By Whitney Downard, Indiana Capital Chronicle
Indiana Republicans continue to outraise their Democratic counterparts when it comes to campaign finance — including races for governor, attorney general and lieutenant governor.
Democrats have not held a statewide elected office in Indiana since 2012 and face an uphill battle winning in 2024. Resources are additionally taxed by a Democrat goal to “break the supermajority” in the General Assembly. Currently, GOP lawmakers hold enough seats to take action without a single Democratic vote in both the House and Senate.
But candidates point to possible changes across Indiana, especially in the race for attorney general. Incumbent Attorney General Todd Rokita is facing his third disciplinary investigation since elected and politicos with Sabato’s Crystal Ball have shifted the race from “Safely Republican” to “Leans Republican,” citing Rokita’s actions.
Despite those headwinds, Rokita raised over $309,000 and spent just under $156,000 between April 1 and June 30, the second fundraising quarter for 2024. Filings were due to the Secretary of State’s Office by noon on Monday.
Rokita, who started with $1.2 million in his warchest, ended the quarter with $1.3 million and has no debts.
Rokita was nominated for re-election by party delegates last month without opposition while Democrat Destiny Wells won over voters at a party convention on Saturday, nabbing 69% of the vote over Beth White.
Monday’s filings document the $55,000 donors gave Wells during the second quarter, compared to $63,000 in expenses. Wells started the reporting period with $107,000 and ended with $98,000 — reporting no debts.
Wells also ran for the Secretary of State’s Office in 2022, losing to current officeholder Diego Morales with 40% of the vote to Morales’ 54%.
White started with $33,000, netting $$28,000 and spending $14,000, and ended the quarter with $47,000.
Governor fundraising
Republican nominee for governor and U.S. Sen. Mike Braun survived a competitive six-way primary, easily claiming victory on Election Night as soon as polls closed. Monday’s filing includes the tail-end of that race, when Braun and others poured millions into advertising to sway Republicans.
After starting April with $946,000, Braun raised an additional $3.3 million and spent $2.5 million. He ended with $1.7 million and reported no debts — in contrast to several other primary competitors who lent their campaigns millions.
Democrat Jennifer McCormick didn’t have any primary opponents to boost her fundraising and spending efforts in the second quarter. She started with $222,000 and donors gave her another $653,000. She reported spending $176,000 and ended the reporting period with $700,000 and no debts.
In Indiana, the Libertarian Party nominates its gubernatorial candidates in a private convention, meaning that November’s ballot will be the first time Hoosiers can select Donald Rainwater’s name in 2024.
Rainwater, who ran for governor in 2020 and netted 11.4% of the votes, started with $11,000 and raised $78,000. He spent $13,000 and ended the quarter with $77,000 with no debts.
Only one lieutenant governor reported raising any funds between April and June: Republican Micah Beckwith, an ultraconservative pastor from Noblesville and self-described Christian nationalist.
Beckwith made an unusually public bid for lieutenant governor over the last year, winning over just under 52% of delegates in a Republican convention last month over party favorite — and Braun preferred — State Rep. Julie McGuire.
Beckwith’s campaign coffers started at $26,000 but he spent more than he raised, ending the period with $15,000. He brought in $46,000 and reported $58,000 in expenditures.
Saturday’s Democratic convention also named the party nominee for lieutenant governor: former State Rep. Terry Goodin. Goodin, whose name was put forward by McCormick, was immediately challenged on his conservative voting record concerning abortion access and gay marriage — attracting a bevy of challengers on Saturday.
However, delegates spurned the other contenders to nominate Goodin with 79% of the vote over Tammie Dixon-Tatum, Bob Kern and Clif Marsiglio. Marsiglio and Kern both have active candidate committees with the Secretary of State’s Office but neither reported raising any funds.
Neither Dixon-Tatum nor Goodin have an active candidate committee for lieutenant governor on the office’s portal.
Lastly, Tonya Hudson — the Libertarian candidate for lieutenant governor — has an active committee but similarly reported no fundraising and a campaign finance account with zero dollars for the second quarter of 2024.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, not-for-profit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
