Gov. Mike Braun Calls Indiana Election Results a Wake-Up Call for Republicans

Indiana’s Gov. Mike Braun described this week’s election results as a “wake-up call” for Republicans, suggesting the party’s losses were a consequence of failing to focus on affordability issues at the national level. Democrats made significant gains across the state, upsetting the balance of power at the Indiana Statehouse and claiming two statewide offices.

Gov. Braun told reporters Thursday that state Republicans are paying for failures at the national level, stating that voters were angry about inflation and the economy. They were cranky, irritable, and we did not read that well, Braun said. He contrasted Indiana’s performance with other states, saying his administration’s focus on affordability helped protect the party from worse carnage. Look at Texas. Look at Florida. Look at Kansas. Those places have been hit extremely hard, he said.

Braun Acknowledges Republican Inattention

Braun acknowledged that Republicans weren’t listening enough and suggested the state’s Republican supermajority may have hurt the party. Whenever you have such large majorities, I do think you get a little off focus on what the issues are, he said. Braun maintained that his own office never lost sight of what mattered, pointing to his gas tax holiday as an example of addressing rising gas prices.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun responds to Democratic gains, looks ahead to working with lawmakers

Division Over Redistricting and Candidate Selection

Sen. Spencer Deery (R-West Lafayette), who opposed redistricting and won his seat, said Republican losses were self-made. By not keeping the commitments they made to voters or to prioritize voters or the Constitution or really the Hoosier way of doing things, he said. In contrast, House Speaker-elect Rep. Ben Smaltz (R-Auburn), a chief architect of redistricting, dismissed a connection between the map changes and the losses.

Braun also hinted at a change for how the party selects statewide candidates. He suggested moving away from the current convention system, where delegates choose nominees, toward public primaries. To me, the more you open anything up to the people, you’re probably going to get a better result, Braun said.

Gov. Mike Braun Calls Indiana Election Results a Wake-Up Call for Republicans — Photo: indianapublicradio.org

Braun Sees Opportunity for Bipartisanship

Beyond internal party matters, Braun expressed a desire to work with Democrats on issues of affordability. I view everything that happened on Tuesday as a golden opportunity and a wake-up call, he said. He also voiced support for newly elected Democrat Beau Bayh’s effort to audit the office of the Secretary of State under Diego Morales, stating Whenever it comes to audits and transparency, I’m going to be for them. Priorities for Indiana’s next legislative session have not yet been released.