The Indiana Republican Party is going to you know where in a handmaid's tale...er...handbasket, and the Indiana Democratic Party stands ready to scoop up the opportunity and dunk it in the basketball ring.
So...um, about that.
Opportunity has not just knocked. It's kicked the door in. As a Democrat, part-time blogger and political observer/hack, I have to wonder if anyone's home.
Yeah, the GOP has nominated self-proclaimed Christian Nationalist Micah Beckwith as its Lieutenant Governor candidate. He pairs with Mike Braun about as well as a tie on Mike's campaign buttondown. Braun is the sensible one on the ticket, which is scary since he once questioned the Supreme Court's ruling on Loving vs. Virginia. The landmark case that prohibited discrimination against interracial couples wanting to marry.
Braun, a U.S. Senator whose main accomplishment in office so far is to get on TV as much as possible, is running on a ticket with the vulnerabilities of a computer still running Windows 95. There's Jim Banks, the crazy U.S. Representative and Trump syncopant who seems to think the WNBA officiating is cause for a Congressional inquiry. There's Todd Rokita who is, well, Todd Rokita. We all know him by this point. That brings us back to Beckwith who is about as qualified to run a state as I am to run a Weightwatchers aka WW franchise.
This should all be easy, right? Just point out who these people are and tout your superior candidates.
On the Dem side, there's Jennifer McCormick, the former Republican State Schools Superintendent who lost her position due to the elimination of direct elections for that position. There's Valerie McCray, a clinical psychologist, who wants to be your next U.S. Senator. She's the first Black woman to sit on a statewide ticket in Indiana.
Then, at the convention, voters will have to choose between attorney Destiny Wells, a combat veteran, and attorney Beth White, the former Marion County Clerk and Deputy Mayor of Indianapolis, to get the candidate for Attorney General to face Rokita.
That also leads us to the Democratic Lieutenant Governor candidate to run with McCormick. Uh...well...you see, what happened was...we'll get back to you about that. Bob Kern is running at the convention, and he may actually be the nominee since no one else seems to want to step up and run. Kern, a perennial candidate, has an interesting past that he never hides from but would be no doubt fodder for the GOP's attacks should he get the nomination.
So, here we are. A golden opportunity to do something in the state of Indiana as Democrats and...uh...the party doesn't have its ducks in a row. It's not surprising. Since the Dems last held state office, and even before that, it's been a struggle. Evan Bayh got pummeled by Todd Young. Joe Donnelly got retired by Braun. Pete Buttigieg left the state for Michigan leaving his former chief of staff, Mike Schmuhl, in charge. There are good people in place, but my fellow Dems just don't have anything together right now.
With the dumpster fire that's happening on the right in the Republican Party at this time, Democrats MUST muster some defense. McCormick is a very good candidate. I just fear that the infrastructure that used to be strong in this state on the Democratic side has been lost to time. Our Democratic Party that used to punch above its weight seems to lost that fighting edge.
It's time to get it back. We cannot see another election where Todd Rokita, Mike Braun, Jim Banks and now, Micah Beckwith, go unchallenged. Get your house in order, Dems! In the end, the calculus still favors the GOP, but they have to at least know we were here and we're not going to take this lying down.
