Second Democrat announces 2024 challenge to Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita

Another Democratic candidate has entered the race to challenge incumbent Republican Todd Rokita for Indiana attorney general.

Beth White, an attorney and the president and CEO of the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking, announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for attorney general on Thursday.

White, a former Marion County Clerk, joins fellow Democrat Destiny Wells, who announced her plans to run for attorney general in November.

“Hoosiers deserve an Attorney General who will focus on protecting their rights, rather than trying to take them away,” White said in a statement. “My entire career has been about fighting to protect Hoosiers—kids, crime victims, and voters. I’ve taken on the tough, meaningful fights and that’s what I will do as Indiana’s next Attorney General.”

But White and Wells, both former Secretary of State candidates, have fundraising challenges as they campaign to take on Rokita.

This week, the incumbent Attorney General’s campaign announced he ended 2023 with just over $1 million in cash on hand. Wells by comparison ended 2023 with just over $55,000 on hand, according to campaign finance reports filed this week.

Rokita announced his intention to run for another term as attorney general in 2023, but his campaign for reelection could be impacted by existing conduct complaints currently before the Indiana Supreme Court’s disciplinary commission.

Rokita AG reelection: Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita not seeking higher office

The state’s supreme court justices in November publicly reprimanded Rokita for misconduct regarding comments the attorney general made on a Fox News program in July 2022, where he referred to an Indianapolis obstetrician-gynecologist who performed an abortion on a 10-year-old rape victim as an “abortion activist acting as a doctor — with a history of failing to report.”

The current complaints before the court’s disciplinary commission stem from Rokita’s public statement following the November reprimand from the court, where Rokita said his “words are factual.”

Party nominees for attorney general are decided on during political conventions this summer. Hoosier voters can decide on the state’s attorney general during the general election Nov. 5.

Attorney General Candidates in 2024

Here is who is currently running for Indiana attorney general:

Todd Rokita, Republican: Rokita is the current Indiana Attorney General and was first elected to the role in 2020. Prior to that, Rokita served eight years as a U.S. representative from Indiana’s 4th Congressional District and two terms as Indiana’s Secretary of State.

Rokita also ran for U.S. Senate in 2018, but lost in the Republican primary to current U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, who is now running for governor. Rokita briefly served as general counsel for Apex Benefits, an employee benefits advisory firm based in Indianapolis.

Destiny Wells, Democrat: Wells ran for Secretary of State in 2022 in what was viewed as a competitive race due to controversies surrounding her Republican opponent, now Secretary of State Diego Morales. Morales defeated Wells in that race with 54% of the vote to Wells’s 40%.

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.

Beth White, Democrat: White is an attorney and served two terms as Marion County Clerk prior to running for Indiana Secretary of State in 2014. White lost that race to former Secretary of State and Republican Connie Lawson.

In 2021 White was named the president and CEO of the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking. She previously helmed the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee. She also has worked in legal roles for state government, Marion County and the city of Indianapolis including as chief counsel for the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and the Department of Child Services.

IndyStar reporter Kayla Dwyer contributed to this story.

Contact IndyStar's 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: Second Democrat announces challenge against Indiana AG Todd Rokita