The Megathread for All Things Hoosier!

[StateBoiler]

For those wanting to parachute Buttigieg in to the Indiana governor's race, filing has already closed. So the only way it can occur is by doing an Evan Bayh Special of Myers wins the primary, then withdraws, and the State Democratic Committee selects a replacement.

Buttigieg is likely to run for President again (or at least another major office), and if he wants to be successful in winning any office in the future, he needs credibility with African-Americans.  If he wants to build such credibility, taking out the man who would be Indiana's first Black Governor wouldn't be a very good idea.  (Yes, Holcomb has a 99.999% chance of re-election, but it's all about optics.)

I expect him and his husband will put their house in South Bend up for sale and move somewhere he has a more likely chance of winning.

Howey's take:

Mayor Pete's next move will come ... nationally

Monday, March 2, 2020 9:14 AM

By BRIAN A. HOWEY

 INDIANAPOLIS - There was almost a comical reflex in some Indiana media quarters in the wake of Pete Buttigieg's withdrawal from the Democratic presidential race Sunday night. There were tweets of the former South Bend mayor shoving Woody Myers aside to make a run for governor this year. Other than vowing to "do everything in my power to ensure that we have a new Democratic president come January," he did not announce an endorsement of Joe Biden or any other plans.

 Buttigieg passed back in 2018 on what would have been a natural progression of running statewide for governor, opting for the presidential race after running for Democratic National Committee chair in 2017. Buttigieg has clearly placed his future in a national context. He had run statewide for treasurer in 2010, losing to incumbent Republican Richard Mourdock. He would have had to work hard at carrying Indiana in the May presidential primary, and this gay Democrat almost certainly won't take on Holcomb with an $8 million money lead this year.

 A Democratic gubernatorial with little party infrastructure in place and no hope of bringing in Democratic General Assembly majorities offers no enticement for a presidential candidate to recalibrate at the state level, thus the notion of retraining his sights on Holcomb after dropping out of the White House race is absurd.

 As far as taking the nomination from Myers to challenge Gov. Holcomb, that's just a silly notion that backfired in 2016 when Evan Bayh shoved aside Baron Hill in the U.S. Senate race. Young easily defeated Bayh. Buttigieg has long disdained the notion of serving in Congress. He passed multiple times of challenging U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski and we would be shocked if he decided to challenge U.S. Sen. Todd Young in 2022. Most government executives find serving in the U.S. Senate insufferable.

Buttigieg tweeted Sunday, "We launched our campaign because Americans are hungry for a new kind of politics that brings us together. And together we'll beat this president and build the era that must come next." Nationally.

 Buttigieg would seem to be a lock for a Democratic cabinet post for any nominee not named Bernie Sanders. He established enough cred to vividly be in the 2024 or 2028 presidential race conversation, depending on what happens this November. That's why his supporters began chanting "2024!" at the Century Center last night.

 MSNBC's Joe Scarborough tweeted, "Great politicians know when to charge ahead and when to stand down. Mayor Pete ran an incredible campaign that exceeded all expectations. His ability to make the difficult decision tonight tells me he will be a major player in American politics for a long time to come."

 Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne added, "That was an extraordinary exit speech by
 @PeteButtigieg — so extraordinary that it wasn’t an exit speech at all but the beginning of the next chapter of a life that will make a difference in the lives of others. Good to hear a politician willing to defend the nobility of politics."

 What comes next for Mayor Pete will play out ... nationally.

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I don't think so.  South Bend is a key part of his identity, in his blood, much like how El Paso is for Beto.

Then he won't get elected to anything ever again. His only future is a D.C. bureaucrat. The most winnable thing he has is Walorski's seat and he has zero interest. Beyond that is statewide.

The Democrats are a dead party in this state until they drastically change some points of view on some items. They're dead enough to the point of the right other organization can come along and displace them for 2nd party status everywhere except Marion and Lake Counties and a couple college towns. Their local organization in most counties is a complete joke.

