Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Support for Democratic attorney general candidate Destiny Wells appears to be growing, as voters express an increased dissatisfaction with incumbent Todd Rokita, according to polling data from the Indiana for Wells campaign.
Data was collected on 600 likely general election voters between Aug. 26 and Sept. 2. Lake Research Partners, a California-based research firm, administered the survey, conducting phone interviews with voters.
The data shows Rokita drawing 44 % of the vote compared to Wells drawing 41%. The close percentage shows an early competitiveness from Wells, made more impressive given voters’ 15-point Republican skew in self-identified partisanship, the campaign told reporters Wednesday.
Wells is also consolidating Democrats to a higher degree than Rokita consolidates Republicans, with 85% of Democratic voters in full support of Wells and 78% of Republicans in full support of Rokita, according to the data. Among independent voters, 45% are leaning toward Wells, while 26% are leaning toward Rokita. Twenty-eight percent of independent voters are undecided.
After hearing a set of statements highlighting Wells’ record, including her service as an active Army Reserve Officer and her agenda for the attorney general’s office, voters moved her into the lead spot, with Wells drawing 48% against Rokita’s 44%.
Campaign member Daniel Gotoff said there is “a real dissatisfaction” with Rokita’s personal image and performance in the office, data from voters depicts, showing a potential weakness in the incumbent’s campaign for re-election.
When discussing Rokita’s image and work in the office, Wells’ campaign highlighted Rokita’s stance on abortion and IVF restriction, and his ethics investigation surrounding comments about Dr. Cailtin Bernard, the OB-GYN who performed an abortion on a 10-year-old rape victim.
According to the polling, 26% of voters expressed an unfavorable impression of Rokita compared to 23% reporting a favorable impression. Within those percentages, 5% expressed a “very favorable” impression of the incumbent, while 20% of unfavorable voters expressed a “very unfavorable” opinion of Rokita.
“The only thing shocking about Democrats claiming they have an anti-Rokita poll is how long it took to hit the panic button over Destiny Wells’s failed, radical left campaign. Rinse, repeat, from 2022,” Brent Littlefield, Rokita’s campaign consultant, said in a statement to Indiana Lawyer.
Littlefield is referring to when Wells ran for Secretary of State in 2022 and lost to Republican Diego Morales.
The pair will face each other on the November ballot to be the state’s chief litigator.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.