INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Republican U.S. Senator Mike Braun His bid to become governor of Indiana seemed straightforward enough until he found the vice presidential candidate he didn’t want: a pastor and self-described Christian nationalist who bullied his way onto the ballot next month.

Micah Beckwitha podcaster from the Indianapolis suburb of Noblesville, where he leads Life Church, won enough support from delegates to upend the lieutenant governor nomination process at this year’s state GOP convention and become the Braun’s running mate. His conservatism complicated the race by forcing Braun to discuss Beckwith’s views.

Friction between the vice presidential candidates and a series of negative ads gave an unexpected boost to Democratic candidates Jennifer McCormick and Terry Goodin, the big underdogs in a state that has not elected a Democrat to office. statewide since 2012. Additionally, strong Democratic campaigns have caused forecasters to hedge their confidence that both seats will remain Republican.

“The race is more competitive relative to expectations,” said Greg Shufeldt, a political science professor at the University of Indianapolis.

Who is Micah Beckwith?

Usually, gubernatorial candidates choose who they want as their running mates and rely on party delegates to announce their choices at party conventions. But Beckwith began courting delegates more than a year in advance and major upset at GOP convention in June. Delegates blessed her nomination and rejected Julie McGuire, a freshman state representative chosen by Braun, even after Braun helped her gain Donald Trump’s endorsement.

Beckwith, who did not respond to multiple requests for comment, used his social media platform to spread opinions that caused turmoil. In addition to declaring that God sent the people who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was criticized last month for saying his Democratic opponents had a ” Spirit of Jezebel.”

Braun has spent the last few weeks dealing with the fallout.

During a debate earlier this month between McCormick and Braun, she pressed Braun to apologize for his running mate’s “Jezebel spirit” comment.

“I don’t like it,” Braun replied. “You don’t see that in me, and he’s been pretty good at avoiding that.”

Earlier this month, Beckwith was seen on video at a local Republican Party meeting, saying he would fire any employee in his office or the agencies he oversees who lists his pronouns in emails. The story was first reported by the Lawyeran LGBTQ+ publication, and the video was posted online by The Bloomingtonian.

“If you think men can be women and women can be men and you need pronouns to talk to each other, you don’t even understand the basics of reality,” Beckwith said.

Braun denounced that statement, saying he would hire and fire employees based “solely on their merit and their commitment to providing effective and efficient state government to make life better and more affordable for Hoosiers, period final”.

The lieutenant governor is first in the line of succession under Indiana law. Lieutenant governors oversee four state agencies but have no real legislative authority. These limitations didn’t stop Beckwith from tackling topics he probably wouldn’t encounter in the course of his work.

Mike Murphy, a former Republican lawmaker and political commentator, said Beckwith represented the socially conservative side of the party.

“I would say that Micah Beckwith is the product and symbol of a lot of turmoil within the Indiana Republican Party,” Murphy said.

Braun, who ran an auto parts distribution company and ran campaigns aligned with Trump, could perhaps unite business-oriented Republicans and social conservatives, Murphy said.

In an interview, Braun said that all campaigns have their ups and downs. He believes voter turnout for Trump will have a positive impact on the vote.

“When I ran for Senate six years ago, we are in better shape today than we were then,” he said.

Who are Braun and Beckwith running against?

Braun, a one-term senator, has represented Indiana in Congress since 2018. His campaign focused on high health care costs and property taxes, as well as criticism of the federal government over southern border policy .

Braun handily won a five-way match gubernatorial primary in May with almost 40% of the votes.

But that means 60 percent of the state’s primary voters did not support him. McCormick and Libertarian Donald Rainwater are seeking to eliminate some of these Republican voters.

McCormick cited Beckwith’s views in calling the GOP ticket extremist. She built her appeal to moderate voters around restoring abortion rights in a state that enacted an almost total ban in 2022.

The candidates themselves reflect some recent changes in Indiana politics. Braun voted Democratic until 2012; McCormick switched parties in 2021 after breaking up with Republicans on education policy when she was a public school principal. A new ad released Monday shows a Republican promising to support her.

“We have great momentum, and that momentum is really between Republicans and Democrats and independents,” McCormick said in an interview.

Indiana does not allow citizen ballot initiatives like those in other red-leaning states that have abortion on the ballot This year. Even if McCormick defies the odds, Republicans hold large majorities in both houses of the Legislature, and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to reverse the state ban.

But Braun’s campaign response shows he doesn’t think he’s going to win. Earlier this month, Braun aired an ad attacking McCormick as a liberal, linking her to Hillary Clinton and President Joe Biden. The ad attracted attention both for its negative nature in a supposedly easy race for Braun and for its use of a doctored image.

The ad claims that McCormick supported ban gas stovesan idea that became a flashpoint in the culture war in 2023. It featured an image that had been manipulated to depict people standing behind McCormick holding signs reading “no gas stoves.” It was a digitally altered version of a photograph taken by a South Bend Tribune journalist in May 2023.

Indiana lawmakers passed a law this year banning the use of artificial intelligence in election materials without warning. Braun’s campaign said the ad was mistakenly delivered to television stations.

Rainwater, the Libertarian candidate running again, worried the state Republican Party enough that it sent a letter criticizing him, according to the Indiana Capitol Chronicle. He won 11.4% of the vote when he ran for governor in 2020 after pandemic lockdowns angered Indiana voters. A similar turnout could siphon votes from Braun.

“I think people are very unhappy with the status quo from federal, state and local governments as well,” Rainwater said in an interview.

Braun has outpaced McCormick in terms of advertising, spending more than $13 million this year on advertising, which includes the GOP primary period, according to data from AdImpact, which tracks campaign spending. He spent more than three times what McCormick spent on advertising.

According to campaign finance reports, Braun raised nearly $4.87 million from July to September. McCormick fell behind but has made gains since the start of the year, raising more than $2 million in the same period.

McCormick received $1.65 million from the Democratic Governors Association in October, according to campaign finance reports. It’s the first significant investment in Indiana’s gubernatorial race since 2016, when Mike Pence resigned to run for vice president.

The Republican Governors Association responded quickly, granting Braun $1.5 million this month — a clear sign that the race has their attention.

Shufeldt, the IU-Indianapolis professor, said the DGA money could help Democrats rebuild Indiana even if McCormick fails, and “could pay dividends in the future.”

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Volmert reported from Lansing, Michigan.

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