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Regarding Hill, this bill is moving through the General Assembly.

https://www.kokomotribune.com/news/lawmakers-race-to-wrap-up-legislation-before-final-week-of/article_10ea0aee-5e5d-11ea-8f9d-3b22696ef4b5.html

Senate Bill 178: Covers a range of election matters

What it does: SB 178 covers a number of election regulations, but the most controversial would prevent anyone from holding the attorney general’s office if his or her law license has been suspended for more than 30 days in the previous five years. What’s more, it would prevent that individual from running for office.

What happened: SB 178 passed the House by 82-14 vote and targets Attorney General Curtis Hill, who faces punishment from the state’s Disciplinary Commission on charges he grabbed and groped four women at a legislative gathering two years ago. Rep. John Bartlett, D-Indianapolis, argued against the bill, saying he didn’t believe that lawmakers should be enacting legislation that affects one person—Hill. Rep. Timothy Wesco, R-Osceola, who offered the amendment targeting Hill, raised the question: “What is the standard we find acceptable?” A hearing officer in Hill’s disciplinary case has recommended that his license be suspended for 60 days without an automatic renewal. Hill is seeking re-election.

What’s next: The bill will now return to Senate for a vote on whether to agree with the changes from the House. If the Senate concurs the bill would go to the governor or if there is a dissent, SB 178 would go to a conference committee to reach agreement on a final version.

AG Curtis Hill could be removed from office if license gets suspended, under Statehouse bill

Matt McKinney

3:07 PM, Mar 02, 2020

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill could be removed from office if his law license is revoked over allegations of sexual misconduct, under an amendment expected to be heard Monday in the Indiana House of Representatives.

Rep. Tim Wesco, R-Osceola, has filed an amendment to create new qualifications for an Indiana attorney general. The candidate must not have been disbarred in Indiana or suspended from practicing law in Indiana for 30 or more days in the last five years.

"This is an impeachment in disguise," Rep. Ed Delaney, D-Indianapolis, said.

If it becomes law and Hill is removed, he would be unable to run again for the position for five years.

The attorney general's office released the following statement on the amendment:

“This raises some legal concerns – and this kind of rushed proposal lacks transparency and leaves no opportunity for public input.”

In October, Hill’s case was discussed in a disciplinary trial, presided over by former Indiana Supreme Court Justice Myra Selby. Last month, Selby recommended Hill lose his law license for 60 days, without automatic reinstatement.

Hill is accused of inappropriately touching four women at a party at AJ’s Lounge on March 15, 2018.

Selby's report said Hill's conduct with four women at the 2018 party "offensive, invasive, damaging and embarrassing." The report goes on: "As Attorney General, he used his state office staff and others to engage in a public campaign to defend himself and intimidate the complainants."

The Indiana Supreme Court has the final saw on what, if any, punishment Hill faces.

Under Wesco’s amendment, an attorney general vacancy would be filled by the governor, who would choose somebody of the same political party as the previous officeholder.

The amendment to SB 178 passed the House on Second Reading, 83-9.

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Senate dissented to the Wesco amendment to the election bill so it will go to a conference committee.

Pretty brazen, imagine it'd get dropped, although getting a supersupermajority in the House seems to demonstrate this is a way of getting rid of Hill pre-Convention keeping Holcomb's and Hupfer's hands clean.

If the amendment stands and is signed into law, if the Supreme Court rules that Hill should have his law license suspended as the hearing officer recommended, Hill would be removed from office and Holcomb would nominate a replacement.

Reading summary of the bill, this was the most dry "minor elections reform" bill beforehand. It passed the Senate 47-0.

Various election matters:

