Dems want to beat Todd Rokita in November. Will a contested AG race hurt their chances?

For Indiana Democrats, who haven't won a statewide election since 2012, their best shot at victory this November is likely their campaign to oust Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita.

But the question looming over the state party is whether a potentially messy contested convention race over whom should face Rokita will help or hurt the party in an already challenging election year.

Two Democrats are seeking the party's nomination for attorney general: former Secretary of State candidate Destiny Wells and nonprofit president and CEO Beth White. Party insiders will vote at the state party's July convention on which of the two attorneys will face Rokita later this year.

Both Wells and White each say they are the best candidate positioned to take on Rokita, who is uncontested at the state GOP convention next week, despite previous speculation that the attorney general’s disciplinary complaints before the state Supreme Court could lead to a challenge from within his own party.

With no competition, Rokita can already shift his focus to November where he sits on Republican ballots in a deeply red state with former President Donald Trump, U.S. Rep. Jim Banks and U.S. Sen. Mike Braun. Trump officially endorsed Rokita on Tuesday in a post on conservative social media platform Truth Social. Meanwhile Democrats have to make it through their July state convention before they can rally around a candidate.

It’s likely not the situation Democratic leaders wanted in what will already be an uphill battle in statewide races where party nominees for governor and U.S. Senate, Jennifer McCormick and Valerie McCray, lack the financial support and name recognition of their Republican opponents. Wells, who announced her candidacy for attorney general in November, said the convention competition puts Democrats further behind for an important race.

Most candidates will publicly say they welcome competition, but perhaps what makes this contest so unique is that Wells outright admits she previously asked White not to file to run against her at the convention.

"We have a great network out in Indiana," Wells said. "It takes a delegate vote to win and then the candidate with the money and the strategy to beat Todd in November. You have to have both of those things and I didn't want us to compromise."

But competition at the convention is not new for the Democrats or Republicans. Democrats saw a contested attorney general’s race just four years ago when Jonathan Weinzapfel defeated Karen Tallian at the state convention. Weinzapfel lost to Rokita in the 2020 general election.

White said competition and a "robust exchange of ideas" are good for the party and may motivate delegates to be present and active at the convention.

"It's not a problem," White said, "unless we let it be a problem."

Convention then Rokita

While Democrats may not have coalesced around a nominee, they do agree that Rokita is not the right pick for the state office.

“Everybody’s united on the fact that (Rokita) has to go,” said Ann DeLaney, a former state Democratic party chair. DeLaney, who is supporting Wells, said she believes any ill will among Democrats due to a competitive convention race should "blow over" because the party's desire to beat Rokita is strong.

“He’s an embarrassment," DeLaney said. "He’s dangerous. He’s making war on women’s health issues. There are lots of reasons for him to go and it’s not surprising that we’ve got more than one person anxious to take that task on.”

But some say a contested convention in mid-July while Rokita already has a fundraising advantage and name recognition — whether good or bad — could lead to more problems for Democrats.

While a primary election contest at least gives candidates a chance to get their names out to the general public, a contested race at a convention doesn't because only insiders vote.

“I bet if you polled 100 voters in Marion County, they don’t know who either of them are and it’s not going to improve because it’s an insider’s fight,” said Kip Tew, a former Democratic party chair, who has endorsed Wells. “All it does is waste resources.”

To his point, the already resource-deprived party will have to pay for voting equipment at the upcoming convention due to the contested race, an expense the Democrats didn't have during the 2022 convention when none of the candidates were opposed.

From January: Second Democrat announces 2024 challenge to Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita

Additionally, it could take longer for donors, both in and outside of Indiana, to financially back the eventual Democratic nominee because no one knows who the person will be, further adding to the challenge of running later this year. As of the end of March, Rokita's campaign had just over $1 million in cash on hand. At the end of the same time period, Wells had about $106,000 on hand and White had $32,000.

