Although the 2024 primary election is almost a year away, there is one certainty becoming obvious: millions of dollars will be spent in choosing Indiana’s next governor.
With incumbent Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb prohibited from seeking a third term, there are three candidates vying for the GOP nomination.
Recent financial reports indicate the three Republicans have amassed war chests totaling $8.2 million.
Incumbent U.S. Senator Mike Braun, who is foregoing a second term in the Senate, has approximately $2.9 million available.
During his Senate campaign six years ago Braun, for the most part, financed much of his campaign from his own pocket.
Fort Wayne businessman Eric Doden has approximately $2.8 million and Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch had $2.5 million contributed toward her campaign.
In recent weeks, Crouch has sent out numerous campaign press items of endorsements she is gathering from current or former elected officials.
That list includes former Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman, former Secretary of State Connie Lawson and former Congressman Dan Burton.
Her list of endorsements includes two members of Indiana’s Congressional delegation, Greg Pence and Larry Buschon. Add to the list the former GOP county chairmen of Marion and Howard counties and the Allen County commissioners.
Braun and Doden have not released the names of any GOP officials endorsing their efforts.
It’s a given that whoever wins the GOP nomination next May will be elected governor.
Democrat Jennifer McCormick has announced she is running for the party’s gubernatorial nomination.
McCormick was elected as a Republican as Indiana’s Superintendent of Public Instruction and switched parties after being critical of the GOP’s stance on public education.
Crouch is well-known around the state, but is facing an uphill battle for the nomination against what likely will be be a well-funded campaign by Braun.
Doden’s candidacy is the unknown.
Will the votes he receives come from voters who might have cast ballots for Braun?
Would that give Crouch a chance to emerge as the party’s nominee in 2024?
We might expect Crouch to garner support from Holcomb, but at this point, the current governor seems content to sit on the sidelines.
This week, former Indiana governor and Vice President Mike Pence announced he is running for the nation’s highest office.
It’s not a surprise that Pence is running for president. The surprise was where the announcement was made: in Iowa and not in his hometown of Columbus or in the Hoosier State.
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