The Republican race for lieutenant governor is closed. Here's who is officially running

A highly unusual contest will play out at Indiana's Republican state convention next month: A head-to-head for the No. 2 position in the governor's office. The winner will join U.S. Sen. Mike Braun on the ballot in November, to face Democrat Jennifer McCormick and Libertarian Donald Rainwater, along with their running mates.

The last time Republican convention-goers had more than one lieutenant governor candidate to choose from at the state convention was in 1996, where six people put their names in the ring ― and in that instance, gubernatorial nominee Stephen Goldsmith opted not to recommend a favorite.

This time, though, Braun, the party's gubernatorial nominee, did name a preferred running mate: Indianapolis state Rep. Julie McGuire. He did so in short order after winning the primary on May 7, knowing that they would need as much time as possible to court convention delegates.

Related: Does Mike Braun have enough clout to get his LG pick through?

That's because Noblesville pastor Micah Beckwith had declared about a year ago his own campaign for lieutenant governor, irrespective of the eventual primary winner for governor.

The race is officially closed, as the filing deadline passed Thursday afternoon. One of these two candidates needs only a simple majority of the roughly 1,800 convention delegates to clinch the nomination and appear on the November ballot as Braun's running mate.

More: Attorney General Todd Rokita is unopposed in reelection bid at the state GOP convention

The convention is June 14 and 15.

Democrats will select their pick for lieutenant governor at their own party convention in July. In March, Libertarians nominated Tonya Hudson, formerly the party's vice chair, to be Rainwater's running mate.

Who is Micah Beckwith?

The 41-year-old pastor of Noblesville's Life Church has become a household name in ultra-socially conservative circles.

Most recently, he served on the Hamilton East Public Library board when it passed and then rescinded a controversial book-relocation policy. But for years, he's been outspoken on social media criticizing COVID-19 lockdowns and mandatory vaccinations, decrying "sexualization" of children and advocating for stricter abortion laws in Indiana.

He entered the political scene in 2020, raising eyebrows when he placed third out of 15 candidates for the 5th Congressional District Republican primary race as a newcomer.

And he thinks Indiana's rarely broken tradition of allowing a gubernatorial nominee to waltz into the convention with a preferred candidate for lieutenant governor to get elected with no contest is silly and an insult to delegates.

By the time the convention starts on June 14, he will have been campaigning and seeking support from delegates for a year. He estimates he has several hundred backing him.

Who is Julie McGuire?

The Republican from Indianapolis emerged from obscurity when Statehouse leaders heavily propped up her challenge to state Rep. John Jacob in 2022, whose seat represented a southeast portion of Marion County.

Jacob often drew the ire of leadership over his no-exception abortion stance and anti-Catholic and anti-Muslin posts on social media. The House Republican Campaign Committee threw more than half a million dollars behind McGuire, 51, who bested Jacob by more than 20 percentage points in the 2022 primary. Prior to that, she had been a legislative policy analyst for the Indiana Senate Republicans.

She's made a name for herself for a freshman lawmaker in the Statehouse. One of her bills last session, adding new guidelines for when the Department of Child Services can terminate parental rights for the sake of a child's safety, became law with unanimous support. Another of her bills gained notoriety in Indianapolis circles: a bill that sought to undo the special taxing district in downtown Indianapolis that lawmakers slipped into the state budget the prior year.

By session's end, the General Assembly worked out a compromise, allowing Indianapolis to have the tax district but with certain groups exempted and only after the city goes through the ordinance process again. McGuire was removed as a bill author by that time and voted against the final bill, saying she doesn't support adding property taxes for businesses.

McGuire is also the secretary of the Perry Township GOP Club and a mother of four.

Since Braun's endorsement, officials up and down the party brass have been expressing their support for McGuire, from top legislative leaders to Hamilton County elected officials to the statewide office holders like Secretary of State Diego Morales and Treasurer Daniel Elliot.

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: Who's running to be U.S. Sen. Mike Braun's lieutenant governor