By Tom Davies
Indiana Capital Chronicle
October 7, 2026
Big-money contributions from out of state have poured fuel into this fall’s expensive campaign for Indiana secretary of state.
Millions of in-state dollars have also flowed into the campaign accounts, along with controversies over some donations, such as $50,000 accepted by Republican candidate Max Engling from a convicted felon.
Democrat Beau Bayh has gained more than $1 million from out-of-state donors — with some of the biggest contributors having longtime ties to his father, former U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh.
Engling has collected far less from outside the state, although one of his largest donors so far is his old boss in Washington, former U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Both Bayh and Engling face barbs over some sizable deposits made into their burgeoning campaign accounts.
Bayh’s fundraising success has allowed him to wage the most active advertising campaign of any statewide Democratic candidate in several election cycles.
Connections through his father gave Bayh an early financial boost after he launched his campaign last year and five-figure contributions from those sources keep coming in for him.
For instance, Bayh’s largest individual donor is Connecticut billionaire Robert Johnson, who gave Bayh $300,000 last year and $100,000 more in September, according to Indiana Election Division records.
Evan Bayh joined the board of directors for one of Johnson’s businesses, RJL Lodging Trust, soon after leaving the Senate in 2011. His board member compensation last year was $250,000.
Another $100,000 Beau Bayh campaign contribution came from Andrew Bursky, co-founder of Connecticut-based private equity firm Atlas Holdings.
Bursky is a board member of the centrist political group No Labels that flopped in its attempt to find a high-profile third-party presidential candidate in 2024. Evan Bayh is a former co-national chair of the organization.
Beau Bayh said many of his out-of-state contributions have come from “people that have known me my whole life” through his father.
“When anyone’s raising resources to run a campaign, the logical place to start is people that you’ve known forever,” Bayh told the Indiana Capital Chronicle. “Those are the people that know you the best, that hopefully would believe in you. So we’ve had success in reaching out to my personal network.”
Bayh also maintains that he’s had “the most fundraising success of any candidate in this race with in-state money. We have financial contributors from all 92 counties of our state.”
Bayh’s total fundraising will almost certainly top $4 million when the next state campaign finance reports are due Oct. 16. That will include $1 million contributed by the state Democratic Party over the past two weeks.
Engling bashed the out-of-state money’s role in helping Bayh’s campaign advertising that has moved beyond the secretary of state’s administrative role to advocate for tax cuts and tighter data center regulations.
“I think we can all see he’s clearly running for governor through this race,” Engling said in an interview. “Many things that he talks about on the campaign trail have nothing to do with the secretary of state’s race or the official role of the office. He’s already positioning himself to run for a different office before he even gets through the election here for the secretary of state’s office.”
Engling’s campaign says its fundraising has topped $2 million since he entered the race in May and defeated current Secretary of State Diego Morales for the Republican nomination.
That includes a $1 million infusion from the state Republican Party and Gov. Mike Braun’s campaign fund.
One of Engling’s largest other contributions was $50,000 from the federal campaign fund of McCarthy, the former U.S. House speaker. Engling worked as an aide to McCarthy in Washington for about four years until returning to Indiana in 2023, soon before McCarthy was ousted as House speaker in a rebellion by far-right members.
Engling, who is on leave from his job as a top staffer to Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, also has banked $55,000 from a political group affiliated with GOP Sen. Todd Young.
Engling said he saw a distinction between financial support from a current Indiana senator versus Bayh’s out-of-state contributions.
Who’s a real Hoosier? Secretary of state candidates spar over time in Indiana.
“Certainly, with former Speaker McCarthy, that is outside money, but it’s because I’ve worked directly with him,” Engling said. “He understands what I bring to the equation, knows my experience and background, and wants to be supportive of that to continue helping Indiana move ahead.”
McCarthy’s campaign fund reported no contributions to other candidates through the first six months of this year.
