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Curtis Hill, the former Indiana attorney general mounting a comeback run for governor, said he would eliminate all state-funded programs that “exist only to pander to identity politics” — including the Indiana Office of Equity, Inclusion and Opportunity — if elected to the state’s highest office in 2024.
“Unnecessary government offices that exist only to pander to identity politics agendas and that do not lead to tangible positive outcomes are a drain on Hoosiers and need to be ended,” Hill said in written remarks released Monday.
Hill also promised to hold “bridge forums” to encourage “open civil discourse with a solutions-oriented focus.”
“We need unity and not division through the advancement of true equal opportunity through bold leadership,” he added.
Hill’s statement did not specifically address if he will target diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives at state colleges and universities, as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis did when he signed a law earlier this year banning the state’s public colleges and universities from spending money on DEI programs.
However, a press release from Hill’s campaign said he would work to achieve solutions in areas such as education, criminal justice, equal opportunity, mental health,and race relations through conservative policies that benefit people of every race and background.
Hill’s promise to eliminate the state’s equity and inclusion office appears to be a direct rebuke of GOP Gov. Eric Holcomb, who created the office and came out in support of such efforts following protests over George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer.
“All Hoosier citizens should know that peacefully protesting and demonstrating for this cause is a noble one, rightly protected by the First Amendment,” Holcomb said in June 2020. “In fact, I hope the peacemakers continue to express themselves and not allow the message to be overwhelmed by the troublemakers seeking to administer pain on the innocent.”
Two months later, Holcomb created a new cabinet-level position “focused solely on improving equity, inclusion and opportunity” across state agencies, appointing Karrah Herring, former director of public affairs at the University of Notre Dame, as the state’s first chief equity, inclusion and opportunity officer.
Hill’s entry into the governor’s race earlier this month made it a four-way contest for the Republican nomination, with U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, and Fort Wayne businessman Eric Doden having already raised millions toward their election bids. Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers has also said he’s considering entering the race. Holcomb is prevented by law from seeking a third consecutive term as governor.
Hill, a former Elkhart County prosecutor, was elected attorney general in 2016 and was once seen as a rising star in Hoosier politics, but his tenure was tainted by accusations that he inappropriately touched four women at a party in 2018. He remained in office through the end of his term, even amid calls by Gov. Holcomb for his resignation and after the Indiana Supreme Court found the women’s allegations to be credible and suspended Hill’s law license for 30 days.
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