Indiana governor’s race: Dems call GOP’s lieutenant governor pick dangerous
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Democratic candidate for governor Jennifer McCormick on Tuesday said she was not surprised Micah Beckwith won the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.
McCormick said Indiana voters need to very seriously consider the duties of lieutenant governor and assess Beckwith’s fitness for the job. Her comments came three days after Beckwith narrowly defeated Mike Braun’s preferred running mate, Julie McGuire, at the Indiana Republican Party Convention.
“I was at the Statehouse for four years. I saw what was happening with the Republican Party,” she said. “There was nothing that happened last weekend that surprised me. Not one bit of it surprised me.”
McCormick and Indiana Democratic Party Chair Mike Schmuhl pointed to comments in which Beckwith said God told him he sent protesters to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. They also cited Beckwith’s role in a controversial, short-lived book reshelving policy at the Hamilton East Public Library. Schmuhl said Braun lost the convention when Beckwith prevailed.
“Mike Braun has fashioned himself for years as a can-do businessman and yet he couldn’t get this done,” Schmuhl said. “This is one of the biggest responsibilities for a governor is to pick your running mate, to pick your governing partner, and he came up short.”
McCormick said she has heard from moderate Republicans who are interested in supporting her since Beckwith was nominated. She said her campaign has also received support from the Democratic Governors Association. She said resources are coming to her campaign more easily now than they were earlier in the campaign.
Braun’s campaign released a statement in response to McCormick’s remarks:
“Through their Freedom and Opportunity agenda, Mike Braun and Micah Beckwith have a vision to make Indiana the most entrepreneurial state and improve the lives of Hoosiers, while Jennifer McCormick is still trying to convince someone, anyone, to be her liberal running mate. McCormick’s troubles are rooted in the fact that she’s a dishonest progressive who can’t even tell Hoosiers who she voted for in previous presidential elections, which even Democrats admit is embarrassing.”
Josh Kelley, Braun senior adviser
McCormick said she has, in fact, chosen a running mate and plans to introduce that person at a Thursday afternoon news conference. She offered few details about the person but said they are “a person of integrity.”
The state Democratic Party convention was set for July 13.