-Requires the election division instead of the Indiana election commission to prescribe a uniform generic seal for use on certain ballots when the circuit court clerk is a candidate on the ballot.
-Provides that a candidate for the office of attorney general may not have been disbarred in Indiana or suspended from the practice of law in Indiana for at least 30 days without automatic reinstatement at any time during the period of five years before taking office.
-Provides that if the individual who holds the office of attorney general is disbarred in Indiana or suspended from  the practice of law in Indiana for at least 30 days, the individual forfeits the office and a vacancy in the office exists.
-Requires certification by the county chairman of a candidate in a political party primary or town convention if the candidate cast a nonpartisan ballot at the most recent primary election in which the candidate voted beginning in January, 2021.
-Updates municipal primary dates.
-Prohibits the printing of an independent or political party device on a ballot under specified circumstances.
-Specifies ballot placement of names when there are both at-large and district candidates.
-Specifies that language in a public question not contain beginning and ending quotation marks.
-Adds references to the Porter County election board.
-Adds references to instances in which an absentee ballot may be recast.
-Adds references to vote centers.
-Specifies a procedure for folding ballots when voting in front of an absentee voter board.
-Specifies a comparison of signature upon receipt of an absentee ballot and time frame.
-Sets forth a procedure if a county election board does not unanimously determine that an absentee ballot signature is genuine.
-States that the position of an absentee ballot counter or a provisional ballot counter is not a lucrative office for purposes of the state Constitution.
-Authorizes the secretary of state to establish a pilot program during the May, 2020 primary for testing of a voting system.
-Requires precinct returns to be sent to the director of the board of elections and registration if the counting location is outside the county.
-Allows a member of the Indiana election commission to appoint a proxy, and specifies the process and limitations.
-Adds a Level 6 felony for inducing or procuring another person to vote or refrain from voting for or against a candidate or public question at: (1) a caucus; or (2) the appointment of a candidate by a political party chairman or central committee officer; by giving, offering, or promising a person money or other property.
-Changes certification of a question on a referendum from 60 days to 74 days.
-Repeals language concerning absentee ballots (moving some language to central voting statutes) and repeals certain absentee voter boards.

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https://www.theindianalawyer.com/articles/committee-strips-language-that-could-remove-ag-hill-from-office-if-suspended

Automatic removal of Hill if suspended has been removed from the elections bill by the conference committee, but if he is suspended without automatic reinstatement, he could not be a candidate for Attorney General on the ballot in November.

Sine Die Day is today. Today is Bosma's last day as Speaker of the House.

A legislative amendment that would have disqualified from office an attorney general or candidate whose law license was suspended for 30 days or more has been stripped of key language removing disciplined AGs from office.

A conference committee on Senate Bill 178 met Wednesday to consider Rep. Tim Wesco’s amendment to the bill, which was overwhelmingly endorsed by the Indiana House. The original version of the bill would have required sitting AGs to leave office if they were suspended for 30 days or more, and would have disqualified AG candidates who were suspended for 30 days or more within five years of the election.

Notably, Wesco’s original language had the potential to remove incumbent AG Curtis Hill from office or from the November ballot if the Indiana Supreme Court upholds a recommendation that he be suspended for 60 days without automatic reinstatement for allegations of battery against four women.

But the language put forth by Sen. Mark Messmer, the Republican who chaired the conference committee, would only disqualify AG candidates who have been suspended without automatic reinstatement within five years of an election, or who have been disbarred. The conference language does not address discipline of incumbent officeholders.

That language still has the capability of removing Hill from the November ballot if the Indiana justices agree that he should be suspended without automatic reinstatement. That decision would have to come before the November election to have an impact on Hill.

But if Hill – or any of the four other AG candidates – were suspended during the election cycle with automatic reinstatement, they could remain on the ballot. Democratic Rep. Ryan Dvorak noted in committee that a candidate could receive a one-year suspension with automatic reinstatement and remain on the ballot, potentially impacting the beginning of their term as attorney general.

Aside from Hill, Indianapolis attorney John Westercamp and former Revenue Commissioner Adam Krupp are seeking the GOP nomination for attorney general. Democratic State Sen. Karen Tallian and former Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel are seeking the Democratic nod.

Both Wesco and Rep. Brian Bosma, the Indianapolis Republican who just ended his term as House Speaker, said they preferred the House version of SB 178, which also addressed incumbent discipline. Bosma said the case law on the issue of a disciplined attorney general is “extraordinarily unclear” on what the requirement for an AG to have an “active” law license means.

“But this is better than no clarity at all,” Bosma added.

Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, raised constitutional and due process questions about the implications of the language for AG Hill.

Randolph noted a special prosecutor declined to charge Hill, while the Indiana Southern District Court dismissed a federal lawsuit against him related to the underlying sexual misconduct accusations. If he were removed from the ballot pursuant to SB 178, would that constitute an additional punishment?

