Born in Evansville, Indiana, Messer is a graduate of Wabash College and Vanderbilt University Law School.

He represented Indiana's 57th District from 2003 to 2006, when he opted not to run for reelection and instead joined Ice Miller LLP's lobbying division.

When Mike Pence decided in 2012 to run for Governor of Indiana, Messer was elected to replace him, defeating Democratic nominee Brad Bookout.

[3][4] Messer attended Wabash College where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and majored in speech.

[14] On May 23, 2003, Messer was selected to succeed W. Roland Stine, who died in a traffic collision, in the Indiana House of Representatives for the 57th district.

[20][21] In 2006, Messer joined Ice Miller LLP's lobbying division as a partner of their public affairs group.

[30] On May 8, 2012, Messer defeated a crowded field of Republican candidates seeking the party's nomination, including Columbus real estate investor Travis Hankins, winning with 71% of the vote.

[39] In May 2018, Messer led a group of 18 House Republicans unofficially nominating President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize "for his efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and end the 68-year-old war between North and South Korea".

During his initial run for Congress, Messer told NPR member WFIU, "If you like Congressman Mike Pence, we’re going to have very similar philosophy in the way we approach the job.

[43] On May 9, 2013, Messer voted for the Full Faith and Credit Act, which prioritized spending if the debt limit is reached.

[45] In 2013, he signed a pledge sponsored by conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity promising to vote against any global warming legislation that would raise taxes.

[50] In July 2017, Messer authored legislation that would prevent undocumented immigrants from claiming the child tax credit.

[54][55] Messer told Indiana's Biz Voice Magazine, "Those who came here unlawfully will have to pay penalties and back fees.

"[56][57][54] Messer supported President Donald Trump's 2017 executive order to impose a temporary ban on entry to the U.S. to citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, describing it as a measure to "protect Americans from terrorist threats" and saying that "President Trump is right to prioritize American safety.

"[58] Messer supported a GI Bill reform package passed by the House on June 25, 2017[59] and signed into law by President Trump,[60] which included a provision he authored that would retroactively restore education benefits to veterans attending schools that close mid-semester, like ITT Technical Institute.

[69] Following Messer's election to Congress, he sold his house in Shelbyville, Indiana and moved to McLean, Virginia, a Washington, D.C.

[71] He faced criticism from his opponents in the 2018 Republican primary election for the United States Senate for moving his family to the Washington, D.C.

[72][73][74] Fishers, an Indianapolis suburb, has paid Jennifer Messer $580,000 since 2015 in legal consulting she primarily does from the family's Washington, D.C. area home.

[75] Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness said the arrangement helped usher in an era of "unprecedented" economic success in the growing suburb of about 85,000 people.