Spectacle Entertainment CEO and Chairman Rod Ratcliff flew Gov. Eric Holcomb and his wife to two Republican Governors Association meetings in 2018—one in July in Aspen, Colorado and one in November in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Buttigieg still faces questions about his experience and whether his appeal extends beyond wealthier donors and white voters.
Incumbent Indy Mayor Joe Hogsett and GOP challenger Jim Merritt are expected to win their parties’ nominations easily. Meanwhile in Fishers and Carmel, incumbents are fending off primary challenges.
State Sen. Jim Merritt will be able to campaign for mayor full time after the legislative session ends this month, representatives say. In the meantime, Merritt is “very pleased” with his fundraising.
Mayor Hogsett and Council President Vop Osili have decided to pool resources and launch what Democrats say is the first true citywide coordinated campaign in Marion County to re-elect the mayor and expand the party’s majority on the 25-member council.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett has a huge fundraising advantage over his Republican challengers, who are starting their campaigns with bank accounts in the four-figure range.
From Indiana’s intense U.S. Senate race to the surge in female candidates to school referendums, the state has been propelled by major political currents this election season.
An IBJ analysis of political giving this election by CEOs of Indiana’s biggest companies found 56 executives donated $650,000 to nearly 92 organizations and candidates seeking federal office.
It’s a big jump from the end of August, when only 13 outside super PACs had spent money in Indiana to try to influence the nationally watched race.
Host Mason King talks to IBJ political reporter Lindsey Erdody about the race, her experience on the campaign trail with the candidates, and what we know about early voting.
The Indiana candidates are not alone: Republican incumbents in 92 U.S. House districts raised less than their Democratic challengers from July 1-Sept. 30, according to an analysis from Politico. That’s compared to only five Democratic House incumbents being out-raised.
The money flowing into a competitive U.S. Senate race can weave an intricate web of sources.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Braun continues to pump his own money into his campaign, and appears to be engaging in the controversial but legal practice of using donations for retiring debt from his primary race to boost his general election campaign.
The 64-year-old Republican told IBJ that he hasn’t made a formal announcement, but he has been telling anyone who asks him that he will run again.
Political strategists say it’s not surprising: The candidates and outside groups could spend more than $100 million on the Senate race, which makes self-funding extremely difficult.
But political experts say a Trump-centered strategy might not be the best move now that Mike Braun has won the GOP primary race and will face Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly in the fall election.
Three Republican challengers and the incumbent Democrat have raised nearly $22 million and spent nearly $14 million.
U.S. Senate Republican candidate Mike Braun also has the most cash on hand going into the final weeks of the campaign, although most of the funding is coming from himself.
Carmel philanthropists and sisters Deborah Simon and Cindy Simon Skjodt have become big-time campaign donors this election cycle.
It’s going to be ugly and expensive. That’s the message political experts are sharing about the Republican primary that will decide who will challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly in the fall.