First debate of the Indiana governor's race features jabs, banter
The claws are coming out in the Indiana governor's race.
At the first debate of the six-way Republican primary competition held in Carmel Monday night, candidates took digs at one another for the first time after a docile start to the evening ― the kind of back-and-forth they haven't gotten to do at previous public appearances together.
Six Republicans are vying for the primary nomination to replace outgoing Gov. Eric Holcomb: U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, former commerce Secretary Brad Chambers, Lt. Gov Suzanne Crouch, former Attorney General Curtis Hill, Fort Wayne entrepreneur Eric Doden and Jamie Reitenour. Current Publishing, a newspaper publisher in Hamilton County, hosted the free debate for a crowd of about 500 at the Palladium.
The conservative candidates largely agree on a lot of the basics, from trimming the fat in government to school choice to abortion. Differentiation has been the greater challenge in this race, and Monday night was an opportunity to cut through.
Braun, who the first independent poll shows is leading the race by double digits, and Crouch, second in that poll, took the brunt of the attacks. The candidates most direct in firing them: Chambers and Hill.
The points of contention ranged from Braun's record in the U.S. Senate to Crouch's part in the Holcomb administration's COVID-19 lockdowns.
Chambers, Hill question Braun's record
Chambers issued the first dig of the evening halfway through the debate by questioning Braun's record in the Senate as a fiscal conservative.
In response to a question about local control, Braun referenced federal spending "gone wild" as a cautionary tale against top-down government. Chambers, during his response to the question, addressed Braun directly, saying some of that national debt accrued while he was in the Senate.
Braun made a display of welcoming the jab.
"Let’s make this debate a little interesting," he said, going on to explain that he voted against every continuing budget resolution except the CARES Act, a federal relief package during the height of COVID-19.
Later in the night, Chambers and Braun had a back-and-forth over Chambers calling Braun a "career politician." In this instance, it was Doden who had the last word, and he almost let the moment pass by after he declined an opportunity for rebuttal.
"I will say though," Doden said, "that was really entertaining."
The final attack on Braun's record came from Hill. Hill said he was happy to support Braun's run for Senate, hoping he'd "fight our battles" in D.C. But Hill characterized Braun's leaving after one term as him "giving up."
"He gave up that fight," Hill said. "Will he give up that fight as governor?"
More: Indiana governor's race: Many candidates, little time to grab voters' interest
Holcomb administration takes a beating
Hill didn't stop at Braun, leveling the most direct attack on Crouch of the night.
"The lieutenant governor wants to not talk about the past," he said. "Well we know why: because she’s tied to the past ― the past of a failed administration."
The subject of these attacks centered on the Holcomb administration's response to the pandemic. Like many state governments at the time, the administration extended public health emergencies, shut down businesses for a time and approved mask mandates. Each candidate said the government went too far.
Hill, saying the Holcomb and Crouch administration "blew it," pointed to his record challenging the mask mandates as attorney general. Reitenour said she would have liked to see Crouch out in public more during the pandemic.
Crouch acknowledged, subtly, that government didn't work the way it should have, without laying the blame at any one person.
"People are served best when there is a balance of power between the judicial, the executive and the legislative branches," she said. "During covid, that balance of power was disrupted."
She pivoted to pointing out her own critique of the Holcomb administration: Her call for an independent audit of the Family and Social Services Administration, whose $1 billion Medicaid forecast miscalculation resulted in cost cuts that impacted families caring for medically complex children.
LEAP district again the subject of scrutiny
As it has been in past panels, the LEAP district ― the massive industrial park in Boone County in which the Indiana Economic Development Corporation bought up land to market to companies ― was a punching bag.
The LEAP district is Chambers' legacy during his time at the IEDC. Other candidates on stage roundly disagree with the economic development strategy in which the state plays the role of developer.
"This is exactly the kind of top-down, state-driven approach, that I think is the opposite of what we need for Indiana," Doden said.
Chambers punched back vehemently. While Crouch called out the need for a statewide water plan, and others remarked that the LEAP project was executed without such a plan, Chambers questioned why Crouch and Doden, who previously served at the IEDC, hadn't taken up the water issue during their time in state government.
Chambers characterized the LEAP project as a forward-thinking vehicle for addressing long-standing water issues in central Indiana while generating billions in economic impact.
"We're either winning or losing in Indiana," he said. "When Mitch Daniels leased the toll road, there was all hue and cry about that, but he was leading. We need to lead in Indiana."
Reitenour makes her first public pitch
Voters have probably heard the least from Jamie Reitenour, a mother of five from Indianapolis who hasn't raised nearly the dollars her opponents have.
She told the audience this may be the one of the few times they hear from her, noting that she hasn't raised enough to qualify for other debates.
Her responses are often rooted in Biblical parables and invoking of the Christian God. There was one question where she markedly differed from her opponents: Whereas everyone else was satisfied with Indiana's system of representative government that precludes citizen-led ballot initiatives, Reitenour believes that the government is in such a state of overreach that citizens should have that right on their own.
"The government is the safest in the hands of the people," she said. "And if the people choose the Lord, our nation will see revival."
Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter@kayla_dwyer17.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana governor's race: 6 Republicans spar in first debate