Hogsett promised this would be his “final term.” But in weighing another run, he may be looking to overcome scandals and project delays, experts say.

• Announcing his last reelection bid, Hogsett said he was seeking a “third and final term.”
• Hogsett’s comments about unfinished development projects and campaign fundraising signal he’s weighing another run.
• Political experts say Hogsett may want to secure more wins to overshadow scandals and development delays in his third term.

As Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett openly considers a fourth term, political experts say that Hogsett’s musing shows he may want to exit office on stronger footing after a third term dogged by scandals and development delays.

With three Democrats already running for Indianapolis mayor in 2027, Hogsett, 69, refused to rule out a reelection bid when reporters asked him about his plans on April 29.

“Any mayor who has put enough time into the development of our downtown would like to see it completed. So it’s one thing to shovel in a new development. It’s another thing to open the doors and welcome people in and see them enjoy it,” Hogsett told reporters with WISH-TV and WRTV.

“So that tugs at my heartstrings,” he added. “But ultimately, I’ll make a decision that’s based on whatever legacy I’d like to leave our city and how far along we are in promoting that legacy.”

Hogsett did not agree to IndyStar’s request for an interview April 30, made through campaign spokesperson Emily Gurwitz. In a statement, Gurwitz said the mayor remains focused on finishing out his third term by delivering investments in roads and public safety, as well as stewarding the Indianapolis Public Education Corp., the state-mandated entity tasked with reshaping public education in Indianapolis.

“Mayor Hogsett made it clear in his comments yesterday: with the 2027 election still more than a year and a half away, he is focused on the work immediately before him to continue shaping a safer and more vibrant Indianapolis,” Gurwitz said. “This includes developing the 2027 City-County budget, moving forward the critical work of the Indianapolis Public Education Corporation, delivering on important infrastructure investments with triple the funding in the strip-patching budget in 2026, and continuing to drive meaningful public safety improvements for neighborhoods across the city.”

When he announced his reelection bid in 2022, Hogsett said multiple times that he was seeking his “third and final term.” But the mayor’s recent comments and campaign finance reports have sparked curiosity about his intentions now. Hogsett raised more than half a million dollars in 2025 and ended the year with $1.2 million on hand.

Hogsett, who would be 76 at the end of a fourth term, told reporters that he will announce his decision toward the end of this year, ahead of the May 2027 city primary election.

If he enters, he’ll compete with fellow Democrats Indianapolis City-County Councilor Vop Osili, Indiana Sen. Andrea Hunley and Department of Public Works official David Bride.

Each mayoral candidate told IndyStar April 30 that the mayor’s remarks don’t affect their plans.

“I’m running for mayor. I’m talking with residents, visiting every corner of our city, and focused on affordability, housing, roads, and public safety,” Osili said in a written statement April 30. “Everyone has the right to decide their own political future, but the real question isn’t about one candidate, it’s about the future of our city.”

Will Hogsett move beyond ‘third and final term’ he promised?

The 2022 speech where Hogsett announced his bid for a third term — which came after he’d previously called for mayors to be limited to two four-year terms during his 2015 campaign — may shed light on some of the unfinished business he has in mind.

Addressing a crowd gathered inside City Market in November 2022, he mentioned several major redevelopment projects that he hoped to see finished in a third term, after the COVID-19 pandemic brought the “train of progress” to a “screeching halt.”

IndyGo serves 22,000 riders daily who rely on it for jobs and healthcare. The funding is voter-approved and separate from road budgets.

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The April 14 letter titled, “Indianapolis doesn’t prioritize pothole repairs” raises a fair frustration shared by many drivers, but it misrepresents priorities, ignores dedicated funding streams, cherry-picks numbers and overlooks how IndyGo delivers broad, measurable value that helps roads and the city overall.

The 2026 Indianapolis city budget directs unprecedented funding to roads. The Department of Public Works’ most recent capital plan included $218 million for transportation infrastructure in 2026, in addition to key investments in additional snow removal and road maintenance equipment. DPW’s transportation capital funding has nearly tripled since 2016. Since that time, the city has resurfaced 1,279 lane miles and strip-patched 1,169 more. 

The city is prioritizing basics; roads got a massive boost even with tighter revenues.

Opinion: Indy is building the transit system. Culture is the hard part.

The state funding formula has disadvantaged Indianapolis by using two-lane road mileage and ignoring urban complexity. But House Enrolled Act 1461 shifts to a lane-mile formula and provides $50 million extra annually to Marion County — and state law restricts those funds to construction and reconstruction of local streets.

There are several points aimed at IndyGo that are worth correcting and adding important context the public should understand about this critical city service.

The claim that IndyGo’s $432 million budget “could go a long way toward streets” is the most misleading. The 0.25% income tax was voter-approved in 2016 — with nearly 60% voting yes — specifically and exclusively for public transit. These locally raised dollars leverage up to a 400% federal match, multiplying their impact several times over and ensuring Indianapolis captures funding that would otherwise go elsewhere. Diverting them would break a voter promise.

The “less than 2% uses the bus” stat is a classic distortion. IndyGo’s 2025 ridership included 6.7 million trips, or nearly 22,000 riders Monday through Friday. Transit serves disproportionately low-income, senior, disabled and car-free residents who rely on it for jobs, healthcare and school. It isn’t a luxury — it’s mobility infrastructure.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WISH) — Purdue University has received a $20 million commitment from the Ricks Family Foundation to establish the Purdue Institute for Healthcare Systems Innovation at the Indianapolis campus.

The institute in the Mitch Daniels School of Business aims to improve health care efficiency and effectiveness, the university said in a news release issued Wednesday afternoon.

Dr. Christina Ricks and her husband, David A. Ricks, the chair and CEO of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co., are the primary leaders of the foundation.

James “Jim” Bullard, a dean for the Daniels School of Business, said in the release, “Considering the health care situation in the U.S. today, there is a clear need for rigorous, market-informed research that challenges conventional thinking and drives new solutions. This institute will allow Purdue to lead that work and make a lasting difference.”

As Purdue works to develop its relatively new Indianapolis campus, the university recently announced that plans for a 12-story apartment building on recently acquired canal property in Indianapolis are now on hold as the university develops its campus, Mirror Indy reported.

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