Both Bosma and Messmer said no.

They also disagreed with Randolph’s suggestion that removing Hill from the election would be a removal without a hearing. Similarly, they rejected Randolph’s contention that passage of the legislation would influence the Supreme Court’s disciplinary decision.

“I doubt they’re waiting with bated breath,” Messmer said of the justices.

Randolph drew on this year’s impeachment proceedings when he offered his suggestion on how to handle Hill’s situation. Like the U.S. Senate said of President Donald Trump, Randolph said the Legislature should “let the people decide” if Hill should remain in office.

Randolph also asked why the General Assembly would intervene in the case of a disciplined attorney general when three southern Indiana judges were permitted to return to the bench after serving 30- and 60-day suspensions.

In response, Bosma said there had been similar questions within the House Republican caucus.

There are two key differences between the discipline of the three judges – Clark Superior Judges Andrew Adams and Bradley Jacobs and Crawford Circuit Judge Sabrina Bell – and the discipline of an attorney general. First, the judges showed “genuine remorse,” a factor considered in reinstatement decisions, and second is that the Supreme Court has total control over the qualification of judges. The Legislature, conversely, has control over the statutory qualifications of the state attorney general.

Dvorak said he sees loopholes in SB 178 given that the language doesn’t address what would happen if an incumbent AG holds a suspended license. He also expressed concerns about the fact that the Office of the Attorney General met with Messmer to discuss the language in SB 178, though Messmer said Hill gave no opinion or suggestions.

The General Assembly has a self-imposed Wednesday deadline to finish all 2020 legislative business, so final action on SB 178 is expected Wednesday evening.

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http://indypolitics.org/poll-positions-9/

A poll conducted last week of more than 1,000 likely Hoosier voters by Indy Politics and Change Research has a lot of good news for President Donald Trump and Governor Eric Holcomb and a little good news for their respective challengers, Joe Biden and Dr. Woody Myers.

The Indy Politics/Change Research poll showed Trump with a 13-point lead over Biden and Holcomb, with a 20 point lead over Myers.

In addition, more voters thought Indiana was headed in the right direction than the nation.

You can view a summary of the results below.   The survey of 1,021 likely voters was conducted from April 10-13 and the poll had a margin of error of 3.1 percent by traditional standards.

President

Donald Trump – 52
Joe Biden – 39
Third-party – 5
Not Sure – 3

Governor

Eric Holcomb (R) – 45
Woody Myers (D) – 25
Donald Rainwater (L) – 8
Undecided – 22

General Favorable/Unfavorable ratings

Donald Trump – 50/46
Mike Pence – 49/45
Joe Biden – 32/59
Eric Holcomb – 47/28
Woody Myers – 9/6  (20 percent were neutral and 65 percent say they never heard of him)

Right Track/Wrong Track

The country – 49/51
Indiana – 54/46
Your city/Neighborhood – 67/33

Reaction to dealing with COVID-19 (Favorable/Unfavorable)

The federal government – 46/46
Donald Trump – 49/45
State government – 64/25
Eric Holcomb – 63/23  
City/county government – 61/20  
School Districts – 79/9

Top issues (That polled 5 percent or higher)

Health Care Access and Insurance – 12
Education – 12
Transportation/Infrastructure – 6
Jobs and the Economy – 5
Taxes – 5

Have to say I've been happy with whst Holcomb has done.

Krupp has withdrawn from the Republican Attorney General race due to it coming out he made a political campaign donation to Barack Obama. He's now backing Decatur County Prosecutor Nate Harter who just entered to take Krupp's place. It's up in the air how the Convention will be done at this point. Democrats have already gone virtual and I expect Republicans will do the same. The State Rules Committee have been meeting and prepared draft rules in tte past week that have been emailed to me. I also got a text from Curtis Hill's campaign that they were going to do ranked choice voting and this is the dream of George Soros to take away the power of your vote.

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Woody Myers – 9/6  (20 percent were neutral and 65 percent say they never heard of him)

IN Dems are so screwed.

Story of our lives since 2014.

2010. Bayh's unexpected retirement from the Senate was probably the catalyst for the party falling down a flight of stairs.

