Hankins is running to represent the Indiana cities of Fishers, Lawrence and Geist. Photo by Jonathan Wang.

ELLA HALL | STAFF REPORTER | erhall@butler.edu

Indiana State Senate candidate Travis Hankins spoke at Chatham Tap on Tuesday, Feb. 17 for Butler’s Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter.

The event was organized by TPUSA campus leadership after Hankins reached out to chapter president Mia Tedesco ahead of his campaign launch on Feb. 18. Hankins is the first speaker the group has hosted. 

TPUSA is an organization founded by Charlie Kirk that advocates for conservative politics through student-led chapters at high schools and colleges across America. Butler’s TPUSA chapter was recognized as an official campus organization last spring. 

Hankins spoke to introduce himself, the values and the major issues he is running his campaign on. He identified himself as a “Christian first”, and highlighted his three main priorities of protecting life, capping property taxes, stopping illegal immigration and bringing high-paying jobs to Hoosier citizens.

“What I want you to know about me is I’m a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, but I’m not a politician,” Hankins said. “We don’t need politicians anymore. We need leaders, conservative leaders who have to stand up for the people and simply do what’s right every single time. I’m running to unite the Republican Party. That’s what we need. We need a leader that would unite the Republican Party under our values, boost our values of faith, family and freedom, to beat the Democrats in 2026 and make sure that our District 31 never turns blue.”

Mia Tedesco, a sophomore political science major and Butler’s TPUSA president, spoke on why she feels it is important to invite political speakers like Hankins into a setting of dialogue.

“[Hankins] is more right-sided, but just in general, I believe that it is a great opportunity for people to learn more, no matter what,” Tedesco said. “I think it’s educational for both sides, but also, since we are a more liberal school and [TPUSA is] more likely to have a different idea point. It would be engagement for anyone who felt more right-sided, [and] they would feel more represented, but also [so] anyone that wanted to challenge that [idea would have] the opportunity and space too.”

James Yock, a sophomore criminology and critical communications double major and Butler’s TPUSA vice president, supported the idea of having TPUSA as a safe space to discuss politics.

“I think that when people stop talking, people get violent and resentment builds,” Yock said. “[When] resentment builds towards others, you start to assume that everyone is on the far end of the other spectrum than you, when there’s a lot more moderates than some people think.”

Some aspects of Hankins’ speech that Yock was drawn to were Hankins’ fight for term limits in politics and his belief that the SAVE America Act should not be nationalized, but stay at the state level. 

The SAVE America Act proposes an attempt to improve election security by requiring proof of U.S. citizenship in the voting registration process.

Immigration was one of the major topics touched on at the event. Hankins emphasized a distinction between legal and illegal immigrants, citing his wife’s experience becoming an American citizen after their marriage in the Philippines. 

“What took my wife five years to do only takes illegal immigrants five seconds to do by simply walking across our border illegally,” Hankins said. “It’s wrong. It must stop now. My wife’s lifelong dream was to come to America, but she took it very seriously, and she worked hard for it. She had to study our U.S. history. She had to learn about our republican form of government. She had to master English. She had to actually pass a citizenship test and take an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution before she was sworn in as a U.S. citizen. I believe that the government should reward people like my wife who come here the right way and abide by the law, not reward people who break it.”

Hankins also spoke on the recent expansion of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) initiatives, and claimed that the solution to the current issue is to bring ICE presence to American jails.

“The only reason why this is happening is because left wing politicians and authorities are disobeying the law and they are not cooperating with the federal government,” Hankins said. “The solution is simple: let ICE in our jails. You see, this is how it works. When our local police department arrests someone, and during the process, they realize that this person [is] in this country illegally, they should immediately call ICE and allow them to come to the jail to pick up the illegal criminal and politely escort them back to their home country where they belong. Instead, we have liberal cities that are actually releasing these illegal criminals the very next day back onto our streets, and it’s making our communities very unsafe, and that’s how you become a sanctuary for illegal immigrants. And I will fight with all my heart to ensure that Indiana never becomes a sanctuary state like Minnesota.”

Hankins denies the claim that ICE agents target based on racial profiling, and emphasized that enforcement efforts should be focused on individuals with criminal records in jails.

“A good friend of ours, for some reason, listens to the news, and my wife is telling them [to] stop listening to the news [because it’s] just fear mongering,” Hankins said. “You don’t have to be fearful to go out to the grocery store, but on top of that, you already have a U.S. visa. They’re not pulling over anybody who looks like they’re not from America; that’s illegal. That’s wrong. They don’t do that; ICE is specifically targeting criminals.”

Hankins encouraged students to stay informed through local news organizations and to continue being active in politics.

“I really want more college students to be active, just in the political [scene] in general, but I also want to give them [an] opportunity to participate and serve in campaigns and get good experience,” Hankins said. “I’ve seen how hungry I believe young people are to get involved.”

The event ended with a Q&A session inviting attendees to pose questions to Hankins, who then offered to set up a carpool to his campaign kickoff in Fishers on Feb. 18.