Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales has had several years of bad press. It hasn’t yet translated into meaningful electoral consequences and probably won’t by June. Republican delegates will likely renominate him.
So how does Morales keep bouncing back? His work ethic makes him well-suited to the machine politics that characterize state party conventions. The changing demographics of Republican delegates are also working in his favor.
Those who run as delegates are typically already involved in local politics — including township GOP chairs and county officials.
The convention map is moving in Morales’ favor
Republican state delegates first nominated Morales for secretary of state in 2022, giving him an upset victory over Gov. Eric Holcomb’s appointee, Holli Sullivan.
The Indiana GOP convention had 1,785 total delegates that year, including 521 from Marion County and the doughnut counties. The convention grew to 1,814 delegates in 2024 — but the number from Marion County and the doughnut counties dropped to 444. Marion County alone sent 42 fewer delegates to the convention.
Meanwhile, the most rural counties gained delegates. That’s because each county gets awarded delegates based on the number of votes cast for the Republican candidate for secretary of state in the previous election.
It’s likely Central Indiana will continue to lose delegates as the area becomes more favorable to the Democratic Party and independents. Those changes are likely to work in Morales’ favor. His most vocal critics in the Indiana Republican Party are from Central Indiana.
Central Indiana Republicans can’t stop Morales
The Indianapolis media market has extensively covered Morales’ scandals since before he was first nominated in 2022.
My colleague, James Briggs, has written about them at length:
“Morales’ $90,000 SUV came from Kelley Automotive of Fort Wayne, which also happens to be one of his top donors; he has awarded millions of dollars in no-bid contracts; he continues to employ his brother-in-law to a six-figure salary and give him generous bonuses, along with other staff; he keeps traveling overseas for unclear reasons with unclear funding sources; and he spends taxpayer money on knickknacks with his name on them. Morales also has faced credible sexual assault allegations and exaggerated his military record,” Briggs wrote in a column last year.
Those scandals likely played a role in convincing former Republican Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard to run for secretary of state as an independent. They also prompted a rebuke from Valeria Warycha, co-general counsel of the Indiana Election Division, and Connie Lawson, former secretary of state. Both are Republicans who live in Central Indiana.
The Marion County Election Board also barred Morales from nonpublic areas of the Marion County Election Center after claiming he used taxpayer dollars to make a campaign video. Jennifer Ping, a Republican who is running for delegate in Marion County, is a member of the board.
The opinion of those politically active Republicans matters because, according to a recent survey, a large number of voters have no idea who Morales is.
Handshakes help Morales. Headlines harm him.
Morales has made a point while in office to visit all 92 counties in Indiana multiple times.
“My work ethic is my superpower,” Morales told me. “Delegates know that I will outwork, out-hustle and out-campaign anyone the Democrats put up.”
That means many delegate candidates likely first met Morales by shaking his hand at a Lincoln Day Dinner. While he may be a little awkward, he’s charming enough to have earned support from many local officials.
Those who met him that way are likely less familiar with his scandals or care less about what the media says about him.
Republicans are OK with media martyrdom
There’s a subset of politically active Republicans who view any sort of negative press coverage as a badge of honor. It’s easier to dismiss the media as liberal “fake news” than to actually address the substance of that coverage.
For example, many responses from Republican operatives to my recent column about an Indiana Senate primary candidate whose family members accused her of theft and fraud did exactly that, even though I’m a self-professed conservative columnist. If you don’t believe me, read my previous columns about abortion, the Ten Commandments and Charlie Kirk.
Negative media coverage has been a pretty consistent part of Morales’ campaign, though, and it didn’t stop him from winning in 2022.
“In 2022, the media and the Democrats threw everything at me. I won by almost 15 points,” Morales told me. “I am the only candidate who has proven they can take the heat of a general election and win.”
He pointed out that negative media attention didn’t impact Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith and Attorney General Todd Rokita’s Republican support, either. Beckwith was nominated as the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in an upset victory during the last state convention. Rokita was renominated during the convention as well, but ran unopposed.
“GOP leadership knows that the best way to move beyond media noise is to focus on results,” Morales added. “We don’t apologize for being conservative. We win based on results.”
Morales leads on fundraising
Despite his scandals, Morales seems more prepared for a competitive general election.
Beau Bayh, the probable Democratic challenger to Morales, has around $2 million in the bank, according to the most recent quarterly campaign finance reports. Morales, on the other hand, has around $1.2 million. No one else comes close.
“It will take the Democrats outspending us by a significant amount for this race to go their way,” Morales added. “So, the worst thing the party can do is hand them an opponent who has practically $0.”
David Shelton and Jamie Reitenour, who are also vying for the Republican nomination, only have a few thousand dollars in cash on hand.
“The Democrats are banking on a name and a checkbook,” Morales said.
Morales pointed out he had already defeated a Democratic candidate in a statewide election — Destiny Wells — and is focused on what he wants to do with his second term.
“I want to ensure we have a new statewide voter registration system and campaign finance system,” Morales told me. “We should have documented proof of citizenship to vote in state elections, and we should tackle business fraud.”
Morales’ Republican rivals have problems
“Results are the best cure for fear,” Morales added. He views delegates’ No. 1 concern as improving election integrity, which he believes he has done well.
Shelton, on the other hand, has already lost one high-profile endorsement because of his association with John Rust, a former primary challenger to Sen. Jim Banks. Rust sued over a state law that required him to vote in two Republican primaries before running for office as a Republican. The Indiana Supreme Court ruled against him.
Whether because of loyalty to Banks or out of the fervent belief that the rule represents an essential part of election integrity, Rust has become a pariah among many delegate candidates.
Many of the delegate candidates I spoke to seemed frustrated by their options. It’s likely that some delegates — especially those who vote for Shelton at the convention — might turn around and vote for Ballard in the general election.
A majority will still likely renominate Morales less out of enthusiasm than because his rivals offer delegates no better option. His hardline Republican policies, work ethic and name identification differentiate him from the competition. All three also likely give him a better shot at winning an unusually competitive general election.
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: Republicans will nominate Diego Morales again — scandals and all | Opinion
Reporting by Jacob Stewart, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
