Michael A. Delph (born January 12, 1970) is a former
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
member of the
Indiana State Senate
The Indiana Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year terms ...
representing the 29th district from 2005 to 2018. He is considered to be a "socially conservative Republican,"
who has courted support from the
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defic ...
.
Delph is known for his immigration legislation and his support for an Indiana Constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriages and civil unions.
[ He is frequently mentioned and has shown interest in representing Indiana in statewide office or in ]US Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washingto ...
.[ On November 6, 2018, Delph lost reelection in the State Senate to J. D. Ford.
]
Personal details
Mike Delph is the son of David W. Delph, who was an Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
-based executive for Iowa Beef Processors, and Sharon Delph, who worked at a bank, and he has three brothers, Jamie, Stephen and John. His parents were divorced. Delph attended Carmel High School and was a member of the class of 1988. Delph was educated at Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universit ...
and holds four degrees from the institution. He received his BA in 1992, MS in Environmental Science and Masters of Public Affairs in 1996, and his JD from Indiana University School of Law in 2010.[
In 2011, Delph passed his Indiana State Bar exam. He is a fluent speaker of Spanish.] He married Beth (née Frankel) in 1993 and they have five daughters, who are home schooled.[
Delph and his family are members of the non-denominational Central Christian Church in ]Carmel, Indiana
Carmel is a suburban city in Indiana immediately north of Indianapolis. With a population of 100,777, the city spans across Clay Township in Hamilton County, Indiana, and is bordered by the White River to the east; the Hamilton-Boone county ...
.
After working as a Congressional staffer, Delph represented Comcast Cable
Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications company and division of Comcast Corporation used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by the com ...
as regional director of government affairs. In 2012, Delph joined CarDon & Associates
CarDon & Associates owns and operates senior housing and rehabilitation communities in central and southern Indiana. It is one of the largest such companies in the state, with 20 senior centers and approximately 3,000 employees. It is family-ow ...
as general counsel
A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department.
In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...
.
Delph is a major in the United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...
.[ He has served since 2001.]
Political career
Congressional staffer
From 1996 to 2004, Delph worked as a Congressional staffer for US Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
Dan Burton
Danny Lee Burton (born June 21, 1938) is an American politician. Burton is the former U.S. Representative for , and previously the , serving from 1983 until 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party and was part of the Tea Party Caucus.
Ea ...
, a Republican who at the time represented , although Burton would end his career in .
Delph has served as Burton's district director and chief of staff. During this time, Delph was a Republican precinct committee leader.
Republican nomination for Indiana Secretary of State
Delph competed and lost the Republican nomination for Indiana Secretary of State
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th st ...
in 2002. He was running against then Marion County Coroner Dr. John McGoff, Vanderburgh County Commissioner Richard Mourdock
Richard Earl Mourdock (born October 8, 1951) is an American politician who served as treasurer of the state of Indiana from 2007 to 2014. Running with the support of the Tea Party movement, he defeated six-term incumbent U.S. Senator Richard Lu ...
and Deputy Secretary of State Todd Rokita
Theodore Edward Rokita (born February 9, 1970) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 44th and current Attorney General of Indiana. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from from 2011 to 2019. A membe ...
.[
NBA basketball player ]Kent Benson
Michael Kent Benson (born December 27, 1954) is an American former collegiate and professional basketball player. Benson was a two time All-American at Indiana University, winning the 1976 Helms Foundation Player of the Year and helping lead t ...
briefly competed but dropped out in March and well before the June Republican convention in Indianapolis. Representative Burton introduced Delph before the Republican state convention delegates.[
Richard Mourdock's campaign made a controversial move when it issued a vote appeal handout to delegates inferring Delph had withdrawn when Delph was still in competition for the nomination.] The flier read: Even though Mourdock had the most votes on the initial ballot, Rokita won the nomination and later the general election in November against then-Democratic opponent Bloomington Mayor John Fernandez.
State Senator, District 29, 2005
In December 2005, Delph replaced retiring State Senator J. Murray Clark, who retired with one year remaining in his term. Delph won the Republican Caucus vote, a special election, against his competitor Dan Gammon, who was at the time a Wayne Township trustee.
The state senator of District 29 represents a section of Marion Marion may refer to:
People
*Marion (given name)
*Marion (surname)
*Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion"
*Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
Places Antarctica
* Mario ...
and Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
counties. Boone County was added later in 2011. His top supporters were Bill Schneider, a former Indianapolis City-County Council member; Paul Shoopman, a real estate businessman; and his employer US Representative Burton.
