By Sydney Byerly
The Indiana Citizen
November 4, 2026
Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith is calling on Republicans to “regroup and refocus” after a midterm election in which many of the candidates he’d backed lost as Democrats flipped a congressional seat, won two statewide offices and significantly narrowed the GOP’s legislative majorities.
The GOP’s losses were particularly acute in Hamilton County just northeast of Indianapolis, where Beckwith lives and serves as a pastor at Life Church in Noblesville.
Of the 27 candidates included on a list of endorsements Beckwith released in October, covering statewide, congressional, state legislative and local races, only 11 won on Tuesday. Voters also ignored Beckwith’s calls to reject two constitutional amendments, though they did follow his recommendation to retain Court of Appeals Judge Paul A. Felix. The results were mixed on Beckwith’s call to reject referendums to raise property taxes to fund schools.
“Just like the Democrats after losing 63 House seats in 2010 and 9 Senate seats in 2014, Republicans will need to regroup and refocus following last night’s midterm elections,” Beckwith wrote Wednesday on X, referring to Democratic midterm losses during Barack Obama’s presidency. “And that’s exactly what we’ll do…because America is worth fighting for.”
The social media post was Beckwith’s first public comment after the election. He did not respond to The Indiana Citizen’s request to further discuss Tuesday’s results.
Two GOP nominees for statewide office who were endorsed by Beckwith lost on Tuesday. Republican Max Engling lost the secretary of state’s race to Democrat Beau Bayh, who will become the first Democrat to hold the office since 1994. Republican Elise Nieshalla also lost her reelection bid for state comptroller to Democrat Jessica Bailey.
The only Republican candidate for statewide office to win on Tuesday, state Treasurer Daniel Elliott, is one with whom Beckwith has publicly feuded in recent months over the lieutenant governor’s comments about Muslims. Beckwith did not endorse Elliott’s reelection bid.
Elliott, after giving his acceptance speech at the Republican watch party in downtown Indianapolis last night, told reporters: “This fight is not done. We have a job to do. And this next four years, we are going to focus even more on the people of Indiana, making sure we get conservative principles out there and make sure we get the work of Indiana done.”
In the lieutenant governor’s home 5th Congressional District, Beckwith-endorsed incumbent Rep. Victoria Spartz lost to Democrat J.D. Ford, who won 51.7% of the vote to Spartz’s 48.3%, according to Associated Press results.
Spartz, in a statement Wednesday, called the election a “wake-up call for Indiana,” pointing to changing demographics in Hamilton County and Democratic campaign spending.
“An influx of liberal voters has turned Hamilton County, once one of the top 20 most conservative counties in the country, blue — with not enough rural Indiana voters to offset those numbers,” Spartz said.
Spartz urged her supporters not to become discouraged, writing, “We may not win every battle, but WE WILL WIN THE WAR!”
Beckwith previously challenged Spartz in a 2020 Republican primary, finishing third with 12.7% of the vote.
The losses extended to the Indiana legislature, where Democrats gained 16 seats in the House, according to the Indiana Democratic Party. That was enough to break the Republican supermajority the party had held since 2012, though Republicans retained control of the chamber.
Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston, whom Beckwith endorsed, lost his Hamilton County-based District 37 seat to Democrat Lauren Cole. Huston attributed the Republican losses in part to national political conditions.
“This was an incredibly challenging midterm election and ultimately the national headwinds were too difficult to overcome in a number of our races,” Huston said in a statement. “We’re so proud of our team and all our candidates who stepped up to serve and spent countless hours in their communities, listening to voters and talking about the issues that matter to Hoosiers.”
Republican Hunter Smith, another Beckwith-endorsed candidate, lost to Democrat Racheal Bleicher in House District 24. Republican Paul Nix also lost to incumbent Democratic Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn in House District 32.
Democrats also flipped five Senate seats, according to the party – including defeating two Republicans who ousted incumbent GOP senators in primaries, as President Donald Trump, Beckwith and others sought revenge for those senators’ votes late last year against mid-decade redistricting.
Republicans Trevor De Vries and Brian Schmutzler both lost their races to Democrats. De Vries lost to Scott Houldieson in Senate District 1. Schmutzler, who received Beckwith’s support in the Republican primary, lost to Gabrianna Gratzol in Senate District 11.
Beckwith also publicly backed Republican state Sen. Chris Garten for a leadership role in the chamber, praising him as the best person to replace outgoing Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray. “In my opinion, he’s the only one that really has the leadership prowess in the Senate to make the Indiana Senate a nationally recognized powerhouse when it comes to bold, conservative vision,” Beckwith said in August. Garten was not included on Beckwith’s October list of 27 candidates he formally endorsed. In the District 45 race, Garten led Democrat Nick Marshall by 297 votes, with 21,817 votes to Marshall’s 21,520, according to AP estimates updated Wednesday afternoon.
Beckwith’s endorsements were not a total failure. Republican Rep. Alaina Shonkwiler won reelection in House District 29. In the state Senate, Republican Sen. Mike Gaskill and two nominees who defeated incumbent senators who opposed redistricting in GOP primaries, Tracey Powell and Rep. Michelle Davis also won their races.
It was a particularly grim election night for Republicans in Hamilton County, where Beckwith endorsed a number of Republican candidates for county and local offices.
Democrat Charles Hollowell defeated Republican Dustin Dixon in the sheriff’s race. Democrat Alexandra Wilson defeated Republican Beth Sheller for circuit court clerk, and Democrat Emily Angel Shaw defeated Republican Danica Eyler for Superior Court 8 judge. Beckwith had endorsed all of the Republicans in those races.
Democrats also won three of the county’s four contested County Council races, defeating Beckwith-endorsed candidates Tim Griffin, Amy Massillamany and Ken Alexander. Republican Mark Hall, also backed by Beckwith, won the District 3 race.
Beckwith’s sole school board endorsement, Republican Denise Dye, finished third in Noblesville Schools’ at-large race, which elected two candidates.
Sydney Byerly is a political reporter who grew up in New Albany, Indiana. Before joining The Citizen, Sydney reported news for TheStatehouseFile.com and most recently managed and edited The Corydon Democrat & Clarion News in southern Indiana. She earned her bachelor’s in journalism at Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism (‘Sco Griz!).
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 the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org.