Todd Rokita shared something interesting on Facebook that was published in Indiana Legislative Insight. Talked about the race, Harter seems more likely to be selected than Westercamp if Hill falters, but Rokita could be a last-minute entry...or he could wait to run for governor in 2024 against Weinzapfel then.

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Woody Myers – 9/6  (20 percent were neutral and 65 percent say they never heard of him)

IN Dems are so screwed.

Story of our lives since 2014.

2010. Bayh's unexpected retirement from the Senate was probably the catalyst for the party falling down a flight of stairs.

Todd Rokita shared something interesting on Facebook that was published in Indiana Legislative Insight. Talked about the race, Harter seems more likely to be selected than Westercamp if Hill falters, but Rokita could be a last-minute entry...or he could wait to run for governor in 2024 against Weinzapfel then.

2010 sucked, but Donnelly did win in 2012.  If Gregg would have put a bit more substance into his campaign besides his whole "I'm a down-home country boy from Southern Indiana!" shtick he probably could have beaten Pence.

Donnelly won in 2012 because the Republicans nominated a dumbsh**t that defeated a very popular Senator.

The whole actions of 2016 can't be discounted either. We entered the year with a 3-way Senate Republican primary leading to maybe a Tea Party Representative going on to November and a Governor Pence that was going to face a tough re-election fight from a Democratic Party eager to face him, to the 3rd place in that Senate primary replacing the resigning Lieutenant Governor, and then himself becoming the nominee for Governor when Pence was selected for the vice-presidential nod. And national events made it a wave year for the state GOP.

Really when was the last good year for Indiana Democrats, 2008? I know Donnelly won in 2012 unexpectedly, but that was before I moved here and Daniels won re-election easily and the state legislature was still Republican.

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Woody Myers – 9/6  (20 percent were neutral and 65 percent say they never heard of him)

IN Dems are so screwed.

Story of our lives since 2014.

2010. Bayh's unexpected retirement from the Senate was probably the catalyst for the party falling down a flight of stairs.

Todd Rokita shared something interesting on Facebook that was published in Indiana Legislative Insight. Talked about the race, Harter seems more likely to be selected than Westercamp if Hill falters, but Rokita could be a last-minute entry...or he could wait to run for governor in 2024 against Weinzapfel then.

2010 sucked, but Donnelly did win in 2012.  If Gregg would have put a bit more substance into his campaign besides his whole "I'm a down-home country boy from Southern Indiana!" shtick he probably could have beaten Pence.

Donnelly won in 2012 because the Republicans nominated a dumbsh**t that defeated a very popular Senator.

The whole actions of 2016 can't be discounted either. We entered the year with a 3-way Senate Republican primary leading to maybe a Tea Party Representative going on to November and a Governor Pence that was going to face a tough re-election fight from a Democratic Party eager to face him, to the 3rd place in that Senate primary replacing the resigning Lieutenant Governor, and then himself becoming the nominee for Governor when Pence was selected for the vice-presidential nod. And national events made it a wave year for the state GOP.

Really when was the last good year for Indiana Democrats, 2008? I know Donnelly won in 2012 unexpectedly, but that was before I moved here and Daniels won re-election easily and the state legislature was still Republican.

I think this year could have some silver linings for Indiana Dems if Hale wins, Hill gets nominated and then loses, and the Dems pick up a significant number of state house of representatives seats.  The latter one would be interesting, maybe exposing some of those Marion and Hamilton County districts as dummymanders.

Well I'm not voting for Hill at the Convention for precisely that reason. I haven't decided between Harter and Westercamp yet.

What's the ceiling though on how many State House seats they take, 5? 10? Well congrats, they went from Republican supermajorities to Republican big majorities. If there's going to be a Democrat year it's going to be this one, unfortunately for them our Governor has done a great job, their nominee - a former Health Commissioner in the middle of the largest health crisis in some time - is a complete non-entity, there's no Senate race, and in wide vast sections of the state the Democratic Party might as well be the Libertarians, because they have just as much chance of winning: zero. It's why I'm all gung-ho on a new party being formed to the right of Democrats, left of Republicans that can challenge the Republicans. How many years of failure does a party have to live through before they realize what they stand for is the problem? If they want to be a city and a couple well-to-do suburbs party only, great, they'll never win statewide or gain control of the legislatures ever again.

