.png)
Healthcare
3.67
Economics
4.00
Candidate Name
Sally Busby
District
State House District 78
Values
Grade
Values
Party
Democrat
Experience
Challenger
Grade
Democracy
3.67
Accessibility
4
Governance
4
Cost
Choice
3
4
Freedom
Voting
4
3
Community
4.00
A
Overall Grade
Education
3.67
Affordability
Equity
Opportunity
4
4
4
Environment
Public Safety
Inclusion
4
X
4
Stability
Funding
Belonging
4
3
4
Notable Information
Candidate Name
Candidate for:
State House District 78
Democrat
Challenger
Notable Information
MADVoters Survey Responses
Healthcare: The Big Beautiful Bill is projected to cut $31 billion from Indiana’s Medicaid funding, including almost $13 billion in hospital funding, over the next decade. What will you do if elected to ensure healthcare affordability and access given these changes? (Source: Indiana Hospital Association)
Healthcare is personal for me in more ways than one. As the mother of a child with complex needs, I've spent years navigating systems that are supposed to help but too often exhaust the very families they're meant to serve. I know what it feels like to fight for your child's care, and I know that experience is not unique to my family. Recently, a man invited me into his home and shared that his family is dealing with cancer. He also told me he's worried because he sees more and more people in this region facing the same diagnosis. He didn't ask me for a policy paper. He asked me if I was paying attention. I am. Healthcare policy is complex, and I'm still deepening my knowledge in this area. But I know that when the federal government cuts $31 billion from Indiana's Medicaid funding, including nearly $13 billion in hospital funding, real people lose real care. I was sitting in a hospital waiting room while a man heard that his care had been dropped. Rural hospitals close. Hospice programs disappear. Families already stretched thin get stretched further. I will fight to protect Indiana's state investment in Medicaid when federal dollars shrink, push to reduce the cost-sharing barriers in Indiana's Healthy Indiana Plan that keep eligible people from enrolling, and advocate for expanded community health centers and telehealth access, especially in underserved parts of our district. I'll also demand transparency about what's happening to healthcare in this region, because if people are getting sicker here, we deserve to know why.
Healthcare is not a privilege. It is essential.
Economics: AI and data centers are having a huge impact on jobs and communities across the nation, particularly in Indiana. What is Congress’s role in addressing this developing technology? What action will you take to hear and represent the concerns of Hoosiers on this topic?
Economics: Dozens of AI data centers are planning to come to Indiana, drawn by the state’s “business-friendly” reputation. How should Indiana manage these large industrial site proposals and their potential impact on communities? (Source: Citizens Action Coalition)
Indiana's "business-friendly" reputation shouldn't mean "no questions asked." I've spent months talking with union members and workers across this district, and I hear the same thing: jobs matter. The construction and operational jobs that come with large data centers are real, and I take that seriously. But here's what else is real: AI data centers can require between one and five million gallons of water per day for cooling. Indiana was home to 71 data centers by September 2025. This is nearly a 30% increase in just six months. And with three of our five large electric utilities already seeking major rate hikes, the infrastructure costs of data centers risk driving up Hoosier utility bills even further. That is not a trade-off we should make without deep consideration. If elected, I will push for three things: mandatory water use disclosure and independent environmental review before site approval; protections that ensure ratepayers, not just shareholders, benefit from the economic activity these centers generate; and requirements that data centers demonstrate plans for renewable energy use rather than locking Indiana further into fossil fuels. Jobs and environmental responsibility are not opposites. But right now, Indiana is handing out tax incentives to businesses and handing communities the bill. We can do better, and we should demand it.
Education: Describe your stance on the Department of Education and its role in education administration, funding, and protections for students with disabilities.
Education: Since 2012, Indiana has spent over $5.5 billion in taxpayer dollars on charter schools and the private school voucher program. If elected, would you support or oppose the use of taxpayer dollars to funding private schools and charter schools? Why or why not? (Source: ICPE)
I oppose the unchecked use of taxpayer dollars for private and charter schools, and as a former classroom teacher, a university professor who trains educators, and a researcher in literacy, this issue is personal to me. Over $5.5 billion is a staggering investment. The question I keep asking is: what are taxpayers getting in return? Public schools must meet rigorous standards: standardized testing, fiscal transparency, special education requirements, civil rights protections, and open enrollment. When we fund private and charter schools with public dollars and exempt them from those same standards, we aren't expanding opportunity. We're creating a two-tiered system in which one set of schools is accountable to taxpayers and another is not. I believe every child deserves an excellent education. I also believe that when public money flows to a school, any school, the public has a right to know how it's being spent and whether it's working. That's not a partisan position. That's basic fairness. If private and charter schools want to receive public funding, they should accept public accountability. Same testing. Same transparency. Same standards.
Democracy: In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge or threat facing our democracy right now? If elected, what will you do to help overcome this challenge or threat?
The biggest threat to our democracy isn't a single politician or policy. It's the growing expectation that public servants owe their allegiance to a party first and to the people they serve second. I'm an educator, and I can't help but think about the word itself: democracy. Demos. Kratos. People. Power. Government of, by, and for the people. That's not an abstraction; it's a job description. For too long, many of us have been in a "set it and forget it" relationship with our democracy. We vote, or don't, and then hand the wheel over and walk away. And when that happens, the people holding the wheel start to forget who put them there. I've spent ten months knocking on doors across District 78, and what I've found is that people across every background want the same basic things: safe neighborhoods, good schools, affordable utilities, healthcare they can actually access. Those aren't Democratic values or Republican values. They're human values. The problem is a system that rewards representatives for feeding division rather than solving problems. What will I do about it? I will show up. I will be accountable to this district, all of it, not just the precincts that voted for me. I will communicate honestly, even when the news isn't good. And I will remind anyone who will listen that democracy isn't something that happens to us. It's something we do, together, constantly, imperfectly, or we lose it.
Community: Describe your stance on ICE and its role in immigration enforcement and detention.
Community: What role or responsibility do local and state governments have with regards to immigration enforcement?
Immigration policy is a federal responsibility, and I think it's important to say that clearly, because a lot of state-level politicians are eager to perform toughness on an issue they don't actually control. That's not leadership; that's theater. What state and local governments can control is how they treat the people who live and work in their communities right now. I believe if someone is here, raising a family, working, paying taxes, and contributing to this community, they deserve to be treated with dignity. Full stop. The research is clear: immigrants strengthen local economies, fill critical workforce gaps, and enrich the fabric of community life. Southwest Indiana is no exception. What I oppose is state and local governments being turned into immigration enforcement arms of the federal government. That approach makes communities less safe, not more, because when people fear that calling 911 or reporting a crime will get them or their family deported, everyone suffers. Public safety depends on public trust. I will not support legislation that directs local law enforcement to do the federal government's immigration work. I will advocate for policies that treat every person in this district with the dignity they deserve. And I will keep showing up, at doors, at community meetings, in the statehouse, for all the people of District 78, regardless of where they were born.