McCarthy, who represented California in the U.S. House, said in an interview with the Capital Chronicle that he was impressed with Engling’s ability and believed “it’s very important that we have the very best people that are willing to run and serve.”
“When somebody of that higher quality is willing to put their name on the line and serve, I’m more than willing to help them,” McCarthy said.
Democrats have denounced Engling for accepting a $50,000 contribution last month from Noblesville businessman Michael Sherfick, who pleaded guilty in 2010 to federal bribery charges and was sentenced to 14 months in prison.
Engling defended keeping the money.
“What we’re talking about here is somebody who is legally allowed to make a donation, who had their own challenge between 15 and 20 years ago, has paid that penalty,” Engling said. “They resolved that and have for the last decade-plus been a contributing member of society.”
Bayh links the Sherfick donation with an improper $60,000 contribution from a dark money group associated with Banks that Engling’s campaign says was refunded in July.
“His top two donors right now are Kevin McCarthy, king of the D.C. swamp, and a guy who spent time in the federal pen for bribery,” Bayh said in an online video about Engling.
Bayh, meanwhile, won the Democratic nomination in June after facing intra-party heat for accepting a $25,000 contribution from Marc Rowan, the CEO of New York-based private equity firm Apollo Global Management, where Evan Bayh became a senior adviser in 2011.
President Donald Trump appointed Rowan to his contentious Board of Peace, which drew the ire of progressives leary of Bayh’s candidacy.
Engling criticizes Bayh for keeping Rowan’s contribution because of the billionaire’s ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Department of Justice documents released in January showed Rowan and another Apollo Global executive in communication with Epstein between 2013 and 2016. Rowan hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing involving Epstein and Apollo Global said in February that Rowan did not have any “business or personal relationship” with Epstein.
Lincoln Party candidate Greg Ballard and Libertarian Lauri Shillings have trailed far behind Bayh and Engling in fundraising.
Shilling’s largest contribution has been $10,000 from the Libertarian National Committee, according to state campaign reports.
Ballard, meanwhile, said he expected to have some television advertising up ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3.
He spent nearly $800,000 through June on collecting about 40,000 petition signatures to place his name on the election ballot.
What’s the Lincoln Party? Ballard’s secretary of state run could expand Indiana ballot access
That left him with about $25,000 in cash as of June 30, although he’s since had support from some major donors, including $150,000 from John Lechleiter, the former chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly and Co.
He had a fundraiser in September that collected $165,000.
Ballard, the former Republican mayor of Indianapolis, said he understood campaigns being “antsy” because of the greater attention going to the secretary of state’s race this year.
But he declined to criticize the fundraising tactics of others.
“If it’s legal, I’m not going to say anything,” Ballard said. “If they’re doing it within the campaign finance laws, what are you going to say? Campaign finance laws are the way they are right now. So you won’t hear me complaining about that.”
More outside money could pour into the race in the coming weeks for Bayh and Engling.
Evan Bayh’s federal campaign fund had a balance of more than $2.2 million at the end of June from money leftover from his unsuccessful 2016 Senate comeback bid.
That money could be spent to boost his son’s campaign — much like Gov. Mike Braun did with his U.S. Senate campaign fund in kick-starting his 2024 run for governor.
State Democrats and the Bayh campaign, however, have avoided saying whether the Evan Bayh funding will come into play.
Political groups tied to Banks — Engling’s most-recent boss — spent millions of dollars earlier this year in support of Republican primary challengers to state senators who voted against the congressional redistricting plan pushed by President Donald Trump.
Those Banks groups have been quiet so far in the secretary of state’s race except for a recent poll released. Banks and others involved in his political groups have not responded to multiple messages seeking comment about campaign support for Engling.
When asked whether the Banks groups would be jumping into the race, Engling said he appreciated the backing he’s received from top state Republicans, including Braun and Banks.
“I do expect that there’ll be more support as we move forward from the senator — from both senators — and as we make this pitch in the last month to get across the finish line,” he said.
Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com.
