Biography
Karen Whitney is a Democrat running for Indiana House of Representatives District 28 in the November 3, 2026 general election against incumbent Republican Jeffrey Thompson.[1][2] A longtime higher education administrator and former university president and chancellor, she ran for the same seat in 2024.[2][3]
Karen Whitney was born in San Marcos, Texas, and graduated from Westbury High School.[2] She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Houston in 1982, a graduate degree from the University of Houston in 1990, and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 2003.[2] Her career experience is in higher education administration.[2] In a Ballotpedia survey, she described herself as a lifelong educator in public higher education and a former president and chancellor of universities who now advises and consults with university presidents and chancellors.[3]
Whitney was the Democratic nominee for District 28 in 2024, when Thompson won with 71.8% of the vote to her 28.2%.[2] She advanced from the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary.[2] In the 2026 survey she called herself a "middle of the road Hoosier Democrat" and listed fighting corruption, funding schools and reforming taxes as her key messages.[3]
- 1.Indiana House of Representatives elections, 2026 · Ballotpedia Reference
- 2.Karen Whitney - Ballotpedia · Ballotpedia Reference
- 3.Karen Whitney - Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey responses (2026) · Ballotpedia Candidate's own words
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21. Not yet independently fact-checked.
Indiana House District 28
Karen Whitney is on the Nov 3, 2026 ballot for Indiana House District 28 as D. Not researched in depth — candidate list only.
