voter portal.

Sarah Blessing Endorsements

According to her campaign, Blessing’s 2026 endorsements include the American Federation of Teachers, AFGE District 6, Indivisible Southern Indiana, the Indiana Rural Summit, Gun Sense Voter, the Indiana Reproductive Freedom PAC, the Center for Freethought Equality, and NASW Indiana PACE.

Endorsements are shortcuts, not proof. They tell you which organizations trust a candidate, usually on shared priorities like education, labor, and reproductive policy. Check the full, current list on her campaign homepage, and look for endorsements her opponent has earned, too, so you compare apples to apples.

Sarah Blessing Campaign Finance Summary

Campaign money is where promises meet reality. Ballotpedia’s finance table shows Blessing’s 2024 run at $652 in contributions and $0 in expenditures. For 2026, contributions are routed through ActBlue, and the campaign says it does not accept corporate money, so individual donors drive the fundraising story.

Because Ballotpedia notes finance data can be incomplete, don’t stop there. Indiana’s campaign finance filings are public, and local reporters often summarize them as the general election nears. A quick look at who funds each candidate tells you more than any slogan on a yard sign.

Get Involved with Sarah Blessing

Her campaign offers three straightforward ways to take part: donate through ActBlue, fill out a volunteer form for door knocking, phone calls, or hosting a meet-and-greet, and email the team with questions. Supporters can even pick up campaign merchandise through a Harrison County Democrats shop.

Not partisan? You can still engage. Attend a candidate forum, email both campaigns, or ask a local newsroom to host a Q&A. Rural races can be quiet, so a polite, specific question can move the conversation further than you’d expect.

Am I in Indiana House District 70?

The fastest check is entering your street address on the campaign’s lookup page, then confirming the result with Indiana’s official voter portal, since only the state’s records are authoritative. If you live near a county line in Floyd, Clark, or Washington, double-check, because districts can split neighborhoods.

Hear from Sarah Blessing

Reading is one thing; hearing is another. Blessing’s campaign site features short clips and long-form interviews, and Progressive Indiana Network has published a candidate debate and a podcast-style conversation where she answered rapid-fire “hold or fold” policy questions on universal healthcare, minimum wage, union protections, and public schools before vouchers.

A March 2026 Democratic primary debate also let voters compare her with Jerry Finn and Tamyra Persinger-Andres on healthcare costs, family farms, and rural internet access. Listening to unscripted answers is the quickest way to judge tone, and whether a candidate sounds like someone you could actually reach out to.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Sarah Blessing?
Sarah Blessing is the Democratic nominee for Indiana House District 70 in the November 3, 2026 general election. A former fifth-grade teacher from Palmyra, she taught for 18 years, co-founded the independent newsroom Project Next Media in 2024, and campaigns on public schools, rural healthcare, and cost-of-living issues.

What office is Sarah Blessing running for?
She is running for the Indiana House of Representatives, District 70, a Southern Indiana seat covering Harrison County and parts of Washington, Floyd, and Clark counties. The seat is open because Republican Karen Engleman, first elected in 2016, is not seeking another term.

Is Sarah Blessing a Democrat or Republican?
Sarah Blessing is a Democrat. She won her party’s three-way primary on May 5, 2026, and now faces Republican Scott L. Fluhr in the general election, with Libertarian Brandi Tibben also reported on the ballot by local news.

Did Sarah Blessing run before?
Yes. She lost the 2024 District 70 general election to Republican incumbent Karen Engleman, 26.6 percent to 73.4 percent. BallotReady also lists a 2022 Harrison County Council District 2 candidacy, so 2026 is her third straight election cycle on a Southern Indiana ballot.

When is the election, and what are the deadlines?
Indiana’s general election is Tuesday, November 3, 2026, with polls open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Voter registration closes October 5, early voting starts October 6, and qualifying voters can request a mail ballot until October 22. Photo ID is required.

Where does Sarah Blessing stand on education?
Blessing wants to direct public dollars toward public schools and support teachers with fair pay and classroom resources. She criticizes funding flowing to charter and religious schools. These positions come from her Ballotpedia surveys and campaign site, so compare them with her opponent’s education platform.

Who has endorsed Sarah Blessing?
Her campaign lists endorsements from the American Federation of Teachers, AFGE District 6, Indivisible Southern Indiana, the Indiana Rural Summit, Gun Sense Voter, the Indiana Reproductive Freedom PAC, the Center for Freethought Equality, and NASW Indiana PACE.

Is this the same as the “blessing of Sarah”?
No. “Blessing of Sarah” usually refers to a biblical theme from Genesis 17, and other unrelated people share the name. This guide covers only the Indiana House District 70 candidate.

Whether you vote for her, her opponent, or someone else, the goal is the same: walk into the booth informed. Sarah Blessing’s record, platform, and endorsements are now side by side. Register by October 5, confirm your district, and decide based on what you’ve read, not what shouted loudest.