Scott Baldwin is an American politician, businessman, and law enforcement officer. A Republican, he represents District 20 in the

Indiana Senate The Indiana State Senate is the upper house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The Senate is composed of 50 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. Senators serve four-year ...

. He assumed office on November 18, 2020, succeeding

Victoria Spartz Victoria Spartz (, born October 6, 1978) is a Ukrainian-born American politician and businesswoman who is the U.S. representative for . Spartz is a member of the Republican Party, but declined receiving any Republican committee assignments. Sh ...

Early life and education

Baldwin is a native of Anderson, Indiana, and graduated from Madison Heights High School. After graduating from high school, Baldwin enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

Career

In addition to serving in the Marine Corps, Baldwin worked as an officer in the

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) is the law enforcement agency for the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Its operational jurisdiction covers all of the consolidated city of Indianapolis and Marion County exce ...

and as a corrections officer for the

Indiana Department of Correction The Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) operates state prisons in Indiana. It has its headquarters in Indianapolis. Population Summary Per thOffender Population Statistical Report provided by the Indiana Department of Correction Division ...

. Baldwin also served in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

. Since retiring from law enforcement, Baldwin has operated IT, real estate, construction, and

private security companies A private security company is a business entity which provides armed or unarmed security services and expertise to clients in the private or public sectors. Overview Private security companies are defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic ...

. Baldwin has served on the Riverview Hospital Board of Trustees, the Hamilton County (Indiana) Health Board, the Hamilton County (Indiana) Redevelopment Commission, the Food Rescue Board of Directors, and the Crime Stoppers Board of Directors. In 2011 and 2012, Baldwin embedded with USMC infantry unit (CONUS & OCONUS) as a law enforcement subject matter expert to advise commanders and staff on the collection, integration, analysis, and dissemination of information pertaining to criminal terrorist networks and the local dynamics of criminal radicalization. He assisted Marine Corps personnel in identification and apprehension of high value, anti-coalition elements and narco-terrorists, forensic support, and case preparation. On January 13, 2020, before incumbent senator

declared her candidacy for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

on February 5, 2020, Baldwin entered the race to challenge her. He defeated John Gaylor in the Republican primary and Democratic nominee Ronald Saunders III in the November general election. In early 2021, Baldwin sponsored Indiana House Bill 1314, which allows title companies and individuals to invalidate discriminatory covenants such as those preventing certain races from owning real estate. In late 2021, Baldwin was listed as an "annual member" of the far-right anti-government militia

Oath Keepers Oath Keepers is an American far-right anti-government militia whose leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the government of the United States, including the transfer of presidential power as prescribed by the United States co ...

in a database leak. Baldwin responded by saying that he had never been a member, but did make a $30 donation 11 years prior when the organization purported to be supportive of veterans and the 2nd Amendment. In early 2022, Baldwin made a controversial statement, "I’m not discrediting Nazism, fascism, Marxism, or any of those ‘isms’ out there...I have no problem with the education system providing instruction on the existence of those 'isms.' I believe that we’ve gone too far when we take a position on those ‘isms’… We need to be impartial... I’m not sure it’s right for us to determine how that child should think and that’s where I’m trying to provide the guardrails," Baldwin later backtracked his statements, saying that "Nazism, Marxism and fascism are a stain on our world history and should be regarded as such, and I failed to adequately articulate that in my comments during the meeting. I believe that kids should learn about these horrible events in history so that we don't experience them again in humanity."

Personal life

Baldwin and his wife, Jaime, have three children. They live in

Noblesville, Indiana Noblesville is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Indiana, Hamilton County, Indiana, United States, a part of the north Indianapolis suburbs along the White River (Indiana), White River. The population was 69,604 at the 2020 Unite ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, Scott Republican Party Indiana state senators 21st-century members of the Indiana General Assembly Businesspeople from Indiana Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Law enforcement officials from Indiana People from Noblesville, Indiana American municipal police officers 21st-century American businesspeople