INDIANAPOLIS - When Gov. Mike Pence announces his re-election bid next month, as of now, he’s the lone GOP candidate running for the state’s top executive spot.
But over on the Democratic side, things are getting interesting. Former gubernatorial candidate John Gregg and state Sen. Karen Tallian have launched campaigns. Speculation is swirling state Democratic schools chief Glenda Ritz may enter as well – a decision that would serve as a game changer for the race.
A contested Democratic primary would provide great political theater. But Democrats will likely hope for a tighter field heading into May and then the fall of 2016. Contested primaries are competitive and thus expensive. The party likely will want a candidate who can sail through May and still have the fiscal strength to mount a legitimate run against Pence, who is now sitting on $3.5 million as of the last reporting period.
Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody said on Friday the party is focusing on this year’s municipal elections but said communication is ongoing about the governor’s race.
“We’re just under a full year out from the 2016 primary, we got a long way to go,” Zody said.
Zody said he’s not surprised of the interest in the governor’s race, given the last General Assembly session where lawmakers passed a Religious Freedom Restoration Act and a repeal of an 80-year-old state law that served as a way to set common wages for public construction projects.
“On the gubernatorial front, we believe Mike Pence is vulnerable. Certainly this legislative session made him more vulnerable,” Zody said.
Yet, Andy Downs, director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics, said if Ritz chooses to get in the race, the decision would add another level of complexity within the primary. Downs said he anticipates the Democrat’s best bet to grow their statewide offices is if Ritz remains a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction and someone else runs for governor.
“It certainly will make that primary a lot more interesting if Ritz does jump in,” Downs said.
But Downs said he expects party leaders are talking with Gregg, Tallian, Ritz and even House Minority Leader Scott Pelath (D-Michigan City) about who should be running for governor.
“In a perfect world,” Downs said of the state’s Democrats, “they would like to have a clear field – that’s not happening.”