The left of the party rebuilding it, Courtney Tritch's candidacy and what an abject failure that was when compared to Tommy Schrader 2 years prior - a candidate with no money that was completely disowned by the party after he won the primary - told me they have no clue on what to do.

[StateBoiler]

Twitter of a journalist Adam Wren from last night:

New: Indiana Democratic State Central Committee tonight extended the deadline for a lieutenant governor to file to 10 a.m. Friday. The campaign of Dr. Woody Myers was instructed to “get their sh**t together,” a quote that apparently made the minutes.

Things were so dicey, I’m told, a random person could’ve filed today and would’ve been considered the Democratic LG candidate.

@DrWoodyMyers has until 10 a.m. on Friday to select a lieutenant governor candidate, and multiple Democratic sources say he favors @terry_goodin. Goodin selection receiving pushback among state central committee members on LGBTQ issues—and they would like Myers to pick a woman.

Received an email from Hupfer today crowing about this.

[StateBoiler]

And Myers' LG nominee is former State Representative from Hammond Linda Lawson. Per Eric Berman of WIBC:

"Lawson is a retired police officer who briefly served as House Minority Leader after the ouster of Pat Bauer from the post."

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Howey:

Hupfer suggests Attorney General Hill's fate up to GOP delegates

Monday, May 11, 2020 4:19 PM

By BRIAN A. HOWEY

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana Republican Party Chairman Kyle Hupfer said Monday he has "faith in our delegates," after the Indiana Supreme Court suspended Attorney General Curtis Hill's law license for 30 days.

Hill is due to be reinstated on June 17, three days before the Indiana Republican Convention, where a floor fight is expected on the attorney general nomination. “The Indiana Supreme Court unanimously confirmed that Curtis Hill committed battery against four female victims," Hupfer said. "Hoosiers would be best served by having a new Attorney General. I have faith in our delegates."

That last sentence suggests that Gov. Eric Holcomb might throw Hill's fate to GOP delegates, who nominated Hill in 2016. Hupfer is managing Holcomb's reelection campaign.

While Hill accepted the Supreme Court sanctions with "humility and respect," he didn't apologize to the four victims, including Democratic State Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon and three General Assembly staffers. Holcomb called for Hill to resign in July 2018, citing "zero tolerance" for sexual harassment and assault in state government.

[...]

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Republicans going virtual.

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana Republican Convention will be conducted virtually on June 18, instead of June 20, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Results from a vote by mail in the contested attorney general race will be known on July 10.

"With the governor’s Back on Track Plan, we’re just not going to be in a place where we can put 2,000 folks in one location," said Indiana Republican Chairman Kyle Hupfer, who doubles as Gov. Eric Holcomb's campaign manager. "We’ve got a lot of delegates in the age brackets that need extra protection. There are other folks that won’t be comfortable coming into that big of a crowd so soon."

The Indiana GOP joins Indiana Democrats to forego a physical, in-person convention in Indianapolis. For the first time in history, WISH-TV and its statewide network will broadcast and livestream speeches from Gov. Holcomb, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and attorney general candidates from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on June 18.

[...]

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AG Hill's law license suspended for 30 days with automatic reinstatement:

If state law requires the AG to be licensed to practice law in Indiana, & the incumbent AG isn't currently licensed to practice law in Indiana, then how is there not a vacancy right now?

Per today's Howey Politics which I'd link to but someone on this site doesn't like that, the Governor's legal counsel filed with the Indiana Supreme Court Tuesday asking for clarification in the matter on whether this situation qualifies as a vacancy. Response requested by Friday with Hill's suspension beginning Monday.

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Indiana Supreme Court to respond on Hill next week.

State legislature in their summer committees (meeting virtually) will be looking at whether to implement rules for remote voting. They're out of session at the moment, so this crisis is not affecting their work. They had sine die on the day the NBA shutdown their season.

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Rokita in for Attorney General. Watch his video here: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10158291124408252&id=281552298251

The Indiana Supreme Court refused to do anything Monday with Hill, so he'll resume being Attorney General on June 17th.

