INDIANAPOLIS — Micah Beckwith’s unprecedented run for Indiana’s lieutenant governor paid off on Saturday, overcoming a candidate chosen by the Republican nominee for governor and an endorsement from the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
During Saturday’s 2024 Indiana Republican Party Convention, delegates chose Beckwith as the Republican nominee for the state’s lieutenant governor position. If Braun, the Republican nominee for Indiana governor, wins the general election in November, Beckwith will be alongside him.
Beckwith won with a vote of 898-828. He beat out Rep. Julie McGuire.
In November’s general election, Braun is expected to face Jennifer McCormick, a Democrat who is the state’s former superintendent of education, and Donald Rainwater, a Libertarian. Paige Miller, an Independent candidate, is also running for the position with her lieutenant governor candidate Jamie Reitenour. It is not determined if the Miller/Reitenour campaign will be eligible to be placed on November’s general election ballot.
If Braun is elected in November, Beckwith will take over the lieutenant governor position from Suzanne Crouch, who served in the position under Indiana’s current Republican Governor Eric Holcomb. According to previous reports, Crouch ran for governor in May’s Republican primary and received 21.76% of the vote, compared to Braun’s 39.57%.
Normally, Republican delegates would have selected the lieutenant governor candidate who was endorsed by the Republican nominee for governor. This year, Braun endorsed State Rep. Julie McGuire, a lawmaker who was was first elected to the Indiana House of Representatives in November 2022 to serve Perry Township, as well as a portion of Franklin Township, in Marion County.
After weeks of campaigning, McGuire was also endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee in November.
However, delegates resonated with Beckwith’s approach to the campaign, stressing that the “second highest position in (Indiana’s) state government should be elected by the people.”
“That’s why we saw a surge in people running for delegates this year,” Beckwith said in a statement earlier this year. “They want their voices heard. My candidacy gives them that choice. For almost a year, I have been on a job interview with the people because I am committed to them.”
Beckwith told FOX59/CBS4 before the convention that he believes his campaign brought the question forward of “who does the lieutenant governor work for” in Indiana. Beckwith stressed that the lieutenant governor position in Indiana is one of the most powerful in the United States.
“It’s one of the most robust lieutenant governor positions in the entire nation,” Beckwith said. “Yet, we’ve kind of treated it like the governor’s secretary for the last three decades. I think it’s time to put that back in the hands of the people.”
Some of the priorities that Beckwith focused during his campaign included fighting high inflation and property taxes, the rise in crime and threats of “woke culture” and children being “radicalized” in school.
Beckwith, a previous member of the Hamilton East Public Library Board of Trustees, was also involved with a book relocation policy last year. In the past year, Beckwith has highlighted his pro-life priorities and banning “pornographic material” in school libraries.
A self-proclaimed “true outsider,” Beckwith has said he would use the lieutenant governor platform to champion Braun’s agenda while advocating for Hoosiers at the same time.
“If I hear the problems when I’m talking with Hoosiers around the state and no one’s really putting forward solutions, I’m going to try and find a solution for those people,” Beckwith previously said.
In an interview with Braun earlier this year before the convention, he told FOX59/CBS4 that he expected it would be a competition between Beckwith and McGuire.
“He, I think, has worked hard to make his case and now, we are going to hear my case,” Braun said. “… It will be a competition of what we propose versus what Micah’s been doing and I’m okay with the outcome.
During the convention, Republican delegates also officially made the decision to have Todd Rokita, Indiana’s current Attorney General, run for reelection in November. Rokita initially announced his intention to run for reelection last year.
This comes as the Democratic Convention next month is expected to showcase a contested attorney general’s race between Destiny Wells and Beth White to determine the Democrat who will face Rokita in November’s general election.
McCormick’s campaign has not yet announced her pick for lieutenant governor as of the publication of this story. McCormick previously told FOX59/CBS4 that her campaign had a shortlist.
“We know what we want is the very best,” McCormick said earlier this year. “We want someone who will complement with strengths and stay true to the values at hand and understand we are after good governing, which means transparency and accountability and being good public servants, but get things done for Indiana. We are working that part of it and we’ll be ready to go.”
Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Mike Schmuhl issued a statement on Beckwith’s nomination Sunday afternoon:
“Today, Indiana Republicans showed their stark divisions, not only within their party, but with their visions for the future of our state,” he said. “Gubernatorial candidates selected by the people should be allowed to select their potential governing partners, and Micah Beckwith’s win shows how out-of-the-mainstream extremism has hijacked the current Indiana GOP.”
“From banning books to restricting healthcare freedom, Beckwith has spent his career doing the work of the most far-right conservative groups in the country. The day after the January 6 attack on the capital, Beckwith claimed the day’s events were divinely inspired. He voted to ban hundreds of books at the Hamilton East Library as a member of the board, a policy that was rescinded after pushback from parents and educators.
“Beckwith will bring the worst of the culture wars to the lieutenant governor’s office, which is usually tasked with increasing tourism and supporting agriculture. He is dangerous for business, dangerous for women, dangerous for families, and dangerous for Indiana’s future.”
“Despite the unbelievable endorsement from Donald Trump, Mike Braun was unable to make his hand-selected choice for lieutenant governor the nominee. As his campaign struggles to come out of the gate, Jennifer McCormick is building momentum across Indiana to represent all Hoosier voices.”
