Travis Gearhart
Libertarian Candidate for State Representative District 4
About
There's a lot to unpack in this section, but the most important people, my biggest fans, are my family and loved ones. My children and my girlfriend keep me humble with good old fashioned bullying. Click below for the boring resume stuff.
Campaign Points
Republicans and Democrats have decades of talking points, decades of promises made, decades of candidates that lie and are never held accountable...and a trail of blood, tears, and debt have followed in that wake, quite literally. My campaign points are clear, concise, and not sponsored by big money, downstate party officials. Click below for my platform.
Donate
Campaigns cost money, and as I've said, we don't have the luxury of millionaires. This is our time to make our voices heard. Please donate whatever you can. I can promise that it will be spend effectively, and I will be sharing my campaign finance reports publicly. Thank you.
About Travis Gearhart
I started my interest in politics during the Obama v. McCain election of 2008. Before that, I wasn't overtly political. I was raised in small town Hebron Indiana, my parents were moderate Republicans who weren't particularly political themselves. Those elections became important to me, because I was a young married man, about to start making a family. We had bought our first home, and as is apt to happen in the life of young adults I began to question where my tax dollars were going, what my government was up to, and why our elected leaders were making the decisions that they were.I started up a blog/podcast show called Matters of Opinion and quickly caught the attention of the Porter County Republican machine. I helped in several local county and state campaigns and eventually ran for Hebron Town Council, winning handedly at the age of 25, which was rare, and an R in a traditionally D town, even more rare.From there, I was appointed South Porter County Chairman and served several years at the behest of the Porter County Republican Chair. I served as the Congressional District 1 Vice Chair of the Young Republicans for a number of years, as well. I moved to Wisconsin for work for a few years, serving on my towns planning commission while in Belgium, WI. Once I moved back to NW IN, I ran for County Council At Large; moving on in the primary, and ultimately losing in the general election.After being involved in Republican politics and local government for a while, I took a much needed break. During that time, watching the news and keeping tabs on what our government was doing, I became disgusted and disenfranchised. The debt kept growing, our government was spending our tax dollars and sending it to countries afar while Americans struggled with sky rocketing inflation, lack of good paying jobs, and mountains of debt from student loans, medical bills, you name it. The Republicans were, ARE, as bad as the Democrats, and there isn't anyone outside of a scant few that are standing up and pushing for real change.After much consideration, and after contacting the Porter County Libertarian Party and bouncing my thoughts off of them, I decided to officially join the Libertarian Party. I have announced my intent to run for State Representative in my District, which is District 4. That will officially be voted on by the board in January, and ratified at the state convention the month following.My life, my ideas, my thoughts, are an open book. The next page down I will present my plan for the State. At the bottom of this page you will find links to my Campaign Facebook page, as well as my Substack where I do some writing on my thoughts and opinions on national and state political issues as well as culture and arts. My campaign email is also down there; please, do not hesitate to send me an email with a question or concern. I promise you I will tell my my thoughts unfiltered and without any "political double speak". Lastly, my podcast, with my friend and former political confidant Keith Cunningham, aptly names Disenfranchised, is also linked below. We are starting out airing once a week, but will be bringing in guests of all political realms to talk with us about issues the way that those of us in the real world talk about them: not in annoying soundbites, no "gotcha" questions, just honest conversation. I appreciate your time, and look forward to interacting with all of you!
My Platform
My platform is extremely simple, concise, and to the point. I promise you, if I don't know the answer, I will not try and pontificate or pretend I do. I'm a human being, and I am limited in my knowledge just as much as the next person. What I am NOT limited in is my willingness to learn and my willingness to listen. And that doesn't mean I'll change my mind, necessarily. But I'm also not going to lie to you like these other two parties do every time. If you read this platform and disagree with most of it, that is more than ok. Don't vote for me then. That sounds crazy, I suppose, for a politician to tell you not to vote for them, but this is how I will operate as your State Representative. So, allow me to begin with my platform.1. Term Limits.
This is the first and most important issue that must be addressed. Indiana, like the rest of the nation, should not be held hostage by these supposed public servants who manage to get rich at the taxpayer trough. I am pledging here, right now, to only serve 2 terms if elected. Public service should be a season of life-not a lifetime career.2. Legalize Cannabis
Prohibition has failed. It wastes police time, clogs courts and criminalizes otherwise peaceful Hoosiers. Since Illinois (2020) and Michigan (2019) legalized recreational cannabis use they have brought in almost 4 BILLION dollars in tax revenue. That's BILLION, with a B. The fact that our current state legislature would rather create more toll roads and entertain raising taxes on the struggling voters while outright dismissing this option and letting the surrounding states reap these benefits is, in my opinion, short sided and antiquated.3. End "Right to Work"
Research shows that manufacturing employment rose only modestly after the 2012 enactment of the supposed "Right to Work" law, but that this growth lagged behind other states, like Illinois and Ohio, even as unionization dropped. Workers and employers should be fee to negotiate contracts-including union security-without the general assembly tipping the scales. Government has no place in this debate.4. No New Toll Roads
Hoosier families already pay enough in fuel taxes, registration fees, and sales taxes on vehicles. We should prioritize maintaining and improving existing infrastructure with the taxes we already collect instead of double charging hard working, commuting drivers in the Region; especially since so many of us work in Chicago. I promise to oppose all new toll road legislation.5. End the Income Tax
Over roughly the past decade, states without income taxes have seen about twice the population growth of the highest income tax states and strong job growth overall. People and businesses are voting with their feet-we already see that here in NW IN as thousands of people flee the high taxation of IL. Indiana should explore a responsible phase out plan. Taxation is theft.6. End Emissions Testing
Data shows that only ~2% of tested vehicles fail emissions in Indiana, almost all due to minor sensor issues, not pollution. Testing burdens low income drivers at a higher rate and adds no measurable environmental benefit, ending this program saves Hoosiers time, money, and government hassle.These 6 platform points are my priority going into this campaign. Certainly there will be other issues, and I encourage all of you to follow me on Facebook to get all of the latest.
Donations
This part is coming soon!