Brady Hall to challenge Tomes in 2018 election
Wadesville Republican Sen. Jim Tomes already has one challenger for the 2018 election.
Republican Brady Hall plans to formally announce his candidacy for for State Senate District 49 seat on April 22.
The Evansville native graduated from Reitz High School and the University of Evansville with a degree in business administration and finance. He now works for Wealthtrands Advisors, an independent firm, but said he is also heavily involved in the community.
He serves on the Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Garden Advisory Board, as treasurer for the Evansville-Area Trails Coalition and as the recruitment chair for the Young Professionals Alliance of the Southwest Indiana Chamber of Commerce, among other community boards and groups.
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Hall plans to focus on stopping the heroin epidemic and revamping the manufacturing base.
"Both are imperative to the future of Southern Indiana, and will be my top priorities as a state senator," Hall said in a statement. Already this session, lawmakers have pushed to end the opioid epidemic with around 20 pieces of legislation specifically targeting the overuse of the drug.
Tomes was first elected in 2010 and then again in 2014. This past year he filed to run for governor after former Gov. Mike Pence dropped out of the race, but ultimately Gov. Eric Holcomb was chosen to run for the Republicans.
The senator is known as the author of sometimes more controversial bills. This year he presented bills that would have allowed city officials to remove protesters by "any means necessary", those with epilepsy to use Cannabidiol and Statehouse employees to bring their firearms into the Statehouse.
In 2014, Tomes was unopposed in both the primary and general election.
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