Nathan Gotsch: Elected officials critical of their parties in private

Over the past few months, Independent Indiana, the nonpartisan organization I lead, has been conducting a study on how to restore competition to Indiana’s elections. To understand the landscape clearly, we sought frank assessments of both major parties. We interviewed two sitting members of the Indiana General Assembly—one Republican and one Democrat—along with a Republican mayor, granting each anonymity in exchange for their candor.

Much of what they shared was striking. The Republican mayor lamented the GOP’s loss of credibility, noting that it claims to be the party of faith but calls people vulgar names, the party of business but supports tariffs, and the party of Ronald Reagan but cozies up to dictators.

The state legislator admitted that the GOP’s supermajorities are bad for Indiana, telling us Republicans were more responsible, more measured and more incremental in policy advancement when they held fewer seats in the Statehouse.

They both acknowledged that because the GOP primary is now the election that determines the outcome in most districts, it has pushed the party further to the extreme. The consequence, they said, is a growing number of Republican elected officials they feel uncomfortable—and sometimes outright embarrassed—being associated with.

The party needs a hard reset, the mayor told us, warning that the longer it stays on this trajectory, the more it will be taken over by fanatics who just want power. The state legislator was more blunt: The Indiana Republican Party they once knew is on life support.

As you might imagine, the Democratic state legislator was just as bleak about their own party. They said it continues to struggle with its message and strategy, held back by leadership they view as resistant to change and by a chronic shortage of resources.

They said Democrats often act as if they’re just one breakthrough away from turning a corner, even though the data does not support that optimism. At times, they added, party leaders oversell a candidate’s chances to boost fundraising—only to face growing frustration and backlash from donors and supporters when those promises collapse on election night.

The legislator also criticized Indiana Democrats for relying on a 20thcentury campaign playbook, likening the party to Internet Explorer—outdated and slow to adapt. They also dismissed efforts to field a Democrat in every race, noting that in deepred districts it neither changes outcomes nor reflects political reality.

The Democratic legislator said that instead of adapting, the party’s leaders tend to retreat to familiar habits—governed more by survival instinct than strategic vision. Each election cycle only deepens the legislator’s skepticism and pessimism about the party’s direction.

Others in the party painted an equally sobering picture. Several county chairs said that in their communities, running as a Democrat carries a stigma—so much so that some candidates struggle to find privatesector jobs afterward. One longtime party insider added that the Democratic brand is so damaged that Beau Bayh, perhaps the party’s most promising statewide candidate in years, didn’t even use the word “Democrat” in his launch video or on his campaign website.

So where does that leave the rest of us? Fortunately, the full report isn’t all doom and gloom. It offers a bold, datadriven recommendation—one that could help restore competitive general elections in Indiana far sooner than many might assume. We’ll unveil the study at 11 a.m. on Monday at the Statehouse, and it will be available on our website later that afternoon.•

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Gotsch is executive director of Independent Indiana. Send comments to [email protected].

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