A highly unusual campaign will take place next month at the Indiana Republican state convention. This is a direct competition for the second position in the governor's office. The winner will join Sen. Mike Braun on the November ballot against Democrat Jennifer McCormick and Libertarian Donald Rainwater, as well as his running mate.
The last time Republican convention attendees could choose from multiple lieutenant governor candidates at the state convention was in 1996, when six people were in the ring — gubernatorial candidate Stephen Goldsmith He chose not to recommend his favorite candidate.
But this time, Brown, the party's gubernatorial candidate, has nominated Indianapolis state Rep. Julie McGuire as a likely running mate. He did so in a short period of time after winning the May 7 primary, knowing he would need as much time as possible to appeal to convention delegates.
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That's because Noblesville pastor Micah Beckwith announced about a year ago that he would run for lieutenant governor, regardless of who ultimately wins the gubernatorial primary.
The race officially ended after the submission deadline passed Thursday afternoon. One of the two candidates only needs to win a simple majority of about 1,800 convention delegates to clinch the nomination and appear on the November ballot as Mr. Brown's running mate. be.
The competition is June 14th and 15th.
The Democratic Party plans to select a candidate for lieutenant governor at its party convention in July. In March, the Libertarians nominated former deputy leader Tonya Hudson to be Rainwater's running mate.
Who is Micah Beckwith?
The 41-year-old pastor of Life Church in Noblesville has become a familiar name in ultra-social conservative circles.
Most recently, he served on the board during the passage of the Hamilton East Public Library, rescinding a controversial book transfer policy. But over the years, he has been an outspoken critic of COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccination mandates on social media, decried child “sexism” and called for stricter abortion laws in Indiana. I've been insisting.
He burst onto the political scene in 2020 and gained attention as a newcomer when he finished third out of 15 candidates in the Republican primary for the 5th Congressional District.
And he said Indiana's rarely broken tradition of allowing gubernatorial candidates to dance their way into conventions in order to be elected unopposed against their preferred candidate for lieutenant governor was foolish. I think it's an insult to the delegates.
By the time the convention begins on June 14, he will have spent a year campaigning and seeking support from delegates. He estimates he has several hundred supporters.
Who is Julie McGuire?
A Republican from Indianapolis, she emerged from obscurity in 2022 when state legislative leaders strongly supported her challenge to state Rep. John Jacob, whose seat represents southeastern Marion County. .
Jacob often drew the ire of leaders over his stance on universal abortion and anti-Catholic and anti-Muslim posts on social media. The House Republican Campaign Committee spent more than $500,000 on McGuire, 51, who beat Jacob in the 2022 primary by more than 20 points. Previously, he served as a legislative policy analyst for Indiana Senate Republicans.
She made a name for herself as a new member of the state legislature. One of her bills, which would add new guidelines for when the Department of Children's Services can terminate a parent's rights for the safety of a child, passed with unanimous support. Another of her bills gained notoriety in the Indianapolis area. It's a bill aimed at canceling the special taxing district in downtown Indianapolis that lawmakers slipped into the state budget the previous year.
By the end of the session, the General Assembly had worked out a compromise that would allow the city of Indianapolis to have a tax district, but exempt certain groups and only allow the city to go through the ordinance process again. By then, McGuire had been removed from the bill's draftsmanship and voted against the final bill, saying he did not support adding property taxes to businesses.
Ms. McGuire is also the secretary of the Perry Township Republican Club and the mother of four children.
Since Brown's endorsement, McGuire has been endorsed by senior party officials, from top legislative leaders to Hamilton County elected officials and statewide officials such as Secretary of State Diego Morales and Treasurer Daniel Elliott. has been expressed.
Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.