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U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, a Republican, fended off attacks from both Democrat Jennifer McCormick and Libertarian Donald Rainwater in the final gubernatorial debate of the election season Thursday night.
All of the candidates are vying to succeed Gov. Eric Holcomb, who is term limited.
“Senator Braun admitted tonight that he is the ultimate insider with lots of government experience, and he’s done a lot of things in government,” Rainwater summarized near the debate’s conclusion. “… which means all the things that you’re frustrated with the federal government or the state government, he’s right in the thick of it. And if you want change, he’s not going to change anything.”
McCormick joined in by repeatedly tying Braun to the ultraconservative views of his running mate, Micah Beckwith, a self-proclaimed Christian nationalist. In a media avail following the debate, McCormick defended the tactic, noting that the 70-year-old Braun would be the state’s oldest governor if elected, putting Beckwith “one heartbeat away” from the office.
“We’ve not had such an extreme candidate in that position that I can remember in my adult life … he’s also clearly calling the shots. Let’s just call it what it is: this isn’t the Braun-Beckwith ticket, this is the Beckwith-Braun ticket,” McCormick said. “And that is showing us what to expect if he were to get elected.”
She pointed to a recent video in which Beckwith said he would fire state employees who use pronouns in their email signatures.
Braun, for his part, implored voters to review each candidate’s past accomplishments, rather than promises.
“Look at the track record of whether you get something done — not whether you’re going to say you’re going to do it,” Braun said. “And I can give you proven leadership with results and take Indiana to a place we’ve not been before.”
Republicans have held the state’s highest elected office for two decades and McCormick, then a Republican, defeated the last statewide elected Democrat in 2016 when she won the seat to be the last Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Moderator and political science professor Laura Merrifield Wilson, with the University of Indianapolis, gave each candidate one minute for responses with an additional 30 seconds for rebuttals, if necessary.
Heated moments
Questions submitted by Hoosiers to the Indiana Debate Commission ran the gamut, ranging from education and incentivizing affordable housing to property taxes and views on abortion.
Each of the three candidates have released their own property tax visions, which have been scrutinized for their potential impact on state and local budgets.
Both Braun and Rainwater signaled their continued support for school vouchers, which are typically used by wealthy families who eschew public school systems. McCormick has called for a pause on the program and more accountability for schools getting public dollars.
McCormick sharply criticized Braun for a comment in which he said her four-year tenure as Superintendent of Public Instruction was her only time in public service.
“Shame on you. I was a teacher for 25 years, and if we’re saying that teachers aren’t public service — that sends a true message to Hoosiers of who you are,” McCormick said.
Braun hit back at McCormick after she criticized him for a lack of action to support farmers during his term in Congress.
He said he’d been recognized for his efforts by the Indiana Farm Bureau, calling agriculture “one of the most difficult jobs God has ever created.”
“Get your facts straight before you say something like that,” he said in response to McCormick.
Rainwater questioned whether the farmers in Braun’s hometown of Jasper in Dubois County would agree that he represented their best interests.
“I would encourage you to go down to Dubois and Martin County (to) the family farmers who are having their land taken away in order to build the Mid-States Corridor (and ask) how they feel about Sen. Braun and his support for family farming in the state of Indiana,” Rainwater said.
The Mid-States Corridor has divided locals, many of whom are wary of the transportation project.
Recent controversies
All three candidates espoused pro-gun views, with both Braun and McCormick saying they supported so-called red flag laws to prohibit gun ownership for those deemed to be a public threat.
“Red flag laws have worked well here. They need to be actually improved though because that is the first step to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill … (and) out of the hands of criminals,” Braun said.
Rainwater opposed gun restrictions, saying criminals didn’t follow laws and government shouldn’t be able to decide who gets a gun.
McCormick, who said she owned a gun, pointed to old posts from Beckwith saying that red flag laws are unconstitutional.
But one topic failed to make the debate stage: recent mailers from the Indiana Republican Party that attacked Rainwater for decades old financial problems in which his wages were garnished to pay child support.
Following the debate, Rainwater said he declined to bring up the attacks because it didn’t relate to any topics.
“I would say I find it distributing, at best, that they would attack me on 20- to 30-year old situations that I had in my life that I think a lot of Hoosiers can probably identify with,” Rainwater said. “… they still want to call me a loser. If that’s what they think of me, I wonder what they think of the rest of the citizens of the state of Indiana.”
Some Hoosiers in red counties received the mailers earlier this month, potentially signaling a tight race in which Braun couldn’t lose voters to Rainwater.
McCormick, in her availability, also denounced the attacks.
“Shame on Braun’s team for putting that out. But I’ve seen so many interesting lies and attacks that have been put out this year … that’s just the difference: they’re telling lies, we’re talking about issues,” McCormick said.
“I don’t give a (expletive) what kind of stove you have,” she continued, referencing a digitally altered ad sent out by Braun’s campaign. “What are you trying to accomplish by that? Are you just continuing to lie? … (it) was just really out of line.”
Braun was the only candidate not to meet with media following the debate.
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