By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
June 16, 2024
After pulling off a stunning victory and capturing the Indiana Republican Party’s nomination for lieutenant governor, Noblesville pastor Micah Beckwith said he would work to make Indiana GOP gubernatorial nominee Mike Braun the “most successful conservative governor in the entire United States.”
Beckwith, who took the unusual step of campaigning for the lieutenant governor’s seat, defeated state Rep. Julie McGuire, who was Braun’s pick and had been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, by a margin of 63 votes at the Indiana Republican Party convention on Saturday. In another key moment, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita won the party’s nomination on a voice vote in his unopposed bid to serve a second term as the state’s top lawyer.
“I’m humbled, I’m overwhelmed,” Beckwith told the delegates, who had stood and cheered when he was announced as the winner. “I am encouraged that Indiana knows that the power of the government rests with the people.”
Beckwith, who describes himself as the “Christian constitutional conservative in Indiana,” was not a complete dark horse. He previously ran in 2020 for the Indiana 5th Congressional District, finishing third to the winner, Victoria Spartz. Also, as a member of the Hamilton East Public Library Board of Trustees in 2022, he championed a controversial policy that deemed some young adult books inappropriate for their intended readers.
His supporters could easily be spotted among the Republican delegates who had assembled at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis to select the nominee for lieutenant governor. Many of the delegates were wearing T-shirts and pins, carrying tote bags, and waving signs with Beckwith’s name printed on them. When Beckwith spoke before the voting began, delegates applauded, cheered and gave a few standing ovations.
Beckwith quoted from the Bible and warned of the ”radical left” that, he said, threatens Americans’ rights, taking away freedom and radicalizing children in schools by the “teaching of hate and division, while being manipulated with the transgender agenda.” He also touted himself as being knowledgeable about business and agriculture, referenced former President Donald Trump, and tapped into the anger among Republicans over the public health measures enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“One person can make a difference in standing up to our government, the media, the fake science,” Beckwith told the delegates. “It is still hard to believe how easily our freedoms that make our country so great were tossed aside. There are no asterisks in the Bill of Rights that gives our government a pass in case of a pandemic.”
Braun had endorsed McGuire, a two-term lawmaker in the Indiana House, a day after he topped five other candidates in winning the Republican gubernatorial primary in May. However, speaking to reporters after the convention adjourned, Braun, who serves as a U.S. Senator for Indiana, sought to downplay the outcome.
Braun said he had chosen McGuire because of her experience in the legislature. Still, he said, he accepted Beckwith’s victory and thinks Beckwith will adapt to his agenda. Also, Braun was clear that he is the leader.
“There’s no doubt about this, I’m in charge,” Braun said. “And Micah is going to be someone that works for me. If he doesn’t, I think that means that it will probably not be as fruitful in terms of what we can get done.”
Indiana Democratic Party chair Mike Schmuhl issued a statement, saying the Beckwith nomination shows the Indiana Republican Party is out of step with Hoosiers. Schmuhl said Beckwith has spent his career doing the working of the “most far-right conservative groups” in the country and pointed out that Beckwith claimed the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was inspired by God.
“Beckwith will bring the worst of the culture wars to the lieutenant governor’s office, which is usually tasked with increasing tourism and supporting agriculture,” Schmuhl said. “He is dangerous for business, dangerous for women, dangerous for families, and dangerous for Indiana’s future.”
After the nominees gave their speeches, the voting began. Delegates moved to the back of the convention hall and patiently waited in long lines to cast their ballots. Braun and McGuire could be seen working their way through the crowd and talking to the delegates.
More than two hours after the voting started, the result was announced with Beckwith capturing 891 votes to McGuire’s 828. Immediately, Beckwith’s supporters erupted, standing and cheering loudly.
As the delegates streamed into the lobby when the party convention concluded, a man with a bullhorn stood next to a table and hawked Beckwith T-shirts. “Everything must go,” he said, while several delegates approached to get the apparel.
Another man, wearing a Beckwith tee, also waved a Beckwith sign at a group of reporters and said, “We beat the establishment.”
Braun attributed Beckwith’s unexpected victory to “some upset still lingering,” but noted Beckwith had worked hard for the nomination. Also, he said, 95 delegates had not attended the convention.
“It wasn’t, like, a mandate,” Braun said of Beckwith’s win. “It was a close victory and I accept that. He worked hard to do it. We’ll live with it and we’ll be OK.”
At the convention, the Beckwith supporters were energetic and enthusiastic.
Kathy Toll, of Marion County, was attending her first state Republican convention as a delegate and said she became a delegate because of her excitement for Beckwith. Saying she had met Beckwith and had gotten to know him, Toll pulled out one of his campaign flyers and pointed to the list of his qualifications, which included growing up on a farm and supporting term limits. McGuire’s only qualification is that she is a state representative, Toll said.
The infringement of personal liberties, Toll said, is among the issues about which she is most concerned. In particular, she pointed to restrictions that had been put in place during COVID and said government had used the pandemic “as an excuse to infringe on our rights.” Safeguards should be put in place, she said, so that the governor cannot take action through executive orders, but rather, the legislature must give approval to any mandates.
Toll described Beckwith as a Christian man who understands the hierarchy and knows he will be working under the authority of Braun. However, Beckwith “won’t be a rubber stamp,” Toll’s husband, Dan, said.
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
