Meet Tim Cotton, a Libertarian for Indiana State Senate

Tim Cotton is running as a Libertarian candidate for the Indiana State Senate. His district, District 10, includes most of South Bend, Indiana and has traditionally been controlled by the Democratic Party. As a third-party and GoodParty.org Certified candidate, Cotton aims to provide voters with a meaningful alternative.

GoodParty.org spoke with Cotton about his decision to run for office and the positive change he hopes to bring to St. Joseph County, Indiana.

Tim Cotton: Veteran, Engineer, and Libertarian Candidate

Cotton grew up in Warsaw, Indiana. He said that growing up in a close-knit community instilled in him the importance of service and giving back.

“I grew up farming in a small, agricultural community in Kosciusko County in Indiana. Warsaw has grown into the orthopedic capital of the world at this point, but at the time when I was growing up, we were still a pretty small, close-knit community,” Cotton said. “My family really grew up with the servant mentality. It’s not just looking out for yourself, but it’s looking out for your neighbor. It’s not telling your neighbor what to do, but when your neighbor needs help, you help out where you can.”

Growing up with this orientation toward service led Cotton to follow his older brother into the Navy’s nuclear program, and later to look for more ways to serve his community and country.

Cotton described his training and experience in the Navy as an essential part of his character formation.

“By far and above, the nuclear program for the Navy is one of the most difficult and arduous engineering schools in the world. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything,” Cotton said.

Going through the Navy’s advanced training program has prepared Cotton to face new challenges going forward.

“I’m not about to back down from a challenge, and the bigger the mountain is in front of me, the more I have the tendency of going, ‘Okay, how can I pick this apart and start scaling this?’” Cotton said. “I think that type of mentality really led me into politics and looking at being a third-party candidate, because it’s an uphill climb a lot of times.”

Cotton said he has always been interested in politics. He first started paying closer attention to politics in fifth grade, when his older brother was deployed during Desert Shield.

The moment when he decided to run for office came later on, when he realized he had many of the skills needed to resolve the issues facing St. Joseph County. Since coming home from deployment, Cotton has worked as a quality engineer and continued to build on his engineering background.

Cotton described drawing on his analytical skills as he investigated his family’s rising tax burden. As he discussed the issue with his wife, it became clearer that he needed to step up and become a voice for the reforms that families like his needed.

“I need to fight this, and I can’t fight this doing what I’m doing right now. I’m using my quality engineering background and going, ‘Okay, I know where the problem is occurring, but I do not have the power to effect any change where I’m at. How do I do that?’ I have to get involved in politics,” Cotton said. “Whether it’s as an outsider or an insider, I have to get involved at some point and go, ‘This is what I need to do in order to effect change.’”

From there, Cotton began exploring his options for running for office. 

Running for Office as a Third-Party Candidate

During the planning stage of his campaign, Cotton decided he did not want to campaign with either the Republican Party or Democratic Party — partly because he had seen so many past candidates advocate for change and then fail to follow through on their promises. He also felt disillusioned with the increasing political polarization he observed in major-party politics.

“What really started the political movement was disillusionment with what our current party politics looks like and how it’s devolved to a red team versus a blue team,” Cotton said.

He got involved with the Libertarian Party because he wanted to stand on his principles, not on a party line.

“How close to your principles are you willing to live? If something in your mind is wrong to you, or if something is right, how willing are you to stand for your beliefs? For myself, there are a lot of principles that I’m not going to negotiate on,” Cotton said. 

“You have to take a look at the party politics. It’s red versus blue. A lot of the time, it’s not even conservative versus liberal; it’s red versus blue. [Each party says,] ‘What is the other team doing? Okay, we’re going to switch what side of the argument we’re on now, and we’re now going to argue it from this aspect.’”

Cotton is now the St. Joseph County Chair of the Libertarian Party. He played a major role in reestablishing the county’s chapter of the Libertarian Party, and was asked by the party’s gubernatorial candidate, Donald Rainwater, to run for the Indiana State Senate.

Cotton said he admired how Rainwater’s 2020 campaign for governor shifted the conversation that Indiana’s major parties were having about key issues.

“Even without winning, he changed the voice and he changed the narrative of what the next election was talking about,” Cotton said.

Now, Cotton is preparing for his own election on November 5, 2024. He hopes to once again change the narrative in state politics.

“I want to build the flagship and the role model for people to look at politics and say, ‘This doesn’t have to be a dirty word. This can return to being a noble profession and not just politics as usual,” Cotton said.

A Meaningful Alternative for South Bend Voters

As a third-party candidate, Cotton is offering voters an alternative to the incumbent candidate for District 10, Democratic candidate David Niezgodski. 

Niezgodski has been District 10’s state senator since 2016, when he ran unopposed during the Democratic primary and went on to compete against Libertarian candidate Gerard Arthus in the general election, which Niezgodski won. In 2020, Niezgodski was reelected in an uncontested election. 

Prior to serving as state senator, Niezgodski was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 2006 to 2016. Going back even further, he has served in various local government positions, including the St. Joseph County Council, the Portage Township Advisory Board, and as county commissioner.

