Marion County voters reelected incumbent Democrat Ryan Mears as the county’s lead prosecutor Nov. 8.
Republican Cyndi Carrasco conceded the race that night. As of 10:30 p.m., with 90% of the vote counted, Mears lead 59% to 41%.
Mears’ tenure as prosecutor includes several criminal justice reforms, such as not charging people for simple possession of marijuana cases and hosting workshops to help individuals get their driver’s licenses reinstated. He also pledged to not prosecute pregnant people seeking abortions and the doctors that provide them.
In his acceptance speech he said Marion County is confronted with many issues, and he pushed back on some of his challenger’s campaign messages.
“Those are really complex problems, and I’m just really grateful to all the people of Marion County today who didn’t give into some of the negative things that were out there,” he said. “You know it’s easy to demonize someone, but it’s hard to come up with solutions. And what Marion County said today is we want solutions.”
Challenger Carrasco conceded the race after a hard-fought campaign. She is an attorney at Riley Bennett Egloff LLP and a former Indiana inspector general. She also had the endorsement of the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police.
Mears did not seek the endorsement, citing that the FOP and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department should be independent from one another. In a WFYI candidate survey last month he said, “The community has made clear that they want an independent prosecutor who will administer justice fairly and hold everyone accountable, including law enforcement.”
On election night, Mears said a top priority remains reducing violent crime. He said his team will continue working to build relationships in the community.
“There are far too many people who know what happened, as it relates to violent crime, but won’t come forward with that information. And we have to do a better job of building trust,” Mears said.
Mears has worked at the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office since 2006. He was a deputy prosecutor when he was appointed Marion County prosecutor in 2019, after Terry Curry stepped down due to health problems.