First full term S-29 2006
During his first general election in 2006, Delph won unopposed. The Democrats had nominated Mennonite minister Jennifer "Jeni" Umble but her filing was not validated because the submission occurred past deadline.
Indiana State Senate, District 29, Election Results, November 7, 2006
Second full term S-29 2010
In 2010, Mike Delph ran for re-election and won in a race where he faced Democrat Robin Shackleford. She ran against Delph's immigration legislation modeled after Arizona state's. After the 2010 election, the Indiana Republicans held a supermajority
A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...
in the House and Senate, 37 Republican senators and 13 Democratic senators.
Indiana State Senate, District 29, Election Results, November 2, 2010[
]
Third Full Term S-29 2014
In November 2014, Delph successfully stood for reelection against Democrat J.D. Ford.[ Initially, both candidates ran unopposed in their respective May primaries. J.D. Ford was a gay candidate who opposed Delph's stand on same-sex marriage. Delph's ]Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
communication about an internal debate within the Republican caucus about recognition of same-sex unions in Indiana, which was the proposal for a state constitutional amendment passed in altered form during the 2014, provided publicity about his reelection with Ford.[
During the campaign, Ford made a statement that some felt called for discrimination against individuals with religious beliefs, while responding to a question regarding discrimination against LGBT individuals.]
Indiana State Senate, District 29, Election Results, November 4, 2014
Defeated for re-election S-29 2018
Delph again faced Ford when he sought reelection for the fourth time in 2018. After winning the Republican primary, he was defeated in the general election, the only Republican State Senate casualty of the night.["Democrat J.D. Ford becomes first LGBT candidate elected to Indiana General Assembly"]
WXIN
WXIN (channel 59) is a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Bloomington-licensed CBS affiliate WTTV, channel 4 (and its Kokomo-licensed s ...
, November 6, 2018.
Indiana State Senate, District 29, Election Results, November 6, 2018
Potential Federal Races Since 2012
For the 2012 election, Delph was not standing in an election but he was mentioned as a Tea Party alternative to long-time Republican Indiana Senator Richard Lugar. However, he did not enter the race.
In 2012, US Representative Dan Burton announced he would retire, which opened up his congressional seat. While Delph had worked for Burton previously and Burton was a political ally, Delph did not run for the seat.
During the 2012 Presidential primary season, Delph supported Senator Rick Santorum
Richard John Santorum ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007 and was the Senate's thir ...
of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
for the Republican Party nomination.
While Delph was mentioned as a potential US Senate candidate in 2014 and 2016, he did not run in either race.
Delph was again mentioned as a potential congressional candidate in the 2024 race for the open District 5 seat.
Committee assignments
* Tax and fiscal policy
* Judiciary
** Courts and juvenile justice subcommittee
* Insurance/financial institutions
Political positions
Government reorganization
Before Delph's appointment to finish J. Murray Clark's final term, Senator David Long, a Republican from Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...
, proposed Senate Bill 225 that addressed the merging of Allen County's governmental units, but Long took his bill out of consideration after facing opposition from a crowd of 400 people at a February 2004 public meeting in Grabill, which became known as the "Grabill Massacre."
During the 2006 session of the Indiana Legislature, then House Representative Jim Buck, a Republican from Kokomo, and Delph authored and sponsored House Enrolled Act 1362 that would allow mergers of Indiana's governmental units without the legislature's approval. After Long successfully amended the voting process for a merger between city and county, the bill went on to pass both chambers, and its final passage occurred just one minute before its deadline. The Government Modernization Act of 2006 signed by Governor Mitch Daniels
Mitchell Elias Daniels Jr. (born April 7, 1949) is an American academic administrator, businessman, author, and retired politician. A Republican, Daniels served as the 49th governor of Indiana from 2005 to 2013. Since 2013, Daniels has been pr ...
led to the consolidation of the city of Zionsville with Eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
and Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
townships of Boone County in January 2010, an area which is part of Delph's current district.