There already is some national interest in Indiana's attorney general race. Earlier this year national election predictor Sabato's Crystal Ball shifted Indiana's attorney general race from "Safe Republican" to "Leans Republican," citing Rokita's public reprimand from the Indiana Supreme Court last year. Additionally, the Democratic Attorneys General Association has Indiana highlighted in a map of 2024 contests to watch around the country on its website, that says "Help replace Todd Rokita."

"This year, Indiana presents an exciting opportunity for us to potentially flip the AG seat from red to blue," Emily Trifone, deputy communications director of the Democratic Attorneys General Association, said in a statement to IndyStar. "AG Rokita is unfit for the job."

But an uncontested Rokita in the state Republican convention next week still gives his campaign, with the early backing of the Republican state party, extra time to boost messaging about his record in the attorney general's office to potential voters.

"In 2020 voters elected him with the largest vote total in Indiana history for any statewide office and we look forward to building on that success," said Brent Littlefield, an adviser to Rokita's campaign.

Rokita beat Weinzapfel, the former Evansville mayor, by nearly 17 percentage points in 2020, and has since maintained his status as a unabashedly pro-Trump social conservative who is unafraid to get involved with controversial national issues.

Who is the best fit for Democrats?

Wells, who serves as a U.S. Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel and the state party's deputy chair for coalitions and expansion, said both she and White are qualified candidates, but Democratic delegates need to focus on how the party can win the attorney general's office and help down-ballot candidates.

"So many folks have lost that concept, unfortunately. They're not in it to win it," Wells said. "You start there always, but you don't compromise yourself. When people compromise themselves to lose I'm like, 'What are we doing?' That's completely antithetical to why we should be here. Again, probably why I have a contested convention."

Wells has the most recent experience in a statewide race following her campaign as the 2022 Democratic nominee for Indiana Secretary of State. She ran against Republican Diego Morales in a closely watched contest two years ago. Morales' campaign was put put at risk due to allegations that he exaggerated his military experience and sexually assaulted two women, which he denied. Still, Morales won the office by nearly 14 percentage points.

But Wells sees potential for the attorney general's race in 2024 because of Rokita's disciplinary issues and because she previously worked as a deputy attorney general under Republican Curtis Hill. Wells said if she is elected, she would want the office to focus on issues like medical privacy, including letting doctors do their jobs, and protecting workers' rights.

"I loved my time as a deputy attorney general," Wells said. "There are great people that worked in that office. Like line attorneys that aren't partisan, that are just there to do good litigation on behalf of their clients."

In an email to IndyStar, Democratic Terre Haute Mayor Brandon Sakbun said he endorsed Wells for attorney general because she can work across party lines in the office to benefit all Hoosiers, something Sakbun has worked on doing since taking office in January, he said.

“Her values of integrity and selfless service are evident in her military career and much needed in any statewide office,” Sakbun wrote. “Her ability to work in an objective Bipartisan nature is badly needed across our state. The national political climate has stifled productive conversations on state and local issues.”

White, who is on leave from her role as president and CEO of the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking to focus on her campaign, said it will be important for delegates and then voters in November to select someone who has experience governing. White pointed to her experience from her two terms as Marion County Clerk from 2007 to 2014. Wells has not held elected office before.

"I have tried very hard to be very disciplined about the process of running and the rhetoric and things that you say and do," White said. "Because given the opportunity to govern, which is of course what I want, I have to be able to immediately pivot to be a consensus builder and a leader and a voice for reason."

Attorney Belinda Brown, who has known White for 30 years, said White is a good fit for attorney general because she is as "smart as a whip."

“Beth graduated from Georgetown law school with honors,” Brown said. “She could be working anywhere she wants to do in any city in this country, making money that you and I cannot imagine, but instead, all the time I've known her, she has dedicated herself to public service.”

The state Democratic Party convention is Saturday, July 13.

IndyStar reporter Kayla Dwyer contributed to this story.

Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at [email protected] or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Dems want to beat Todd Rokita. Will contested convention hurt?