This weekend, Republican delegates will choose their candidate for the state’s top election office from a crowded field of wildly different options. But unlike other years, who they choose could make the difference between maintaining the GOP’s stronghold or letting the Democratic Party win statewide office for the first time in more than a decade.
Republicans seemed to begin campaigning against Beau Bayh, the Democratic nominee, as soon as he announced his candidacy. They criticized his Harvard background, questioned his Indiana residency and attempted to frame him as a coastal elite riding the coattails of his father, former governor and U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh.
But some of the elements the GOP has tried to criticize also make him a general election threat. His last name gives him statewide name recognition, reminding older Hoosiers of Bayh’s father, a Democrat who managed to secure an 80% approval rating as governor. Bayh had also raised $2.4 million by March, a much larger sum than his Democratic predecessor and a haul that could give the GOP candidate a run for their money.
Bayh’s position of strength comes as the Republican Party appears fractured. For weeks, delegates have received messages from secretive origins attacking different candidates while GOP politicians and pundits spar on social media. The incumbent, who took the office when he orchestrated his own convention upset in 2022, is now the underdog as the GOP establishment coalesces around Max Engling, who entered the race last-minute. And delegates could also end up flocking to the other two candidates, Knox County Clerk David Shelton and former gubernatorial candidate Jamie Reitenour.
With so much at stake for the party, the question of electability has gained more importance. So who exactly would fare the best in a match-up with Bayh?
Who is the ‘establishment’ candidate?
Max Engling appears to be the establishment’s pick, with support from big names like U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, several state legislators and even U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz, who Engling attempted to unseat in the 2024 GOP primary election.
But his sudden entry into the race, combined with near-universal support from powerful people, could also be a weakness among anti-establishment Republicans. Already, some GOP political observers have knocked Engling for his time as an aide for then-U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted by his party after he collaborated with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown.
“In a stunning revelation that should disqualify him from any race in the Hoosier State, Maximillian Terra(n)ce Engling— the establishment insider and Jim Banks staffer parachuting into the Indiana Secretary of State contest — has deep ties to Virginia,” a conservative website wrote last week.
Engling has spent little time in Indiana, a fact that could neutralize similar attacks against Bayh, Laura Merrifield Wilson, a political science professor at the University of Indianapolis, said.
Engling told The Hill in 2012 that his hometown is Chicago, and records show his family lived in a suburb of Peoria, Illinois, when he was growing up. Engling said on a local podcast recently that he was homeschooled every year except his sophomore year, when it appears he attended Eureka High School in Illinois.
Engling attended IUPUI in Indiana from 2006 to 2010, before leaving to work in Washington, D.C. in 2011, according to his LinkedIn. Voter registration records in Fairfax County, Virginia, where Engling once owned a home, show he was registered to vote from 2018 to September 2023, shortly before he ran in the primary for Indiana’s 5th Congressional District. Engling could not be immediately reached for comment.
But Engling is not the only candidate with a nuanced connection to Indiana. Morales, a Guatemalan immigrant, moved to Indiana decades ago for high school. Reitenour moved to Indiana in 2017.
“It is a very odd unofficial criteria that voters care about,” Merrifield Wilson said. “You want someone from the community, and you want to think, ‘Well, this is someone who thinks and acts like me.'”
It’s an unusual race, Merrifield Wilson said, because Engling appears to be the establishment candidate, a title that traditionally falls to the incumbent.
Meanwhile, Shelton and Reitenour have both worked to position themselves as grassroots candidates. Reitenour, a conservative Christian who said she entered the race at the urging of everyday Hoosiers, is running on the belief that Morales did not keep his promise to Hoosiers about election reform. Shelton, as a county clerk, has drummed up support from fellow local election administrators and has been described by some as the most anti-establishment candidate. He’s also one of the more experienced candidates when it comes to election administration, Merrifield Wilson said.
Who has the most baggage?
The question of baggage has taken center stage ahead of the GOP convention, particularly for the incumbent secretary of state.
“Morales has a lot of it, quite frankly,” Merrifield Wilson said.
It appeared to be the primary motivator for Banks, who endorsed Engling shortly after he announced his candidacy because Banks believed Morales could no longer win in November. And even before the convention, Republicans have been critical of Morales’ spending and travel habits. The secretary of state has used taxpayer funds to purchase a luxury vehicle, employ a family member and secure no-bid contracts with campaign donors. Most recently, the state paid for his wife’s out-of-state travel on several occasions, before the state examiner found the expenses “improper” and asked them to be repaid.
But Engling’s detractors have dug up dirt on him as well, including decades old, expunged court records in Hamilton County that revealed Engling was charged with a misdemeanor for throwing objects off an overpass and damaging a street sweeper. Engling has called it a “dumb decision,” but said he paid for the damages and got the charges dropped.
Shelton has also been attacked by fellow Republicans for voting in primaries for and running as a Democrat. He said on a local podcast recently that while he never agreed with Democrats, he felt it was necessary to have a voice in local elections because southern Indiana was a blue stronghold at the time.
Money is a problem for some candidates
One piece of Morales’ pitch has been his flush campaign account, which held nearly $1.2 million in March.
“I am the only candidate who has already millions of dollars ready to take on the Democrats,” Morales said at a delegate event in Greenwood on June 12.
Shelton and Reitenour both have very little money, presenting them not only with a logistical problem when ramping up a potential general election campaign but also indicating a general lack of enthusiasm from the party’s fundraising powerhouses.
Engling’s fundraising is a bit of a mystery. Since he got a late-start to the race, he has not yet been required to file a campaign finance report, and did not share fundraising numbers with IndyStar. Still, with backing from powerful Republicans, it’s likely Engling will be well-positioned to raise money later if he receives the GOP nomination.
Then there’s the question of Greg Ballard, the former Republican mayor who is close to achieving the required number of signatures he needs to appear on the ballot as a candidate for the newly formed Lincoln Party. Though it’s not quite clear yet if Ballard’s presence would pull more from Bayh or the GOP nominee, Merrifield Wilson said his potential to shave off GOP votes will be more limited if Morales is not the nominee.
No matter who delegates choose at their convention June 20, the GOP nominee will have a natural advantage running in a state where Morales, already tainted by scandal, was able to beat Democrat Destiny Wells by nearly 14 points.
“Bayh will have the uphill challenge that there are more voters in the last several election cycles who have voted for Republicans than Democrats,” Merrifield Wilson said.
Besides a matchup with Bayh and potentially Ballard, the GOP nominee will also face Libertarian Lauri Shillings in the November general election.
Contact breaking politics reporter Marissa Meador at mmeador@indystar.com or find her on X at @marissa_meador.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Each GOP candidate comes with baggage. Who’s the best to beat Beau Bayh?
Reporting by Marissa Meador, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Marissa Meador, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
