Our Next Governor of Indiana?

With the Indiana Primaries finished, the Indiana Gubernatorial Election heats up

Jackson Lythgoe, Content Creator

May 16, 2024

The Indiana State Capitol Building houses both houses of the Indiana Legislature and the Office of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor.

Here

The Indiana Gubernatorial Election is now in full swing with the Indiana Primaries occurring on May 7. This election has already become the most contested gubernatorial election in Indiana since 2016, as the outgoing Governor Eric Holcomb cannot run for a third term and was a popular figure within the state’s Republican Party, despite his controversial COVID policies. Among Republicans and conservative independents, Holcomb had an approval rating of 69%, but without him, the Republican Party saw one of the most contested primaries.

Six Republicans ran in the primaries, Senator Mike Braun, Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch, Brad Chambers, Eric Doden, Jamie Reitenour and Curtis Hill. Braun won the primary election with 39.5% of the vote, Crouch won 21.9%, Chambers 17.3%, Doden 12.1%, and Reitenour and Hill 4.9% and 4.1% respectively.

The Democratic Primary saw Jennifer McCormick run uncontested and endorsed by the Democratic Primary, she won 163,000 votes in the primary. The Libertarian convention saw Donald Rainwater elected to represent the party on March 2.

Indiana has been a safe Republican governorship for several election cycles, and this election is set to be no different. Indiana has not elected a Democratic Governor since 2000. The latest poll shows Braun winning the election with 46% of the vote against McCormick with 35%, an 11-point lead, and with four pollers predicting the state as safe for Republicans.

With 19% of voters still undecided, and several months still remaining until election day, the slightest chance for an upset still exists. The following candidates are now set to face off against each other in the upcoming months.

Republican Candidate Mike Braun

Senator Mike Braun graduated from Wabash College with a bachelor’s degree in economics and attended Harvard Business School where he earned his MBA. Braun has been involved in politics originally running for his School Board before becoming a State Representative in 2014, In 2017, Braun was elected to the U.S. Senate.

He has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, Indiana Right to Life, CPAC, Americans for Propserity, and others. Among his policies include cutting taxes and government spending, election security, protecting Second Amendment rights, Pro-life policies, removing CRT and gender identity from classrooms, and supporting parental input in schools.

Braun has received a 0% rating from the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, 75% rating from the ACLU, 0% from the NAACP, 93% from the American Conservative Union, 0% from the National Education Association, 92% from the NRA, 7% from the Human Rights Campaign, 90% from the American Energy Alliance and 12% from Clean Water Action.

(Courtesy of the United States Congress)

Democratic Candidate Jennifer McCormick

Jennifer McCormick earned her Bachelor’s from Purdue University, Master’s from Ball State, and Education Specialist from Indiana State. She was elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2016 as a Republican but changed her affiliation to the Democratic Party in 2021.

McCormick’s policies include protecting women’s rights, investment in education, supporting clean energies and decreasing energy expenses, affordable healthcare, protecting the environment, investing in the economy, supporting democracy and others.

McCormick has been endorsed by the Indiana State Teachers Association, American Federation of Teachers-Indiana, Network for Public Education Action, Indiana Coalition for Public Education, Communication Workers of America, United Mine Workers of America and others.

(Governor Eric Holcomb, PDM-owner, via Wikimedia Commons)

Libertarian Candidate Donald Rainwater

Donald Rainwater is the Libertarian Party candidate for governor. He previously ran as the Libertarian Candidate in 2020. He graduated from high school in Indianapolis and attended university for one semester, before joining the navy in 1982. He was discharged after 8 years. Rainwater is running with Tonya Hudson as his running mate.

Rainwater pledged to remove or reduce the state income tax, property tax, state gasoline tax, vehicle taxes and utilities taxes. He has supported school choice and has advocated for smaller government. His campaign has also promised to reduce regulations and licensing, reform criminal justice and invigorate Indiana’s economy through various means.

The Libertarian Party received only 11.4% of the vote in 2020. Although the Libertarians are not expected to win, it is theoretically possible for them to pull ahead of even the Democrats, which would prove to be a major upset in state politics.

(Sam Goldstein, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons)

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