Mike Pence is Indiana’s governor, but he wants to be president. Indiana Republicans — who control the state Senate, the state House of Representatives and all but one statewide office — want to help one of their own make it on the national stage.
We get it. The message is loud and obvious.
But Hoosiers, who are as cynical of politicians as most other Americans, still dislike naked political power plays. And another one is brewing at the Statehouse.
Indiana law bars candidates from seeking a state office and federal office on the same ballot. That means politicians have to focus on one race. If a person wants to serve Hoosiers, fine — run for a state office. If a person wants to serve the nation, fine — run for a national office.
That might change. Sen. Mike Delph, a Republican from Carmel, has submitted a bill that would allow Pence to seek both the governorship and the presidency in 2016. If Delph has his way, and if things go Pence’s way, Hoosier voters could see Pence’s name twice on the same ballot. Delph’s proposal also would allow any state lawmaker to seek both re-election and election to any federal office at the same time.
“I think it’s good for the state of Indiana to have a sitting governor in the national conversation and because of that I think it’s in our interest to make the obstacles and roadblocks for Pence as minimal as possible,” Delph said.
It’s not enough that lawmakers will have the usual bills — numbering in the hundreds — to wade through this session. It’s not enough that they have to grapple with a new two-year spending plan. It’s not enough that they have to find money for education and other needs. And it’s not enough that they have to deal with the feud over how to best educate our children.
Now their job includes minimizing roadblocks for Mike Pence.
First, it is an obvious waste of lawmakers’ time and resources that could be used serving ordinary Hoosiers.
Second, can anyone campaign effectively to address the needs of Indiana on one hand and the United States on the other? Do the people of Boston or Salt Lake City care about Pence’s detailed plan for Indiana agriculture? Hoosiers deserve a candidate who is focused on them. And the presidency — often billed as the most powerful position in the world — needs a candidate focused on the demands of that office.
Third, what would voters — even Pence’s supporters — do with the 2016 ballot? Does a vote for Pence become, in effect, a vote for the GOP’s lieutenant governor candidate?
This is not the first time such an idea has cropped up. For the 1988 election, lawmakers approved a measure so former U.S. Rep. Lee Hamilton, a Democrat, and former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar,a Republican, could run for re-election to their respective seats and appear on the presidential ticket, if they chose to seek national office. But it’s also fair to note that the 1988 change affected a federal officeholder who wanted to seek another federal office.
Delph’s idea is similar to a proposal being aired by our neighbors in Kentucky for the benefit of U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, another presidential candidate-in-waiting. But, again, Paul is a federal officeholder already.
Pence himself has been mum on Delph’s idea. He has said he won’t talk about any presidential bid until after the 2015 legislative session.
But he could show some real presidential timbre here. He could urge Delph to shelve this idea and focus his ample skills on the needs of ordinary Hoosiers.