After so many years spent in office, South Bend voters may be ready for a new face in local politics.

Over the course of the incumbent’s tenure in the Indiana General Assembly, Niezgodski has raised a total of $1,396,540. Of those campaign contributions, $886,103 has come from labor unions and their employees, many of which belong to the same industry as the incumbent’s family business, Niezgodski Plumbing, Inc.

Also of note are the allegations of sexual harassment that have been made against Niezgodski since 2017. Though Niezgodski’s company settled with his accuser, a former employee of Niezgodski Plumbing, for $8,000, the Indiana Democratic Party has declined to disclose documentation to the public.

In contrast, Cotton has pledged to raise the majority of his campaign funds from individual donors, not labor unions, corporations, or special interests. As a GoodParty.org Certified candidate, Cotton has pledged to run an independent, people-powered, and anti-corruption campaign. This means he will prioritize residents’ interests, not those of big-money donors. Once elected, he will also support anti-corruption policies and promote greater transparency and accountability in government.

Prioritizing Local Issues in St. Joseph County

As a candidate for the Indiana State Senate, Cotton’s policy priorities include issues that directly affect voters in South Bend and St. Joseph County.

Cotton feels passionately about stimulating job growth and encouraging more businesses to move to St. Joseph County by lowering property taxes and alleviating residents’ high tax burden. He is also offering the services of the St. Joseph County Libertarian Party to any resident who would like assistance appealing their annual property taxes.

Education and school choice are other core pillars of Cotton’s campaign.

As a father with experience homeschooling his children, Cotton supports Hoosiers’ tax money following each student wherever their family elects for them to receive an education. Under the current system, a percentage of the tax money set aside for education remains with each student’s original school district, regardless of whether that student actually attends the public schools in that district or not.

Cotton also highlighted land stewardship as a priority for his time in office.

“I have a huge love for nature and proper stewardship of the land,” Cotton said. “A lot of people assume that if you’re conservative, you’re pro-business and anti-environment. I find that to be the opposite of the truth. With me being conservative and growing up on a farm, I have a wealth of knowledge as far as how we can properly steward the land, encourage growth on the land, and encourage beauty.

“Northern Indiana is one of the biggest agricultural powerhouses that you will find anywhere in the world. We focus on soybeans, corn, peppermint, and so many crops that are here in the area.”

With the recent news of Amazon Web Services planning to spend $11 billion to build a new data center campus near South Bend, Cotton stressed the importance of allocating resources such as land strategically.

“When I see how we manage the land around us, how we manage industry, how we’re managing industrial and residential areas, and how we’re looking at alternative energy sources, we have to be systematic and smart about how we’re doing it. You don’t sell a bunch of gold so you can purchase lead,” Cotton said.

Voters can learn more about Cotton’s full list of policy priorities by visiting his campaign website.

Become Part of the Independent Movement

A significant part of Cotton’s decision to break away from the two-party system came from his disillusionment with the major parties’ broken promises.

He said he would encourage more voters to take a closer look at the Republican and Democratic parties and find a political home that more truly represents them.

“Start paying attention. Start following the money and figuring out what these people are saying and what they are doing. If that party isn’t doing something you believe in, and is doing something that goes against your ethical and moral standards, you need to be standing in opposition,” Cotton said. “Are they doing what they say they are doing and what you are comfortable believing and supporting? If not, start looking at what you can do. Can you get involved? Can you look at being an independent? Can you look at being a third-party member, whether it’s with the Green Party, Forward Party, Redemption Party, or Libertarian Party?”

Cotton encouraged others not to turn away from politics when they become disillusioned.

“When you’re starting to get disillusioned, that’s the time to get more involved,” he said. “You keep reading. You keep paying attention to what’s going on in the news. You start going to the town hall meetings. You start going to the city council meetings.”

However voters choose to get involved, Cotton emphasized the importance of the option that independent and third-party candidates provide.

“Having that third option allows people to quit trying to choose the lesser of two evils. If you have to hold your nose for who you’re voting for, whether you throw the lever on the left or the lever on the right, you really don’t have an option,” he said.

How You Can Get Involved

Ready to get involved and make a difference as part of the independent movement?

You can learn more about Cotton’s campaign for the Indiana State Senate by visiting his campaign website. You can also learn more about the Libertarian Party of Indiana here.

Want to volunteer? Join GoodParty.org’s community of independent volunteers to support Cotton and other third-party candidates across the country. You’ll find opportunities to volunteer both remotely and in person, as well as opportunities for a wide range of skill sets and interests.

You can also make a difference by running for local office in your community — or encouraging someone you trust to run for office to represent you. 

GoodParty.org offers free campaign tools and resources for independent, non-partisan, and third-party candidates across the United States, so you’ll have a support system working with you from start to finish. Join the hundreds of candidates like Cotton who are using GoodParty.org’s free tools to make a positive impact in their communities.

“GoodParty.org allowed me to get a jumpstart, even ahead of the Libertarian Party,” Cotton said. “GoodParty.org has really allowed me to take what little I have in campaign funds and be able to go, ‘Okay, here’s how I can manage this.’”

Get started today by booking a free consultation about launching your campaign.