Indiana voters went to the polls on Tuesday without incumbents on the ballot in two statewide races, and they set the stage for what should be two contentious campaigns.
In the gubernatorial race, Republican Sen. Mike Braun will represent his party as he looks to replace incumbent term-limited Gov. Eric Holcomb. He will face off against former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Interestingly, both candidates have switched parties in their political careers. Braun was formerly registered as a Democrat before switching parties in 2012, and McCormick was a Republican when she held statewide office in Indiana.
Democratic candidate Dr. Jennifer McCormick, the state’s former superintendent of public instruction, ran uncontested in the primary and was projected as the winner shortly after polls closed in northwest Indiana, according to the NBC News Decision Desk.
Now though, both candidates are pitching their bonafides in the race, with Braun touting the endorsement of former President Donald Trump and McCormick promising to run a campaign fiercely opposed to a near-total abortion ban in the state.
For Braun, his focus will be on effecting change at the state level after six years in Washington.
“Sooner or later, you gotta make sure government gets back to the people, at the levels where you’re going to be accountable and get things done, and that’s what I intend to do,” he told supporters Tuesday night.
McCormick says she wants to unite voters, but will pull out all stops to protect reproductive rights of the state’s residents.
Republican Sen. Mike Braun clinched the Republican nomination for governor of Indiana, positioning himself as the frontrunner to follow term-limited Gov. Eric Holcomb.
“They (voters) do not want fear,” she said in a recent interview. “They do not want chaos, which I see from Sen. Braun. They want optimism and opportunity, and that’s what I will bring.”
Braun’s decision to enter the governor’s race left a seat open in the Senate, with 3rd district Rep. Jim Banks running unopposed in the Republican primary and Dr. Valerie McCray winning the Democratic primary Tuesday.
Elsewhere, Trump won the Republican presidential primary, but former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley had a strong showing, earning 21.8% of the vote with 94% of precincts reporting. She also took 34% of the vote in Marion County, the home of the state capital of Indianapolis.
Finally, two-term Rep. Victoria Spartz won a hotly contested primary in her district, with the campaign focused on her opposition to sending aid to her native Ukraine.