Fox News Decision Desk can report that Indiana voters chose Republican Mike Braun as their next governor on Tuesday, cementing the state’s solidly red status – even though his confrontation with Jennifer McCormick had put some political observers on edge .

Ultimately, Braun, who currently serves in the U.S. Senate, defeated Democratic candidate McCormick, Indiana’s former superintendent of public education, and Libertarian candidate Donald Rainwater. Braun will replace outgoing two-term Gov. Eric Holcomb, also a Republican.

Braun, McCormick and Rainwater each took a wide range of views on reproductive rights, fighting inflation and how to best support the state’s producers, farmers and small business owners.

But Braun had struggled to appeal to some moderate voters and faced a difficult situation. tighter than expected race with McCormick, a Republican-turned-Democrat who campaigned on issues of public education and expanding women’s reproductive rights.

“The Republican Party is still clearly favored there, but there has been enough activity that it doesn’t look like an average, sleepy contest rated ‘Safe,'” wrote analysts at the Center for Politics at the University of Texas. Virginie in a press release. pre-election blog post.

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Indiana gubernatorial candidate Jennifer McCormick speaks to the press in Indianapolis. (Grace Smith/IndySta/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

Despite their differences, the three candidates sought to woo voters on key issues: among them, lowering property taxes, increasing support for small businesses and create new investments and economic opportunities in the state.

Braun has focused his policy plans on so-called “kitchen table” issues in an effort to attract moderate voters, such as lowering health care costs, increasing public safety and helping farmers and to Indiana producers.

His campaign has released policy proposals to reduce taxes on homeowners and small business owners in the Hoosier State, including reducing taxes on certain types of equipment used by farmers and other agricultural producers.

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Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Braun prepares to speak at an October debate in Indianapolis. (Grace Hollars/IndyStar/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

On health care, Braun’s plan included some provisions that Republicans had previously tried and failed to pass in recent legislative sessions, including reform of prior authorization and health care manager regulations. pharmaceutical services.

McCormick, the Democrat, campaigned heavily on access to abortion and education in the final months of the race. Her support for abortion rights was a stark departure from the near-ban on abortion approved by state lawmakers in 2023 — but won her appeal with some younger voters.

If elected, she pledged to appoint new Indiana Supreme Court Justices that support women, immigrants, healthcare providers and the LGBT+ community.

All three also detailed plans to address Indiana’s affordable housing crisis, which is one of the worst in the Midwest and the subject of a two-year task force. Their plans, however, were also surprisingly different. While Braun plans to examine any “heavy-handed state regulations” that may be behind the rising property taxes, he also emphasized the role of state businesses in boosting the local economy.

McCormick, meanwhile, had called for a $600 million tax relief plan for the state’s property owners.

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Rainwater introduced a proposal to cap property taxes at just 1 percent of the purchase price — a drastic step that would have required an amendment to the state constitution.

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