By Bill Moreau, publisher
The Indiana Citizen
March 31, 2026
Next Monday, April 6, is the deadline for registering to vote in the May 5 primary. Click on this handy link to confirm you’re registered. If you’ve moved recently, now is the time to update your registration.
Notice I didn’t urge you to register. We know a thing or two about our supporters, beginning with our assumption that 100% of you are already registered. You are among the most active, engaged citizens in Indiana, who support us because you’re civic philanthropists who want to bring fellow Hoosiers into the civic life of our state.
So, let me urge you to register two new voters before April 6. Just two. Don’t hesitate to ask neighbors, co-workers or church members whether they’re registered. If the answer is no, help them on the spot. If they have a valid driver’s license or state ID, it couldn’t be easier to register online, on the spot. If you have a high school senior in your family who turns 18 before Election Day, November 3, they’re eligible to vote. Urge your high school senior to register five classmates.
In 2024, I knew my barber had moved recently, and I asked her if she had updated her registration. She said no, and we handled it on my phone. Next thing I knew, I had helped five customers update their registrations before I hit the door.
Voting in every election is important, but this May, the primaries in Indiana are especially significant. Many Republican legislators who voted against redistricting are facing primary challenges while a record number of Democrats are running in Statehouse races.
Because Indiana’s congressional, state Senate and state House of Representatives districts are so grossly gerrymandered, the vast majority of those races will be decided in the primary, although Democrats are optimistic about their candidate-recruiting efforts.
In several red state legislative districts, there’s a proxy war unfolding between MAGA and Establishment Republicans, the product of the Trump-inspired effort to re-gerrymander the Indiana congressional delegation from 7R-2D to 9R-0D. The Republican legislators who had the courage to stand up against the unprecedented mid-decade redistricting are being targeted for extinction for such an apostasy.
GOP State Senator Spencer Deery–a Mitch Daniels protege–is one such apostate, running for re-election in Senate District 23, which includes Purdue. His primary opponent Paula Copenhaver is a state employee, hired by Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith to be his Government Affairs Director for northern Indiana. Word is the Copenhaver campaign is spreading the rumor that Sen. Deery actually graduated from the University of Arizona. (This is a joke that you either get or don’t!)
Speaking of the Elite Eight—condolences to fellow Purdue fans (ugh)—if you’ve been watching the games, you’ve seen commercials attaching MAGA-backed state legislative candidates to President Trump. This is what “dark money” ads look like. We’ll never have access to the names of the actual donors behind those ads.
Down the ballot, you will see candidates for state convention delegates. These are the folks who will decide which Republican or Democrat nominee for Secretary of State, Treasurer and Comptroller will appear on your November ballot. In the Secretary of State race, there’s a heated under-the-radar campaign to elect convention delegates pledged to incumbent Diego Morales, former GOP gubernatorial candidate Jamie Reitenour and Knox County Clerk David Shelton on the Republican side, and Beau Bayh and Blythe Potter on the Democratic side.
Recall that Micah Beckwith–an outspoken and self-proclaimed Christian nationalist– perfected the strategy of recruiting and electing state convention delegates in May 2024, enabling him to secure the Republican nomination for Lt. Governor at the June GOP convention, narrowly defeating Gov. Mike Braun’s choice, state Rep. Julie McGuire. He became Lt. Governor on January 13, 2025, riding on Mike Braun’s coattails, and his successor in the event of Gov. Braun’s death.
Since then, we’ve been the only Indiana journalism platform to cover persistently Lt. Gov. Beckwith through our “One Heartbeat Away: Do Christian nationalists have an agenda for Indiana?” project. We just learned that our series and its principal reporter, the talented Franklin College alum Sydney Byerly, is a finalist for the Indiana Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Coverage of Politics or Government award. This is the same award we won in 2022 for our reporting on the 2021 redistricting process. Just being named a finalist is a pretty big deal for The Indiana Citizen and a really big deal for a journalist so early in her career.
Just a word of caution about voting in a primary. Because Indiana does not have a formal party-affiliation process, the party’s ballot you request has the effect of declaring—or confusing–your party preference. Why does this matter?
In 2024, there was a concerted effort by GOP gubernatorial candidate Brad Chambers to urge Democrats to “cross over,” request a Republican primary ballot, and vote for him. This “crossover” campaign came back to bite several longtime Democrats who later sought party offices, only to be told by county party officials they were no longer bona fide Democrats. Imagine their surprise.
These “crossover” efforts are being made in several of the contested legislative races. The argument by the Establishment Republican candidate goes like this: “This is a safe Republican district. I voted against redistricting. You don’t want me replaced by a MAGA candidate.” I have visions of a bumper sticker: “Democrats: Cross over and vote for Sen. Smith-it could be a lot worse!”
There’s a lot to dislike about the way the two major political parties in Indiana choose their candidates, but since we’re stuck with it for now, we really need to vote on May 5. Otherwise, don’t bellyache about who’s on the November 3 general election ballot.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization.
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about this commentary, contact Bill Moreau at bill.moreau@indianacitizen.org
