Briggs: Micah Beckwith would hijack the governor's office for Christian nationalists

Micah Beckwith has not come to bring peace to the Indiana Republican Party, but a sword.

The proud Christian nationalist pastor is storming the party's convention Saturday in hopes of convincing delegates to nominate him as Sen. Mike Braun's running mate in the gubernatorial race — against Braun's wishes (sort of).

Braun last month won the Republican nomination for governor and will face Democrat Jennifer McCormick in November. Braun has already named state Rep. Julie McGuire as his preferred lieutenant governor, and the Republican establishment has rallied around that pairing. Parties usually defer to gubernatorial nominees on running mates, but Beckwith is attempting to deny Braun's prerogative.

As Diego Morales showed in 2022, anything can happen at the convention, where the party's truest believers gather and impose purity tests on candidates.

That's Beckwith's kind of crowd.

Beckwith is an affable fellow with an apparent unlimited gift card to J.Crew. His perfectly white teeth can hypnotize you into nodding along to the idea that, yeah, it sort of makes sense that Jesus was a pro-America messiah who turned over tables because of oppressive property taxes.

Few Indiana political figures embody cultural conservatism as well as Beckwith. He is an influential evangelical who preaches the merging of Christianity and politics. He led the charge to pass a book relocation policy at the Hamilton East Public Library. He wants to fight wokeness in schools, sunset state regulations and turn the lieutenant governor job into a more muscular role through his would-be affiliations with boards and commissions.

Beckwith is going to hijack Braun's job if he wins.

So far, Braun and Beckwith are keeping things cordial. Beckwith has said he'd like to partner with Braun, and Braun, oddly, has offered encouragement for Beckwith's rogue campaign.

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"If you can convince delegates that you're the one that needs to be lieutenant governor, that's fine with me," Braun told the Madison County Tea Party in March. Beckwith's "Jesus, Sex and Politics" YouTube channel uploaded that clip June 7 without making clear it was three months old. I've updated this column to note the timing.

Braun in recent days has continued to speak warmly of Beckwith even while campaigning for McGuire, the running mate of his choice, per Politico's Adam Wren, who has been following Braun. In doing so, Braun is signaling to Republican delegates that it's totally cool if they pick Beckwith instead.

Is there any principle that MAGA mime Braun won't toss aside for the sake of politics? Let me answer that: no.

Beckwith hasn't even won yet, and he's already turning Braun squishy. What do you think would happen if they become governor and lieutenant governor? Beckwith is telling us, if you read between the lines.

"I’ll take arrows with him if he’s taking arrows for doing the right thing," Beckwith told State Affairs. "I look forward to going into battle with him and standing up for truth. … There always needs to be an insurance policy."

If he's taking arrows for doing the right thing? An insurance policy? Is this the mafia? Nice governor's office you got there … it'd be a shame if anything were to happen to it.

In another part of the State Affairs interview, Beckwith described himself as potentially an "independent set of eyes in the executive branch" — an independent set of eyes that happens to be pushing a Christian nationalist agenda.

That's the thing about Beckwith: He has a clear vision for what he wants and how to pursue it. He has an authentic connection to the conservative base (in contrast to Braun's cosplay) and a mandate from the right to execute it through sheer force of will. Like, running uninvited for lieutenant governor.

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Meanwhile, Braun has yet to demonstrate any governing philosophy that he'd be willing to stand up for in the face of pressure. He won't even stand up and tell delegates that Beckwith — who has no relevant experience for a high-level government office — is an unacceptable choice for lieutenant governor.

Braun's weakness presents an opportunity for takeover on the Christian right. Beckwith is heading to the Republican convention to strike down the establishment and smile while doing it.

Contact James Briggs at 317-444-4732 or [email protected]. Follow him on X and Threads at @JamesEBriggs.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: As Indiana lt. governor, Micah Beckwith would steamroll Mike Braun