Abortion
While Delph was heading toward his first general election in 2006, he threw his support behind a controversial Senate Bill (Indiana SB-90) that would make it law to strengthen informed consent
Informed consent is a principle in medical ethics and medical law, that a patient must have sufficient information and understanding before making decisions about their medical care. Pertinent information may include risks and benefits of treatme ...
requiring information presented to women before abortions that 1) life begins at conception and 2) education about the pain felt by the unborn child. Planned Parenthood
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...
and other opponents rejected it on the grounds that the communication was religious indoctrination, the science was inconclusive, and the legislation amounted to interference in the doctor and patient relationship.
Different versions passed the Indiana Senate and House and so the bills had to be reconciled in committee.
In the end, the bill was unsuccessful by procedure because the necessary votes did not take place on time. Based upon the State Senate President Pro Tem Robert Garton's power to schedule votes, he lost the support of Right to Life groups and those groups threw their support behind his Republican primary challenger Greg Walker. This resulted in Garton's defeat in the May Indiana primary. Delph supported Senator Brent Steele, a Republican from Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
and a strong opponent of abortion, during his bid to replace Garton for Senate leader in 2006, but Senator David Long won.
Later, Delph was critical of a judge's decision in June 2012 on the state's law concerning the federal funding of abortion services. A US District Court judge ruled in favor of Planned Parenthood. The organization argued that state legislation to block its access to Medicaid funding for all of its services based upon its support of abortions created a conflict between state and federal powers. Delph said the courts were interfering with state executive and legislative powers. The judge's decision was upheld in October by 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Immigration
While competing for Republican nomination for Indiana Secretary of State in 2002, Delph was considered by political observers to be seeking support from Latinos.
Delph was an author and advocate for 2011 state immigration legislation, known as Indiana SB-590, that was modeled after Arizona's controversial 2010 immigration law. SB-590 passed in the State Senate. The Indiana House removed several controversial parts from the original Senate version. Delph then negotiated the compromise between the House and Senate.
After Governor Mitch Daniels
Mitchell Elias Daniels Jr. (born April 7, 1949) is an American academic administrator, businessman, author, and retired politician. A Republican, Daniels served as the 49th governor of Indiana from 2005 to 2013. Since 2013, Daniels has been pr ...
signed it into law, a US District Court judge blocked two sections of the law. Other states, such as Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
, Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
and Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
also passed similar legislation, and like Arizona's those laws were challenged in court. Attorney General Greg Zoeller
Gregory Francis Zoeller (born March 28, 1955) is an American lawyer who served as the 42nd Indiana Attorney General, attorney general of the U.S. state of Indiana from 2009 to 2017. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he was elected in ...
gave up on three warrantless arrest provisions of the law after the Supreme Court decided the Arizona v. United States
''Arizona v. United States'', 567 U.S. 387 (2012), was a Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court case involving Arizona's Arizona SB 1070, SB 1070, a state law intended to increase the powers of local law enforcement that w ...
case in July 2012.
Judge Sarah Evans Barker of the heard the case and eliminated portions of it. Zoeller did not appeal the decision.
Same-sex marriage amendment
In 2011, the Indiana legislature passed the Marriage Amendment to make Indiana's current statute on the definition of marriage as between a man and woman part of the Indiana Constitution.
According to Indiana's constitutional amendment process, two consecutive elected legislatures must pass the same amendment before it is sent to voters. When Republicans raised the issue with HJR-3 in 2014, Delph became a prominent spokesperson for passage in the media pushing for statewide vote.[
Delph told WRTV that according to his survey 60 percent of his constituents wanted to vote on the amendment in November.][ The amendment did not pass during session because of a controversial second sentence that would have also banned on civil unions. During the process, the second sentence was removed by each chamber. Delph was critical of traditional supporters of the amendment, especially Senate leader David Long and House Speaker ]Brian Bosma
Brian C. Bosma (born October 31, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives from 2004 to 2006 and 2010 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, Bosma has served in the Indiana Hou ...
, who did not exert their political influence during the most favorable political climate for its passage.
Delph criticized Long for moving the hearing for the amendment from the Judiciary Committee, led by social conservative Senator Brent Steele, to the Rules and Legislative Procedures Committee, headed by Long, and the change to the second sentence was made in the less favorable committee. Delph and some others then voted against the senate version as the second sentence, in their view, better protected a passed amendment from a later judiciary challenge.[
]
Controversies or media attention
Mother
While it had already been reported in 1990 that Delph's mother Sharon Delph was in the employ of Dan Burton's federal reelection campaign and had at that time received US$1500, she was mentioned again during a time period when Dan Burton was one of Bill Clinton's most vocal critics during Clinton's impeachment process.
