Beckwith upsets Mike Braun’s pick for running mate at GOP convention
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Republican delegates on Saturday selected minister Micah Beckwith to be Mike Braun’s running mate in November’s election, eschewing the gubernatorial nominee’s choice for lieutenant governor.
Beckwith upset Rep. Julie McGuire, who was nominated by Braun and endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
At the Republican State Convention in Indianapolis, Beckwith received 891 delegate votes to McGuire’s 828 in what has been an uncommonly contentious race for the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor.
“My job as lieutenant governor will be for me to do everything in my power to make him the most successful conservative governor in the entire country,’ Beckwith said after the vote. “Let’s be sure Indiana is in those conversations when we reference states like Florida and Texas.”
Braun credited Beckwith for building a competitive campaign that ultimately surmounted his choice. However, Braun said he believes in the selection process and reflected on his experience as an upstart, grassroots politician.
“Everything you believe in, I have as well,” Braun said to Beckwith after his win. “We will take Indiana to that next level, because everything you’re interested in, that you’ve been disappointed with recently, that’s going to change.”
Just a few minutes later, Braun told reporters that Saturday’s upset is “a bump in the road.” However, Braun said his name still leads the ticket and a deviation from his pick of lieutenant governor pick will not change his campaign’s priorities.
Regarding some of Beckwith’s viewpoints—which appear to be more conservative than Braun’s—Braun made clear that Beckwith will follow his lead.
“I want somebody that has got to be willing to get down and get involved in the process,” he said. “And you can do that with or without the lieutenant governor.”
At least 10 people approached Braun to be his running mate, he said, and he chose McGuire for her ability to navigate the Statehouse, which he said would be a major factor in enacting his agenda.
“There’s no doubt about this: I’m in charge,” Braun said. “And Micah is going to be someone that works with me. And if he doesn’t, I think that means that it will probably not be as fruitful in terms of what we can get done.”
Braun and Beckwith’s attention now turns to the November election. The pair will face Democrat Jennifer McCormick, the former state superintendent of public instruction, and Libertarian Donald Rainwater in November’s general election to replace Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican.
McCormick has yet to announce her lieutenant governor pick, which will need to be affirmed by delegates at the Democratic State Convention in July.
Beckwith, who launched an atypical bid for the office last year, campaigned on what he calls “constitutional conservative values.” Indiana-centric changes he wants to push include barring foreign entities from buying farmland, curbing property taxes, allowing concealed carry without a permit, limiting state government’s influence and imposing term limits. He also weighed in on national debates saying he wants to rid schools of “the woke agenda” and stop illegal immigration.
He previously served on the Hamilton East Public Library board, where he led a push for a controversial book relocation policy and later resigned to work on his lieutenant governor bid. Beckwith also leads several conservative Hoosier organizations including the Indiana Coalition Conservatives and Indiana Family Action PAC.
In his final plea to delegates at the convention, Beckwith reiterated the need for strong conservative leadership to fend off attacks from “the radical left” that he said “wants to trample our rights.” He touched on his faith, quoted Ronald Reagan and reminded delegates of the power of their vote.
“Getting to this podium has been a year-long journey, or as I like to say, it has been a year-long interview with you,” he said. “This is not a ratification vote. This is a vote on the direction of Indiana. “
While Braun announced McGuire as his preferred running mate in early May, he said he would accept Beckwith as his running mate in an interview on the Jesus, Sex and Politics YouTube channel.
Saturday’s upset vote shows the power delegates still hold in molding the Republican Party and its candidates. It’s the second straight convention during which delegates swerved from recommendations made by the governor or gubernatorial candidate. In 2022, delegates selected Diego Morales over Gov. Eric Holcomb’s pick of Holli Sullivan to run for secretary of state.
In Indiana, about 1,800 delegates determine the lieutenant governor and attorney general candidates. The state is unusual in that these conventions hold a significant role in choosing nominees. This year, 1719 delegates voted.
“I am humbled, I’m overwhelmed and I am encouraged that Indiana knows that the power of the government rests with the people,” Beckwith said after his win.
Delegates of both political parties tend to lean more left or right than the candidates, who need to appeal to a larger voter base. In Indiana, the state convention’s voters have traditionally swung more conservative and have not always selected a gubernatorial candidate’s choice. Delegates tend to be people already involved in the party and often are former or current county and city officials.
The lieutenant governor is the second highest office holder in state government and has several duties that include serving as the president of the Indiana Senate and overseeing two dozen departments, agencies, boards and programs.
Rokita looks to November
Attorney General Todd Rokita was unchallenged at the convention, picking up an easy second nomination despite disciplinary action he has faced while in office.
In a boxing-themed campaign video, Rokita doubled down on his ties to Trump. He also reminded delegates about his conservative stances on immigration, transgender children, COVID-era policies and what he called the “woke agenda” in education.
His acceptance speech was focused on the “radical left,” which he told delegates seeks to take away liberties and is coming after their way of life. He iterated several Trump-inspired lines regarding Democrats targeting Republicans unfairly.
“They are coming to silence all of us, and that’s why we must fight back,” he said. “We cannot give in. We cannot give up. It’s the only way. It’s the only way to beat a bully, and we can keep winning.”
During his first term as attorney general, the state’s top attorney was publicly reprimanded for statements he made on national television about an abortion doctor. Rokita’s statement was found to have violated a professional conduct rule because it “had no substantial purpose, in connection with Respondent’s legal representation of the State, other than to embarrass or burden the physician.”
He did not acknowledge those issues in his speech Saturday.
Rokita will face a challenger to be selected on July 13 at the Democratic State Convention in a tense race between Destiny Wells and Beth White.
Wells is a veteran and worked in the Office of the Attorney General under Curtis Hill. She now works as deputy chair for coalition expansion for the Indiana Democratic Party. White previously served two terms as county clerk in Marion County and now is president and CEO of Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking.
Wells lost in the previous election’s secretary of state race, a contest Democrats felt they had a chance to win. But Wells lost that bid to Republican Diego Morales by 14 percentage points, despite a series of controversies that dogged Morales throughout his campaign.
Like Wells, White also previously ran for Indiana secretary of state. She lost to Republican Connie Lawson in 2014 by nearly 18 percentage points. It was her only other bid for statewide office.
Indiana Lawyer’s Alexa Shrake contributed to this article.