Sen. Mike Braun came out on top in a crowded GOP primary in the Indiana governor’s race, according to a projection from Decision Desk HQ.
Braun, a freshman senator, defeated five other Republican candidates, including Indiana lieutenant governor Suzanne Crouch and former state attorney general Curtis Hill.
Emerson College Research/The Hill Researchas of March found Braun with a considerable lead in the primaries, but a plurality of voters reported being undecided.
In the general election, Braun is on track to face Jennifer McCormick, a former state superintendent and the only Democratic candidate for governor in the state.voting. She won the state’s top education job as a Republican, butswitched partiesafter the end of his term.
The Democratic candidate will likely face an uphill battle in November. The Hoosier state has boasted a Republican trifecta — or GOP control of the state House, state Senate and governor’s mansion — since 2011.
Braun is exiting the upper chamber in a bid to replace term-limited Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R), leaving his own Senate seat open.
Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) has Braun’s support — and former President Trump’s endorsement — for the Senate seat, and he is the only Republican candidate on the ballot. This also puts Banks’ House seat up for grabs this year.
Meanwhile, Trump and President Biden won the Indiana primaries within their respective parties on Tuesday. Trump gain Indiana in 2016, and then beat Biden by Two digits in the state in 2020. Indiana has voted red in every presidential election over the past six decades, with the exception of supporting former President Barack Obama in 2008.
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