District 5 hasn’t been represented by a Democrat for more than 30 years. It’s been speculated that candidate Deborah Pickett will run again, pitting her against Franklin in the same primary. Current Republican representative Victoria Spartz hasn’t stated any intention not to run for reelection.

His aims to have a populist appeal, and he intentionally doesn’t shy away from his views because he sees his platform as more popular than pundits or party leaders have led on. He doesn’t consider his platform to be radical for that reason, because as he sees it if the majority of Americans support Medicare For All, then he considers himself to be a centrist in that regard. He was asked to speak at the Indianapolis Women’s March on March 8th, and his speech was overwhelmingly well received. Other than the Post-Democrat he was interviewed by two other outlets at the same event, and spends his time networking with political groups.