The Indiana secretary of state’s race has gotten unusually dirty. Incumbent Diego Morales is clearly getting desperate.
It’s one of the strongest signs that he may lose the Indiana Republican Party nomination.
Morales’ strongest challenger at the Indiana Republican state convention is Max Engling. Engling, 39, is a staffer for U.S. Sen. Jim Banks and a former model who once topped The Hill’s list of the 50 most beautiful people in Washington, D.C. He is on a leave of absence from Banks’ office.
Engling entered the race May 20, after party leaders became frustrated with the lack of alternatives to scandal-plagued Morales. Attorney General Todd Rokita and Banks both withdrew their support from Morales. Banks endorsed Engling after he decided to run.
Engling is still relatively unknown, despite running for Congress against Rep. Victoria Spartz and coming in third. His high-profile allies will likely make fundraising much easier. Several members of Indiana’s congressional delegation and high-profile local elected officials have rallied around Engling.
Meanwhile, Morales’ campaign has fallen apart and resorted to personal attacks. Engling in an interview addressed Morales’ smear campaign, including expunged charges a Morales-linked consultant surfaced against him.
“There’s an expectation now in politics that that’s going to happen, and our family knew that when I got into this, that people are going to do whatever they can to try and win,” Engling told me.
Morales comes unhinged on the campaign trail
Morales’ campaign events have grown increasingly unhinged. Morales allegedly accused those who criticized him for hiring a noncitizen — singling out state Treasurer Daniel Elliott — of prejudice at a Bartholomew County GOP breakfast May 23.
That noncitizen, Elina Kupce, was hired for a chief of staff role. Elliott claimed she was “in the country illegally” at some point. Morales countered in a text to Republican delegates that she was legally authorized to work for him, accusing Elliott of taking a “cheap shot” and “deliberately misleading Hoosiers.” He claimed he was being attacked because he supported redistricting and President Donald Trump.
At a delegate event at Olive Branch Farm in Greenwood, Rep. Kyle Pierce, R-Anderson, suggested Indiana’s elections should be managed by citizens. In response, Morales randomly brought up his economic development trip to India — which he insisted he paid for — and said noncitizens “with the right qualifications” absolutely should be hired by the state.
For context, Kupce lacked comparable educational credentials and government experience to other chiefs of staff.
“When you donate to me, and then you can talk,” Morales added, suggesting Pierce should donate to him before asking questions.
Morales’ campaign communications director, Blair Englehart, resigned weeks ago, so it’s not surprising to see this sort of response to the slightest criticism. His adviser and former campaign manager in 2022, Kegan Prentice, also left his campaign. Prentice is still employed by his office as legislative director.
Morales turns to problematic associates
Since those campaign staff exits, Morales’ allies have become increasingly problematic. Stephen Graves, a consultant from New York, recently sent out a text to delegates smearing Engling and running cover for Morales’ scandals. The text said “paid for by Olorin Consulting,” which is his business. The text claimed it was “not auth by any candidate,” but Morales has worked with Graves’ other business, Gotham Polling.Graves, for his part, was suspended from the New York City Board of Elections in 2012 after he was allegedly caught on tape soliciting a $25,000 “finder’s fee” from a company competing for a $65 million contract in 2009, according to the New York Post.
The smear piece sent to delegates made several claims. The text message said, “court records plus adult sex-site data breach records tied to his identifiers” and connected to a longer Substack.
The Substack claims “Public record research has identified misdemeanor court records involving Max Engling in Hamilton County, Indiana, including charges for criminal recklessness and criminal mischief.”
“Sure, these seem to have been awhile ago. They may have been resolved years ago. There may be context. There may be a perfectly reasonable explanation,” it adds. “Good. Then give it.”
Engling, who is a delegate, got the text at the same time every other delegate did. He told me he had the 20-year-old dropped charges expunged three years ago, so they should not have been publicly available. It’s unclear how Graves got hold of them. I reached out to the Hamilton County Court system administrator, but have not received a response.
On May 23, 2007, Engling was charged with “throwing eggs and/or egg cartons off the 146th Street overpass at passing vehicles traveling on U.S. Highway 31” in Carmel. It caused “a damaged air line and water hose on a 1995 GMC street sweeper.” He agreed to pay around $250 to fix the damage and the charges were dropped.
“That was a dumb decision, but it was a long time ago,” Engling told me. “I haven’t thought about it for probably at least several years.”
Engling, who has long been involved in politics, has seen a lot of negative campaigning. He said he had sought expungement to prevent things like this from happening.
“As a staffer in D.C. I (saw) negative ads run against the entire offices. I just saw it pretty closely where it’s like, this is, you don’t want to give any fodder to bad folks that are trying to destroy you,” he said. “It’s nothing, it’s dismissed. But I’d rather just have it, set it aside.”
Engling isn’t the only one on the receiving end of personal attacks by allies of Morales. David Shelton, Knox County clerk, has received a torrent of criticism about his wife’s business selling intimate products, including lingerie.
Indiana Senate District 38, which includes Terre Haute, saw similarly dirty campaigning in the Republican primary earlier this year. Allies of Brenda Wilson, the Trump-endorsed challenger to Sen. Greg Goode, made a point of calling her other opponent, Alexandra Wilson, a “convicted felon.”
She was never convicted of a felony. The charge was reduced to a misdemeanor and later expunged. It was for “resisting arrest,” 16 years ago, when she was a teenager. By her account, it was after having a long night and getting scared after seeing a cop car flip their lights on behind her, after which she “floored it.”
Engling rises above Morales’ toxic political brand
Despite the attacks, Engling said he will support Morales in the general election if the delegates nominate him, adding “holding this office in conservative hands and Republican hands is the No. 1 priority.” Engling said he isn’t letting the negative campaigning get to him.
“I have seen lots of campaigns. I have seen it up close and personal from what the Democrats will throw at you, too, and so I knew what to expect.”
Nonetheless, Engling said he is opposed to negative campaigning, in part because of how it can keep good people from pursuing political office.
“One lady told me yesterday, ‘I could never run for office because I don’t know what they’re going to say about me and I don’t want to put my family through that,’” Engling told me.
“I think it is important to run like we have been running, which is: ‘Here’s the vision I’m setting forward. Here is what we need to do policy-wise to make changes. And here’s how we can win in the fall, and not going after other candidates.’ And, then, if the delegates or the voters agree with, share your conservative values, then let’s go there together,” he added.
Morales is taking a much different approach.
The unhinged speeches and dirty attacks coming from Morales and his allies are signs of desperation. The grift is over. Even if Morales somehow wins the nomination, his political brand is so toxic no one will ever want to work with him again.
Contact Jacob Stewart at 317-444-4683 or jacob.stewart@indystar.com. Follow him on X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Diego Morales’ campaign is in freefall. The smears prove it. | Opinion
Reporting by Jacob Stewart, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jacob Stewart, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
