INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — All three candidates on Monday told News 8 they feel optimistic going into Election Day on Tuesday.

Voters will decide who will succeed the term-limited Gov. Eric Holcomb and become the 52nd governor of Indiana. Sen. Mike Braun survived a six-way Republican primary that was the most expensive primary in the state’s history. Jennifer McCormick is carrying the Democratic banner after serving from 2017 to 2021 as the state’s final elected superintendent of public instruction under the Republican label. Libertarian Donald Rainwater is looking to top his 2020 vote total of more than 11%, the best performance of any third-party candidate in Indiana since before the Civil War.

Braun told News 8 he believes his campaign’s focus on economic issues and his record in the U.S. Senate and as a business owner has resonated with voters. He just wrapped up a 12-county bus tour with other Republican candidates and elected officeholders. Braun said he wasn’t concerned by some polls that suggest a closer-than-expected margin between him and McCormick.

“I’m going to always run like it’s a close race,” he said. “I put a lot of time out there, been beating the pavement, declared back in December of ’22 and feel really good about how we’ve run a comprehensive campaign on kitchen-table issues.”

McCormick had five more campaign stops planned for the day when she dropped by News 8’s studios early Monday afternoon. She said she sees lots of energy around her campaign and added she has heard from some voters who cast ballots for Donald Trump and for her. She said she believes voters want to restore balance to the Statehouse, where Republicans have controlled the governor’s chair for the past 20 years.

“It really is a matter of if Hoosiers go out and vote,” she said. “We’re pulling a lot of Republican votes, which we need. We need Democrats to show up big and we need those independents to make a decision and make sure they’re coming our way.”

Rainwater said he continues to campaign in his spare time while holding down a full-time job. He said the campaign has proven he is the only candidate in the race who is truly for smaller government and less regulation. Rainwater said anyone who casts a ballot, either during early voting or on Election Day, has his personal thanks for taking part in the process.

“No matter whether we win tomorrow, or if we come in second, or if we come in third, I believe we have run a good race,” he said. “We have presented the right policies and the right positions and the right perspective on how government should be moving forward in the state of Indiana.”

Early voting turnout has been strong in Indiana. After early voting concluded at noon, Marion County election officials reported 133,727 early ballots had been cast. Hamilton County logged 98,093. The secretary of state’s office had tallied a statewide total of more than 1.5 million early ballots as of Sunday. Statewide totals that include Monday’s voters will not be available until Tuesday. All of the candidates said they were encouraged by the turnout.

Voting on Tuesday runs from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. local time Tuesday. Anyone in line to vote when the polls close will be allowed to cast ballots.