Democrat Destiny Wells to run for Indiana attorney general in 2024

Destiny Wells, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully last year in an unusually high-profile secretary of state race, is running for state attorney general in 2024.

In a virtual campaign announcement Monday, Wells pitched herself as an alternative to the previous two Republican attorneys general, who have each been handed reprimands by the Indiana Supreme Court and said she'd work to "restore the highest ethical standard" to the office.

"We believe the population does not have the time for this side show," said Wells, who previously served in the office as a deputy attorney general. "We want to get back to serving Hoosiers."

On the Republican side, Attorney General Todd Rokita is seeking reelection to a second term.

In 2022, the secretary of state race seemed Democrats' most likely shot at statewide office in deep-red Indiana, given the multiple controversies that swirled around the Republican candidate, Diego Morales. However, Morales easily won with 54% of the vote to Wells' 40%.

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Next year, Wells plans to take on another Republican who's often at the center of controversies. After IndyStar reported on a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio who sought an abortion in Indiana, Rokita went on national television to say his office would investigate Dr. Caitlin Bernard, who shared the anecdote. More than a year of legal battles resulted in reprimands for both Rokita and Bernard.

Before Rokita, former Attorney General Curtis Hill had his law license suspended over groping allegations. Hill is now running for governor.

Wells is the Indiana Democratic Party's deputy chair for coalition and expansion and a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves. She previously served as associate corporation counsel for the city of Indianapolis.

In addition to ethics, Wells said her other priorities would be protecting medical privacy ― drawing a contrast to Rokita's subpoena-like demands of medical providers over their gender-affirming care practices or the state health department for pregnancy termination reports ― and introducing a "workers' bill of rights" to combat issues like wage theft and misclassification.

"It is not supposed to be an overzealous witch hunt," she said, referring to the AG's office.

In a statement, Indiana Republican Party chair Anne Hathaway criticized Wells for running for the "next available office" after being defeated in the secretary of state race last year.

"Time and again, Democrat Destiny Wells has used her leadership position in the Indiana Democrat Party to try and push the radical Joe Biden agenda across the state," she stated.

Wells and Rokita are the only candidates to announce 2024 runs for attorney general so far.

The general election is Nov. 5.

Kayla Dwyer is a transportation reporter at IndyStar. Contact her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana attorney general: Destiny Wells wants to take on Todd Rokita