Curt Smith: This primary, the Indiana GOP is in a strong position

Primaries are tough for political activists, who frequently know the main candidates contending for their party’s nomination. The quip “I’m for my friends” when many friends are runningcaptures the dilemma well.

With that disclaimer, here are some observations on the Indiana Republican primary featuring many friends and some unknowns now just over three weeks away.

As noted here earlier, U.S. Rep. Jim Banks fended off the opposition to capture the nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by gubernatorial candidate Mike Braun. His declared opponent never qualified for the ballot, even though he has maintained a quixotic shadow campaign. Other contenders chose not to run.

Former President Donald Trump’s endorsement and no primary opposition means Banks will lead the ballot and the party into the fall general election.

Current U.S. Sen. Braun is the front-runner for the nomination for governor. There are five candidates running against him, so a late surge or a particularly effective media campaign from one or more opponents could turn the tide. But that is not expected.

Braun’s campaign did make news recently with a $159,000 fine for a filing error and paperwork mistake from his 2018 campaign for the U.S. Senate. The news for this columnist was that Federal Election Commission government accountants and lawyers needed more than five years to decide what to do and then dropped the announcement just before the primary. Such antics make Washington, D.C., look as bad as ever.

Braun has served on a local school board, was elected to two terms in the Indiana House of Representatives and is completing six years in the U.S. Senate. That mix of local, state and federal service—combined with his business acumen—should serve him and all Hoosiers well as our chief executive.

Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, considered the next likeliest winner, has done a masterful job of staying above the fray. She has lots of local party support but is waging a tough uphill battle against candidates who are self-funding their campaigns. If she captures the GOP women’s vote, she’ll be the nominee. But there are no signs of a surge for her at this writing.

Brad Chambers, the former Indiana Economic Development Corp. head, has raised IEDC’s profile and success, which he now rightly touts as a candidate. He stumbled at the outset with a bio spot overstating his childhood connection to rural Indiana and hardscrabble upbringing. Turns out he’s less of an outsider than advertised.

One of his campaign themes does resonate—that the path forward for Indiana’s economy runs through the classroom. Education is essential, but as a family policy advocate, I would join no less an authority than Aristotle who wrote in “Politics” that the family is the basic building block of society. Braun and Crouch seem to get that even though their advertising does not emphasize so-called family issues.

Eric Doden, the Fort Wayne attorney whose family built a very successful steel business in DeKalb County, will gain votes from northern Indiana and the smaller “Main Street” towns he champions. His approach and investment in the campaign suggests he might seek the nomination for lieutenant governor (which is secured through delegates during the party’s convention). Others will seek that nomination, too, but if the voters give Doden an affirming result on May 7, even if he comes up short, expect more from him in the future.

Curtis Hill, our former attorney general, is showing no signs of significant voter interest despite being the all-time leading vote winner in Indiana history in his 2016 campaign. Political favor and fortune come and go.

Whoever prevails for governor, the Republican Party is in a strong position to continue its lock on statewide offices while maintaining super-majorities in the Indiana General Assembly.•

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Smith is chairman of the Indiana Family Institute and author of “Deicide: Why Eliminating The Deity is Destroying America.” Send comments to ibjedit@ibj.com.

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