In 1998, while Delph worked on Congressman Dan Burton's staff, Salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon (P ...
reported that Delph's mother was a possible "ghost employee" of Burton's federal political campaigns although her ex-husband and the state senator's father was unaware of her campaign work. Sharon Delph had known Dan Burton
Danny Lee Burton (born June 21, 1938) is an American politician. Burton is the former U.S. Representative for , and previously the , serving from 1983 until 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party and was part of the Tea Party Caucus.
Ea ...
since the 1960s. Burton had served as a reference for Delph and he employed him out of college.[ The '']Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' also named Claudia Keller as another salary recipient who was a possible "ghost employee" and reported that her family members were also paid by Burton.[ In addition, Burton revealed in 1998 that he was the father of a child by a woman who was not his wife and that the boy was then fifteen years old.
Although the Congressional Accountability Project filed a letter of complaint against Burton, which also made mention of Sharon Delph, the ethics investigation in the media was never pursued by the Congressional Ethics Committee.
]
Military uniform
In 2008, Delph was investigated by the US military when a fellow reserve officer from his unit wore a military uniform and appeared alongside Delph at Delph's press conference. The officer was speaking in favor of Delph's immigration legislation. Both officers were with the same 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command. At the time, Delph was a captain and a company commander with the 310th. The other officer was a lieutenant colonel with the same unit. Members of the military are prohibited from wearing uniforms at political events and appearing to side with any political group. Delph was the one who suggested the officer wear his uniform to the press conference.
Tim Durham
In 2011, Delph announced he would return US$10,000 dollars in campaign funds from 2006 and 2007 donated by Tim Durham. The Indianapolis-based businessman would later be convicted and sentenced to 50 years for his role in a Ponzi scheme. Durham had supported Indiana Republicans, including then Governor Mitch Daniels' acceptance of just under US$200,000.
Brother
During a public debate over Twitter about his support for an amendment that would ban same-sex marriage by constitution in 2014, Delph said his brother Stephen is a homosexual. His brother conducted interviews and said he disagreed with his brother on the amendment but said all his brothers had always been supportive. Stephen said Mike even suggested he date an old college friend; Senator Delph said he was not a matchmaker but encouraged his brother to seek out positive friends.
Discipline sanction by State Senate leader
In 2014, Delph made what was called in Indiana "the tweet heard around the world" about the defeat of HJR-3 in a form social conservatives wanted to move to voters in the fall.
During the 2014 session, Delph was sanctioned by State Senate President Pro Tem David Long for "bluntly speaking his mind" about what he perceived as Long's and other party leaders' mishandling of the same-sex marriage amendment. Delph also said in a press conference that he tweeted information from the Senate floor based on his own vote count.[ As a result of Long's punishment, Delph lost his status as a ranking member of the State Senate Judiciary Committee, was stripped of his communication position within the majority and of his press secretary, and was moved in the chamber to sit with the minority Democrats.]
His press conferences and tweets promoted his name recognition throughout the state as a leader for the amendment's passage. He told journalists after he had "no regrets" and had "strong beliefs" about the issue.
Awards and honors
Military service
* Army Commendation Medal
* Joint Service Achievement Medal
Public service
* 2013 & 2006, Distinguished Public Service Award, awarded by the American Legion
The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...
* 2010, Mr. Clean Award, awarded by Common Cause
Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President L ...
* 2006, Legislator of the Year, awarded by Disabled American Veterans
The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is an organization created in 1920 by World War I veterans for disabled military veterans of the United States Armed Forces that helps them and their families through various means. It was issued a federal ch ...
* 2005 Sagamore of the Wabash
The Sagamore of the Wabash is an honorary award created by the U.S. state of Indiana during the term of Governor Ralph F. Gates, who served from 1945 to 1949. A tri-state meeting was to be held in Louisville with officials from Indiana, Ohio ...
Award
See also
* List of politicians affiliated with the Tea Party movement
References
External links
State Senator Mike Delph
official Indiana State Legislature site
Member page
with State Senate Republicans
*
Indiana Senate District 29 map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delph, Mike
1970 births
21st-century American politicians
Carmel High School (Indiana) alumni
Indiana lawyers
Indiana University alumni
Living people
People from Carmel, Indiana
Politicians from Indianapolis
Republican Party Indiana state senators
United States Army officers
United States Army reservists