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Tuesday, Mike Braun won the Republican nomination for Indiana governor, topping five other opponents including Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch. He outpaced the crowded GOP contest with 40% of the votes while Crouch captured second place with 22% of the votes.

Although he has served in the Indiana General Assembly and is currently in his first term as a U.S. Senator, Braun described himself on the campaign trail as a political outsider. He will face Democrat Jennifer McCormick, former Republican superintendent of public instruction in Indiana, in the general election on Nov. 7, 2024. McCormick ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for governor.

Below is coverage from Franklin College’s The Statehouse File of the triumph and heartbreak that came at the end of the governor’s primary.

Braun: ‘We got a lot accomplished’

Sen. Mike Braun, R-Indiana, spoke with TheStatehouseFile.com after his victory speech Tuesday night at his watch party at Moontown Brewing Co. in Whitestown, explaining what inspired him to run for governor of Indiana.

“When I decided to run for senator about seven years ago, it was to weigh in on the federal scene because a lot of the issues I dealt with as being a main street entrepreneur shouldn’t be impacted there,” he said.

“I think I can do more coming back to run for governor in areas of policy like high health care costs, workforce, rural broadband, cost of child care, just a host of issues that are more like solving problems. So, that’s why I decided to come back, and we’ll bring a really good Senate record where we got a lot accomplished. Here I can set the agenda and work with the legislature to solve real world problems.”

Elise Nieshalla, the Indiana state comptroller, said she can’t wait to work for “Gov. Mike Braun.”

“He’s going to be tremendous for the state of Indiana,” she said.

Adam Hedinger, an Anheuser Busch distributor in Jasper, Mike Braun’s hometown, expressed his support for the candidate, highlighting his homegrown roots and potential to make a difference in a small town.

“We are very appreciative of, you know, Mike Braun’s support, you know, of our cause, and everything like that, and just being a hometown senator, now hopefully Indiana governor. We’re excited that he’s going to be able to make a change in Indiana,” he said.

“I think Mike’s homegrown roots are definitely influential and, you know, helping Indiana. Him being an entrepreneur, I think it really helps that, you know, he can make a change with businesses in Indiana and small businesses in general. I think that he can make a big difference.”

Ben Mayes, from Camby, who worked with Eli Lilly for 38 years and retired in 2001, came to the watch party since his grandson is an intern for Braun.

“We’re both supporters of his program,” Mayes said. “We’re enthused to see him get where he’s got. I think he’s got a good program going.”

He added: “I think it went very well because he got 40% of the votes or better, so yeah, he’s done great. I think his program, his agenda is right on target for the people.”

Theresa Dailey of Roanoke came to see Braun, whom she met through her son, state Rep. Christopher Judy, R-Fort Wayne. Dailey is a registered nurse.

“I’ve always lived in northeast Indiana, so I raised my kids there. All my grandkids are there, and my great grandkids are there now, so I don’t plan on leaving Indiana. I want Indiana to be a good state, which it is,” Dailey said.

“[My son] knows Mike real well. We’ve always backed Mike because he just seems like a down-to-earth fella and wants the best for the people in this state.”

Dailey said she believes Braun does great things for Indiana.

“I think he’s gonna make some changes, you know, anything needs to develop with the way the world changes,” Dailey said.

“He’ll just continue that. And hopefully we’ll just progress for the people here.”

—John Asplund & DeMarion Newell

McCormick: ‘I am very much a champion for women’

Jennifer McCormick ran unopposed as the Democratic nominee for governor in Indiana’s primary election. In November’s election, she is set to run against Republican candidate Mike Braun.

In 2016, Jennifer McCormick was Indiana’s superintendent of public instruction and a member of the Republican Party. In 2021, she became a Democrat.

“When I got into office, my values were just not aligned anymore to the Republican Party that I saw at the Statehouse, and so I switched parties,” McCormick told TheStatehouseFile.com Tuesday after the polls closed.

In her race against Braun, McCormick stressed the importance of bipartisan support.

“We’ve got a ton of Republicans who are volunteering and donating along with, obviously, a lot of Democrats,” McCormick said. “If we’re commonsense, civil, and approach it in a bipartisan fashion, we’re better. We’re just better as a state that way.”

McCormick supports Hoosier access to birth control and abortions. She said there could be more restrictions on reproductive rights under a Braun governorship and she “welcomes” the race between herself and Braun because of their differences in ideology.

“I am very much a champion for women to make their own health-care decisions and have their independence,” she said. “I believe in restoring reproductive rights and freedoms. I believe that women should have the right to birth control and IVF.”

On top of McCormick’s emphasis on reproductive rights, she believes strongly in improving Indiana’s public education system.

“I celebrate education, you know, and that means child care and universal pre-k and k-12,” she said. “Public education is open doors to all, and like I said, we have a lot of room to improve. But the difference is that I celebrate public education and he [Braun] is trying to privatize it.”

—Anna Cecil & Mia Frankenfield 

Crouch: ‘We will rally’

As Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch lost the Republican primary for governor night, supporter Brad Cline said that he sees a positive impact from her campaign.

“Suzanne Crouch is a public server, so she is going to serve, whether it be as governor or lieutenant. Crouch has a lot of experience in positions such as state auditor and legislator,” he said at the candidate’s Tuesday night watch party.

“Crouch will continue to serve, and like she said, will unite behind the Republican party and keep moving Indiana forward.”

Brad Cline cannot imagine a Democrat winning.

“Indiana is a Republican state, so I can’t even fathom a Democrat getting in as governor,” he said. “I believe Mike Braun will definitely be our next governor, and as a Republican, we will rally behind him and all the other Republicans.”

—Lauren Agee

John Asplund, DeMarion Newell, Anna Cecil, Mia Frankenfield and Lauren Agee are reporters for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news site powered by Franklin College journalism students.