ELKHART — Republican secretary of state nominee Max Engling believes his campaign isn’t meant for everyone. But, he said, a lot of what the secretary of state does isn’t partisan; it just needs to be run well.
The Tribune had the opportunity to speak with Engling ahead of the Elkhart County 4-H Fair Parade, inquiring about topics such as his recent nomination, appealing to voters, how he believes he fares against three other candidates and his campaigns recent return of a $60,000 donation from a dark-money group.
“I don’t think election security is really even a partisan issue. There’s been certainly policies on the other side that have been one side or the other, but I think by-in-large the people of Indiana want to see strong elections,” Engling said. “They want us to build on the election integrity that we have now, that I’m thankful for in the state of Indiana, but they also want things like the bipartisan parts of the office that you just have to run well.”
In a bipartisan role like secretary of state, Engling said, no matter who the party is in charge, one aspect of the role is to “link arms” with statewide counterparts and move the state forward.
He added that in addition to the four responsibilities of the secretary of state, “you just have execute on the mission to make sure that we’re working on behalf of Hoosiers professionally. That we’re working on behalf of Hoosiers well.”
GOP nominee
Engling emerged as the Republican party’s nominee June 20 after two rounds of voting. According to IndyStar reporting, Engling won with 867 votes; expelling current Secretary of State Diego Morales, who received 134 votes.
He said delegates were looking for a candidate that could bring the conservative vision into the office. And also, win in November.
“I think [I’m] someone who can set a conservative vision, which the folks at the convention want in the state of Indiana,” Engling said. “When they look at what’s happening on the other side, when they look at what happened with the Democrats across the country, we’ve seen especially in the election policy space, issues that we don’t want to see in Indiana.”
Engling cited issues such as 6,600 registered noncitizen voters in New Jersey and slow vote counting in California
Now that he has won favor of the party, he must also win the favor of voters.
“I think a big distinction for me in this race is that I am, one, the person with the most experience for this role. Not just to win a race. But to do the job well,” Engling said. “But also, I’m feeding a family of six here in Indiana. I have four children that go from 10 down to three. I think that reflects the values of a lot of Hoosiers.
“They want to see somebody that is in what they have experienced as well. So, they understand the challenge of affordability. But also, what it means just to build a life in Indiana. I think that appeals to a lot of people here that want to see that in their elected leaders as well.”
Direct impact
Arguably, the most discussed responsibility of the secretary of state is election administration. But whoever assumes the role next, can’t uphold election integrity alone.
Engling said his background in “building coalitions to pass priority legislation” makes him uniquely qualified to work with the Statehouse to pass election integrity laws. He said he’s already working with the General Assembly to ensure only eligible citizens are voting.
But it doesn’t take an act of the legislature to create a transparency portal, he said. The vision: individual people can bring information directly to the secretary of state’s office.
As for companies that register with the secretary of state’s office, he said, “We’ve seen more of these shell trucking companies that register that have employed folks with CDLs or licenses they shouldn’t have or they don’t have English proficiency and then they end up hurting folks on the road here in Indiana.
“And to watch that data, to compile that data in the business registrations office and work directly with the attorney general’s office to investigate and prosecute folks that are invading the law doesn’t take an act of the legislature.”
A full ballot
In November, voters have four options for secretary of state: Engling, Democrat Beau Bayh, Libertarian Lauri Shillings and independent Greg Ballard.
He said that Greg Ballard’s coalition of voters come from “disaffected Republicans or liberals” that want a different option than Beau Bayh.
“I think they’re going to be taking a lot of their votes from the middle of the state,” Engling said. “They are going to be fighting over the same votes that are anti-conservative, anti- Max Engling votes and they can go have that conversation.”
It’s important for a candidate to say where they plan to lead the state, Engling said. He said he’s going to press forward on the policy side of things to see how “we can make the state better.”
The $60,000 question
On June 30, Engling’s campaign received a $60,000 campaign contribution from a dark-money group, Hoosier Leadership for America. According to IndyStar reporting, the organization’s status as a nonprofit means it does not have to disclose its funding sources.
Engling’s runner-up and Knox County Clerk David Shelton filed a complaint alleging Engling violated state law by accepting the contribution.
His campaign returned the donation on July 14 after being flagged during an internal review, prior to Shelton’s complaint.
“If anything, I think it highlights the good work our compliance team is doing,” Engling said. “We recognize on the front end that even though it wasn’t 100% one way or the other, it’s a grey area in election law whether you could receive that or not. We wanted, out of an abundance of caution, to say ‘Let’s not do that. Let’s return that.’ And then see if there’s another way we could receive that money in another way.
“I think really, it’s a testament to say we want to make sure that we are running this race well and that we’re following the bounds of the regulations around running for this and I think it should inspire confidence in folks that much prior to anyone raising a flag we had already had that discussion, resolved that issue and it will be reported in regular order going forward.”
Email Tribune staff writer Juliane Balog at jbalog@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Exclusive: GOP secretary of state nominee Engling makes case to Tribune
Reporting by Juliane Balog , South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Juliane Balog , South Bend Tribune | USA TODAY Network
