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By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
July 14, 2024

The race for the Democratic nomination for Indiana Attorney General seemed to be a close contest between two experienced candidates that would end with them separated by just a few votes, but party delegates overwhelmingly backed Destiny Wells and put her on the November ballot to be the state’s chief legal officer.

Wells, a former deputy attorney general and 2022 Democratic candidate for Indiana Secretary of State, won the party’s nomination for attorney general with 1,057 delegate votes. Also, former state Rep. Terry Goodin won the nomination for lieutenant governor over three other competitors with 1,209 delegate votes.

Delegates voted for the party’s nominees for attorney general and lieutenant governor at the Indiana Democratic Party convention on Saturday at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis. Nearly 2,000 delegates from across the state attended, along with state senators and representatives and candidates running for the Statehouse.

While the delegates were voting, news began to spread about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Robin Winston, former chair of the Indiana Democratic Party, stepped to the podium and told the delegates that Trump had been assaulted.

Winston said he hoped “we will realize that violence has no place in American politics.” The crowd responded with applause.

Beth White, former Marion County Circuit Court Clerk and current president and CEO of the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking, challenged Wells for the attorney general nomination. She touted her leadership experience in the public and private sectors and reminded delegates she was the first county clerk in Indiana to perform same-sex marriages. However, she fell short, garnering only 475 votes.

Wells will face incumbent Attorney General Todd Rokita, a Republican, in November.

Speaking Saturday evening after the convention ended, Wells said she did not think the hard-fought race for the attorney general nomination will create any deep split in the Democratic Party. Instead, she said, the delegates chose to support a new generation of leaders.

“I think that vote was about moving into the future and folks saying, ‘Hey, look at some of these younger leaders. Let’s give them a chance,’” Wells said of the delegates’ choice.” And that’s why we framed it as ‘If not now, then when?’”

Wells underscored her message of youth and being part of the next generation by having state Sen. Andrea Hunley, D-Indianapolis, and first-term Terre Haute Mayor Brandon Sakbun nominate her.

White was nominated by Vi Simpson, former state senator, who served for 28 years, and ran as the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2012 on the same ticket as John Gregg. While encouraging the delegates to vote for White, Simpson told the delegates that whichever attorney general candidate they voted for, they should remember the main goal was to defeat Rokita.

“My friends, it’s time to chase that MAGA-loving, ambulance chaser out of that office,” Simpson said as the crowd erupted into a loud cheer.

Hunley described Wells and White as “incredible, strong women,” but, she said, the delegates were making a choice about the future of the  Democratic Party.

“It’s not about who’s better. It’s not about who we like more. It’s about  so much more than that,” Hunley said. “Today is about our shared vision – our shared strategic vision- for the future of the Indiana Democratic Party.”

Goodin, who served in the Indiana Statehouse from 2000 to 2020 and is a former superintendent of Crothersville Community Schools,  also drew from the party’s youthful leadership by having Democratic state Sens. J.D. Ford, of Indianapolis, and Shelli Yoder, of Bloomington, nominate him for lieutenant governor. In 2022, Goodin, who raises beef cattle on his family farm, was tapped by President Joe Biden to serve as the state director for rural development in Indiana for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Although he was the pick of Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jennifer McCormick, Goodin faced some backlash among Democrats because of his former opposition to abortion rights and same-sex marriage. Ford was among those who initially questioned putting Goodin on the ticket and had considered running for the lieutenant governor nomination.

However, Ford told the delegates that he had spoken with Goodin and was convinced that his expertise gained as an educator and farmer is desperately needed “to reverse the bad policies, poor outcomes and negatives trends” that the Republican supermajority in the Statehouse has cultivated over the past two decades.

After the convention, Goodin said he and McCormick were going to  immediately start meeting voters and spreading their message.

“We’re going to campaign, we’re going to campaign, we’re  going to campaign,” Goodin said. “Those are the three things we’re going to do. As we move forward, you’re going to see us out a lot and everybody in Indiana is going to know who Jennifer McCormick is and who Terry Goodin is.”

Dwight Adams, a freelance editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He is a former content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and worked as a planner for other newspapers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.

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.