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Hale and Spartz for the 5th in November.

In the 1st District, Mrvan and McDermott winner going to be determined by counting the mail-in votes. Mrvan has a small lead but that lead last I saw was smaller than the number of outstanding mail-in ballots from Laporte County, which is the smallest of the 3 counties in the district.

We're dealing with Lake County Democrats here, so chances for shenanigans are...

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McDermott conceded to Mrvan. Mrvan had the support of outgoing Representative Visclosky and the Steelworkers Union local.

General Assembly:

In General Assembly races, House Majority Leader Matt Lehman was fending off a challenge from social conservative Taylor Isch, winning by 10% at this posting.


In HD88, the seat being vacated by former House Speaker Brian Bosma, social conservative Chris Jeter defeated Fishers Deputy Mayor Leah McGrath, who had been endorsed by Gov. Eric Holcomb. With 73% of the vote reporting, Jeter had a 58-42% lead over McGrath.

In the open HD6, Maureen Bauer had a 44-39% lead over Garrett Blad with 72% reporting. She is the daughter of out-going State Rep. B. Patrick Bauer. The AP declared Bauer the winner.

In HD93, caucus appointed State Rep. Dollyne Sherman lost to John Jacob, who had a 52-48% lead with 80% reporting, according to AP.

In HD39, Democrat Ashley Klein defeated 2018 nominee Mark Hinton and will take on State Rep. Gerald Torr.

In HD45, Republican State Rep. Bruce Borders defeated Jeff Garmong with 68% of the vote.

In the open HD58, Michelle Davis opened up a 10% lead over Jay Hart with 69% reporting. The AP declared her the winner.

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Mrvan's opponent in November will be Mark Leyva, who for the 8th time will be the Republicans' nominee for the 1st district. He is 0-7 vs. Visclosky, so in November he'll have a new opponent. Per Eric Berman of WIBC's Twitter, he needs this plus two more failed bids to tie the all-time highest loser in the state, a member of the Prohibition Party from long ago.

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Mrvan's opponent in November will be Mark Leyva, who for the 8th time will be the Republicans' nominee for the 1st district. He is 0-7 vs. Visclosky, so in November he'll have a new opponent. Per Eric Berman of WIBC's Twitter, he needs this plus two more failed bids to tie the all-time highest loser in the state, a member of the Prohibition Party from long ago.

You'd think Republicans would have somebody new to run with an incumbent retiring, but I guess not.

2020-won with 36% in a 6 candidate field
2018-won with 27% in a 6 candidate field

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Zody lost his primary 80-18.

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Is Spartz a good nominee or pretty bad?

she was heavily pushed by Club for Growth

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Howey's latest newsletter says Republicans are telling him that they think Hill is in trouble if it goes past 1 ballot, so that demonstrates the belief that anyone not backing Hill from the start is not backing him on later ballots (i.e. he's either 1st choice or 4th choice).

I'll probably vote for Harter 1st due to having a good conversation with him on the phone, but Rokita will be my #2 and I think the ultimate winner will either be Hill or Rokita. Westercamp I feel is taking 4th place on ballot #1.

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Weinzapfel wins the Dem nomination for Attorney General. Hopefully he faces Hill in the general, because thats what it will take for Weinzapfel to win.

Wow. Very narrow win. The delegates to the Convention that did not vote could've swung it.

INDIANAPOLIS - Former Evansville mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel won a 48-vote Democrat attorney general nomination Wednesday night and now has to wait three weeks before he knows whether he will face embattled Republican incumbent Curtis Hill or one of three challengers.

Weinzapfel defeated State Sen. Karen Tallian, 1,057 to 1,009, with 86% of the delegates participating in this pandemic inspired virtual state convention.

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Attended the Allen County Caucus last night as part of the Indiana GOP Convention. Our county chair said we were the only 1 of the 92 counties to do it. (Our seats were all setup 6 feet apart if you're wondering.) It must've been true though because all 4 Republican candidates for Attorney General showed up to speak live. So we saw the 4 Attorney General candidates speak, then we watched the WISH livecast of the GOP Convention.

Ballots are expected to start arriving in the mail beginning Monday.