Larry Bucshon

Larry Dean Bucshon (boo-SHAWN; born May 31, 1962) is an American politician and physician who represented Indiana’s 8th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from January 3, 2011, to January 3, 2025. A member of the Republican Party, he served seven consecutive terms in Congress, during which he participated actively in the legislative process and represented the interests of his southwestern Indiana constituents during a significant period in American political history.

Bucshon was born in Taylorville, Illinois, on May 31, 1962, and raised in nearby Kincaid, Illinois. He grew up in a working-class family; his father, Ronald Bucshon, was a coal miner, a Navy serviceman, and a lifelong Democrat, while his mother, Barbara Bucshon, worked as a nurse. This background exposed him early to both organized labor and the health care profession, influences that would later shape his dual career as a physician and legislator.

Bucshon pursued higher education at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, from which he graduated before continuing on to medical training. He earned his medical degree from the University of Illinois Medical School at Chicago. Following medical school, he completed a residency in general surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where he served as chief resident in surgery. He remained at the Medical College of Wisconsin to complete a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery and also received clinical training at the Milwaukee Veterans Affairs Hospital. During this period, he enlisted in the United States Navy Reserve, in which he served for almost a decade, combining military service with advanced medical training.

After completing his surgical training, Bucshon specialized in cardiothoracic surgery and went on to perform hundreds of heart surgeries over the course of his medical career. From 1995 to 1998, he was in private medical practice in Wichita, Kansas. In 1998 he joined Ohio Valley HeartCare in Evansville, Indiana, where he eventually served as the group’s president. At St. Mary’s Hospital in Evansville, he was named St. Mary’s Medical Staff Physician of the Year in 2007, and he served as Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Medical Director of the open heart recovery intensive care unit. His leadership roles in clinical practice and hospital administration established his public profile in southern Indiana prior to his entry into electoral politics.

Bucshon entered congressional politics in 2010, running as the Republican candidate for Indiana’s 8th congressional district seat vacated by Democratic Representative Brad Ellsworth, who was running for the U.S. Senate. In the Republican primary, Bucshon defeated Kristi Risk, receiving 16,262 votes to her 14,273. In the general election he faced Democratic nominee and state representative Trent Van Haaften. Bucshon received support from the National Republican Congressional Committee and was designated a GOP “Young Gun.” He was endorsed by several conservative interest groups and business organizations, including the Indiana Chamber of Commerce Congressional Action Committee, the United States Chamber of Commerce, National Right to Life Committee, Indiana Right to Life, the Indiana Manufacturers Association, and Campaign for Working Families. Prominent Republican officials such as House Minority Leader John Boehner, U.S. Representative Mike Pence, and Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels also endorsed him. His campaign drew significant financial backing from medical groups. In November 2010, Bucshon defeated Van Haaften by 21 percentage points, winning all 18 counties in the district and securing his first term in Congress.

During his tenure in the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2025, Bucshon was repeatedly returned to office by the voters of Indiana’s 8th district. He again faced Kristi Risk in a subsequent Republican primary and defeated her a second time before going on to win the general election against former state representative Dave Crooks. In 2014, the conservative advocacy organization Club for Growth announced that it would target Bucshon for defeat in the Republican primary, but he was reelected, underscoring his continued support within the district and the party. Over the course of his seven terms, he was associated with the Republican Main Street Partnership, reflecting his alignment with a bloc of generally pro-business, center-right House Republicans.

Bucshon’s legislative record reflected his background in medicine and his conservative fiscal and social views. He consistently supported lower corporate and individual tax rates and advocated for simplifying both the personal and corporate tax codes. He called for freezing federal spending at 2008 levels, extending the Bush-era tax cuts for all income brackets, and conducting comprehensive reviews of government programs to identify areas for spending reductions. He acknowledged that Republicans shared responsibility for increased federal spending in the decade before his election. In 2011, he voted for the Budget Control Act, which created the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, and he supported a balanced budget amendment that would require the federal government to spend no more than it collects in revenue each year. In 2017, he voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, predicting that it would produce “dramatic” economic growth sufficient to “fully cover the amount of revenue decreases” from the tax cuts and asserting that the reforms would allow many Americans to file their taxes on a postcard.

Health policy was a central focus of Bucshon’s congressional service. He supported the repeal of the Affordable Health Care for America Act (commonly known as the Affordable Care Act or “Obamacare”) and favored alternative reforms aimed at expanding and restructuring high-risk insurance pools, strengthening federal reinsurance programs, and lowering overall health care costs. He advocated for increased transparency in medical pricing and called for cuts in certain health care programs as part of broader efforts to restrain federal spending. His positions in this area were informed by his long professional experience as a cardiothoracic surgeon and medical administrator.

Bucshon was also an outspoken supporter of gun rights and social conservatism. Describing himself as “an ardent supporter of protecting the Second Amendment,” he backed legislation to loosen restrictions on gun ownership. He co-sponsored the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011, which would have required all states to recognize concealed carry permits issued by other states, regardless of differing state gun laws. For his record on firearms issues, he received “A” ratings from both the National Rifle Association of America and Gun Owners of America. On abortion, Bucshon opposed the procedure in most circumstances, supporting legislation designed to provide a legal framework for challenging Roe v. Wade. He has stated that he believes abortion should remain legal when the mother’s life is in danger. He co-sponsored the Life at Conception Act, which declares that human life begins at the moment of conception and is entitled to legal protection from that point forward. Reflecting his interest in abortion-related policy and oversight, in October 2015 he was appointed to serve on the House Select Investigative Panel on Planned Parenthood. In environmental and energy policy, he aligned with conservative positions, and in 2010 he signed a pledge sponsored by Americans for Prosperity promising to vote against any global warming legislation that would raise taxes.

After serving seven terms, Bucshon concluded his service in the House of Representatives in 2025. His career in Congress spanned a period marked by intense national debate over health care reform, federal spending, taxation, and social policy, during which he consistently advanced positions rooted in fiscal conservatism, social conservatism, and his professional experience as a physician.