2026 will be an important year for building back Democratic majorities. From 2010 to 2014, Republicans swept back to power in state legislatures across the country. In many states in America’s heartland, the Democratic Party has been decimated. This year, younger candidates are stepping up to rebuild progressive bases in states that have essentially 1-party rule.

Gabrianna Gratzol (she/they) is a queer Gen-Z factory worker running for office in north-central Indiana. This area has a long history of organized labor, and Gabrianna has seen the state weaken the rights of the working class over her lifetime — while pregnant with her son, she was fired from her job after disclosing her pregnancy. This Dungeons and Dragons nerd is most passionate about quality, accessible, and equitable education, saying “I believe that one of the factors that leaves people vulnerable to the dehumanizing, callous ideologies of the right is the disenfranchisement that our current failing systems have trapped us in. I believe (and evidence supports) the idea that knowledge and community is the best inoculation against hate.”

Courtesy of Gabrianna for State Senate 11

Where are you based?
I was born and raised in the city of Elkhart in North Central Indiana.

What is your position/what position are you running for?
I’m a factory worker with a background in behavioral health and I’m running for State Senate in District 11.

How would you briefly summarize your platform?
I want to keep our kids and neighbors well fed, well read, with a roof over their head.

What inspired you to run?
In the aftermath of the 2024 election results, I found myself and those I care about panicking about what was coming next. When I opened TikTok to hear Nick Fuentes voice taunting women with “Your body, our choice…” something in me snapped. What started as crippling fear and dread formed into an unshakable resolve that determined in that moment that I will never hand over my rights to the likes of those people. Mourning could wait. It was time for action.

I looked around my community and in our local Democratic Party for a direction. I went to meetings and heard people ask what they could do to try to fight this regime. They were looking for leadership and action, not just civics lectures. I stepped up and began organizing protests with the intention of bringing everyone to one spot to create networks of support and give people a chance to step into leadership. Out of those protests sprung mutual aid groups, an Indivisible chapter, and several leaders who were brave enough to step up and speak, many of which are now candidates running their own races. Seeing how much can come from one person stepping up helped me overcome my fear and imposter syndrome and launched me into this race.

What change are you hoping to bring to your district and country?
The biggest thing I want to bring is accountability and pressure. We deserve leadership that’s willing to fight to improve the system that’s failing us rather than profiting off of the exploitation of our labor and tax dollars. It’s imperative at this moment that we use every tool at our disposal and not just hold the line. We need to push back. They’ve already taken too much ground and we can’t let them seize another inch.

What do you consider to be your major accomplishments so far?
I’ve never run for elected office before, but I’ve already been able to make an impact with my work in activism just in the last year. The incumbent has changed her position on two separate occasions just since I’ve announced my run. Once was when our state received direct pressure from the White House to redistrict our congressional maps to favor republicans in the midterms. She initially voted in favor of the deeply unpopular gerrymandering attempt but after our campaign highlighted how she voted, many people in my district have theorized that she only switched her position because she has a strong opponent. The bill ended up failing and she voted against it. In the second instance, she authored a bill to change a local school board from being elected to appointed by a board of individuals that represented the special interests of her top donors and her own career field. Our community organized in strong opposition to the bill and used the strength of our campaign as pressure to convince her to withdraw the bill, which she did at its first hearing. Both of these are examples of how you don’t have to wait to get into office to fight for your community and they motivate me to keep fighting.

What do you feel are the most important issues right now, why, and how do you plan to tackle them?
Combating the violence and lawlessness of ICE is one of the highest priorities in the nation right now and what we’re seeing is that it’s coming down to state and local governments to protect their citizens. We need strong opposition and fighters to stand up and defend our neighbors. We need to protect “safe spaces” such as schools, churches, and daycares and refuse cooperation with any ICE activity being conducted under the agency as it now exists. In my district, public education has come under direct attack and instead of attempting to solve these problems, they’re selling our children’s education to the highest bidder while receiving massive campaign contributions from supporters of charter schools. We need to undo past legislation that forces the sale of underutilized buildings to charter schools for a dollar. Childcare is another area that is directly affecting families, forcing parents to make the decision to leave the workforce and stay home until their children can start school. What we’re seeing is women being disproportionately disenfranchised as the typically lower paid earner and having their careers regarded as more “expendable” than their male partners. We need universal childcare and early childhood education and we need it now.

America is extremely divided these days. How would you hope to bridge that divide with your constituents to better unite Americans?
In my experience, when people’s needs aren’t being met, they look for someone to blame. Those in power have historically done an excellent job of scapegoating blame. If we can actually improve people's lives with legislation and reform, we can start to move people out of living in fear and take them out of survival mode and bring them back to a place of reason and nuance. In the meantime, listening with empathy, validating what you can, and digging into the root of the belief that you disagree on has been incredibly effective for me. If you can demonstrate that you care about the needs of the other person and make it clear that you’re not fighting against them, you’re fighting to find common ground, even if you don’t convince them of your point, you build trust that can really foster positive change. We have to remember that the loudest, most vitriolic hate mongers on the right don’t represent the majority of Americans. I try to keep in mind that they are being taught to fear us. Treating them with compassion and dignity goes a long way toward contradicting that rhetoric.

How do you see your unique identity and background to be an asset to you in office?
Our State Senate is made up of people who employ other people. What we’re missing are the voices and perspectives of employees. People who aren’t protected by wealth, status, and privilege legislate as if they have to live with the consequences of their votes, because at the end of the day, they do. When social programs are cut, my friends lose their food, their childcare, and their services for their autistic kids. When LGBTQIA rights are attacked, my friends and family start fearing that their marriages and safety will be at risk.

My own personal experiences have also taught me about our systems from the inside. With my background in behavioral health, I’ve worked with adolescents in mental health treatment who ended up there through either DCS or the criminal justice system. I’ve witnessed firsthand where our systems are failing and seen how people can find success in spite of them. In working with kiddos with autism I’ve seen the support needs that could be better addressed by our state to give families a better chance at managing the challenges they face. I myself have applied for unemployment when I was fired after disclosing my high risk pregnancy to my employer. I listened as the investigator with the EEOC informed me that unfortunately Indiana is an “at will” employment state so there was nothing they could do to help me. I applied for pregnancy medicaid while unemployed and was denied when my husband's income was less than $100 over the threshold. These experiences have given me a purpose. I will do everything in my power to ensure that the next person that finds themselves in that position doesn’t have to go through what I went through.

What is your motto in life?
My motto is to lead by example. While venting can be productive, I get tired of talking about problems when it’s not followed up by action to fix it. Also, never stop questioning your own beliefs. As you take in more information and experiences, you should be shaping your beliefs rather than just having your rigid beliefs shape you.

Where can we find out more about you?
You can check out my website at www.gabriannagratzolforsenatedistrict11.org and you can follow our campaign on Facebook at Gabrianna for State Senate 11

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Our Favorite Candidates in 2026 - Gabrianna Gratzol, Indiana State Senate District 11