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BOONE COUNTY, Indiana — Three candidates running for three different elected positions are speaking out about the racist text messages they recently received while campaigning.
With the May primary just around the corner, Demetrice Hicks, who’s running for a seat in the Indiana State Senate as a Democrat, is trying to reach as many potential voters as he can.
Sometimes that’s by knocking on doors in Senate District 29. Other times, it’s by sending a mass text message to thousands of voters, inviting them to a community forum.
“If we’re asking for your vote, we should be accessible to you as a candidate,” Hicks said.
But he wasn’t expecting one response he received recently to a text he sent out about a community forum he was hosting with Democratic congressional candidate Joe Mackey and Monica White, who’s running for Boone County Clerk.
“A particular response was definitely hateful. Called us, Monica and myself, dumb a** (n-words),” Hicks said.
Hicks says the campaign traced the message back to the person responsible but did not confront the person about their message.
“If this is what you’re taking time out of your day to send such a racist and intense text message back, I don’t know what type of response I’ll get,” Hicks said.
“There’s still racism in politics in 2026, and we have to do our part to push that back,” Hicks said.
“They need to know that certain behaviors are simply not acceptable, so one is too many,” said White, who was also the target of the message. White is running for Boone County Clerk. “I have a decade and a half in human resources and strategic planning. I want to be weighted on that, not my skin tone.”
Hicks and White aren’t the only Black candidates running for office to receive a recent text like this.
“Shut up, you (n-word).” That’s the text Claudette Peterson received to a recent text her campaign sent out to voters. Peterson is running for Pike Township Trustee.
“I was somewhat surprised. Pike has become a very diverse community overall,” Peterson said. “I think as a community, it needs to be brought forth and talked about.”
“It’s just very unfortunate that we’re living in a time where this is still happening, and what we can’t do is allow that negativity to stop us from getting out there, reaching out to people and trying to ask people for their support,” said Rep. Cherrish Pryor (District 94.)
Pryor has endorsed Hicks in the primary. Pryor says she’s never experienced being called a racial slur while campaigning or knocking on doors.
“I have always made sure that I’ve had someone with me,” Pryor said. “We can’t let fear control our lives, and we can’t allow that negativity to stop us from getting in front of people knocking on doors because quite frankly, the vast majority of Hoosiers and people don’t feel like that.”
Hicks, White and Peterson agree, but they say they felt it was important to speak out against what happened.
“I think it’s going to take the larger community to call those bad actors out to shame that type of behavior because there’s no place for hatred or bigotry,” Hicks said.
“All we’re trying to do is help people,” Peterson said.
“It is just based upon old, outdated belief systems that don’t have any place in Indiana,” White said.
And what happened, they say, only makes them more committed to their races.
“It just motivates me to keep going,” Hicks said. “I think the majority of the community would not support or approve of those type of racial attacks or just demeaning comments at all.”
The Greater Indianapolis NAACP issued a statement about the texts:
“The NAACP remains unwavering in its commitment to the dignity and respect of the Black community. At its 98th National Convention in 2007, the organization held a symbolic burial of the n-word, declaring it incompatible with a just and civil society. Since that time, this position has remained firm. The NAACP does not engage with or support entities that profit from its use, maintains zero tolerance for its use by public officials and law enforcement and continues to advocate for its recognition as hate speech across all platforms. The stance is clear. The word was buried in 2007 and it has no place in our communities or in the future we are building.”