Exclusive: The fine print on Holcomb & Braun's opposition to Biden's vaccine mandate
Plus: Inside the GOP game of thrones with an open house seat created by redistricting.
Republican Senate candidate Mike Braun speaks during a campaign stop on November 4, 2018 in Mishawaka, Indiana. (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images).
Gov. Eric Holcomb and Sen. Mike Braun clarified their opposition to vaccine mandates Thursday, saying their support for a 2017 statewide vaccine mandate for meningitis is consistent with Indiana’s long practice of immunization requirements for students. They say it does not undermine their position on President Joe Biden’s so-called vaccine mandate.
In a statement last week, Holcomb joined at least 18 other Republican governors in opposing Biden’s Covid-19 testing mandate, which requires businesses with over 100 employees to mandate the covid-19 vaccine for all workers or subject them to a weekly test.
“I strongly believe it’s not the state or federal government’s role to issue a vaccine mandate upon citizens and private businesses,” said Holcomb, who signed a 2017 bill mandating that students at Indiana public colleges and universities be vaccinated against meningitis. The bill passed the Indiana House GOP 87-2 (10 were excused)—and then-State Rep. Mike Braun supported the mandate.
Is Holcomb’s and Braun’s apparent pivot on vaccine mandates a sign of a politicized Covid-era vaccine? It’s more nuanced than that, Holcomb and Braun told IMPORTANTVILLE Thursday.
For starters, Indiana has eight vaccines required for K-12 school entry and two for higher education not mandated by the federal government or executive order.
“What I was referring to was President Biden’s action as it relates to the COVID -19 vaccine, Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson,” Holcomb told IMPORTANTVILLE. “I never proposed a vaccine mandate on a state level or federal level for the COVID-19 vaccine. I support Indiana’s long practice of immunization requirements for students. It is necessary for public health and relies on a long and arduous process to put in place protections for our most vulnerable from such diseases like rubella, the mumps or the measles.”
Holcomb added: “While I believe in the efficacy and the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine, the fact is it’s not yet available for children under 12,” he said. “We’re not in a place where it can be added to the list of required immunizations. Vaccines that are mandated by state law have gone through the appropriate legislative process. It was not an executive order issued by me or by the federal government.”
Braun took a similar but slightly different tack in explaining the apparent tension between the two positions.
“In 2017 the Indiana state government included out-of-state and international students entering Indiana state universities in the requirements already in place for Indiana public school students,” a spokesman for Braun’s office said. “President Biden is vastly overstepping his power by issuing mandates for private businesses from the federal government.”
In a statement to IMPORTANTVILLE, Braun said: “President Biden has zero authority to issue vaccine mandates for employees of private businesses, and he should let these decisions be made by individuals, state governments, and local officials. I will do everything I can to stop this federal government overreach, including formally challenging the rule under the Congressional Review Act.”
Indiana Democrats attacked Braun and Holcomb’s explanations. “The entire Indiana Republican Party—led by U.S. Senator Mike Braun and Governor Eric Holcomb—has created an unnecessary culture war on a life-saving vaccine, and it’s preventing Indiana from putting the pandemic in the rearview mirror,” Lauren Ganapini, executive director for the Indiana Democratic Party, told IMPORTANTVILLE. “Ironically, Braun, Holcomb, and Indiana Republicans had no problem supporting a vaccine mandate in 2017. So what’s changed: the person residing in the White House. Indiana Republicans’ only vision for Indiana appears to be carrying out a form of extreme partisanship that harms the future of Hoosier families.”
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NEW MAPS
Indiana Republican lawmakers released proposed new Indiana House and U.S. congressional district maps this week that will shape politics here for the next decade.
Privately, some Hoosier Democrats expressed relief that the maps largely maintain Indiana's 7-2 Republican to Democratic split; however, they do seethe that the new maps also protect incumbent first-term Rep. Victoria Spartz by lopping all of Democratic Marion County off her 5th Congressional District. They said it was cold comfort that Republicans did not "crack" Indiana's 1st Congressional District, sparing freshman Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan.
Publicly, Democrats have accused the "party of manipulating the redistricting process against Hoosier voters and the future of Indiana." "Hoosier voters getting screwed "less" than you thought is still Hoosier voters getting screwed, and we shouldn't be ok with that...period," tweeted progressive Democrat Brandon Evans, co-founder of Hope, a nonpartisan Indiana nonprofit organization formed to register, engage, and mobilize Indiana's rising electorate.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which targeted the 5th district in 2020 and included it on a list of 22 "Districts In Play", has not yet said whether they will continue to target it in 2022. "We see the way Indiana 5 was drawn as an example of Republican gerrymandering," a Democratic strategist told IMPORTANTVILLE.
Christina Hale, Deputy Chair for the Indiana Democratic Party, who ran for the seat in 2020 and lost by slightly more than four points, told IMPORTANTVILLE:
"Indiana 5 was the last truly competitive congressional district left in our state," she said. "Hoosiers deserve a choice and real public debate and discourse in elections, and that just can't happen when election maps are drawn to protect incumbents."
REDISTRICTING GAME OF THRONES
The new maps at the statehouse level pit some Republicans against each other and could spur a fresh round of intraparty squabbles in six open districts: House Districts 25, 32, 41, 57, 73, and 82.
Take newly created House District 25, for example, which includes Zionsville inside Boone County. Multiple GOP candidates are already eyeing the seat. Based on fresh and exclusive reporting, here are some of the dynamics at play, and the Republicans who could run:
Nathan Frampton, CEO of Zionsville-based ceiling fan company Fanimation and the Boone County GOP vice-chairman, is weighing a bid, he told IMPORTANTVILLE exclusively. “I am indeed exploring the possibility and will continue having conversations with people around the district before making a decision,” he said.
Aaron Williams, a client executive at Google and a Boone County Council member, has been approached by the House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC), I’m told. “If Aaron gets in the house race he is the Zionsville-supported candidate,” a GOP source told me. In a brief interview, Williams said it was “definitely an interesting opportunity” and added that he was “humbled and flattered that anyone would consider me.” He said he was figuring out his “next steps.” “He’ll get the $,” a source told me of Williams. “Heard HRCC was encouraging Clifton until recently so perhaps they have shifted focus to Aaron.”
Brandon Clifton, deputy secretary of state, could also move to the district and run. He was not immediately available for comment.
Becky Cash, a naturopath, could be a candidate for State Sen. JD Ford’s seat and is weighing a bid, according to a GOP source. Alex Choi, an anesthesiologist and Harvard alum, is also running in that senate district, which forces her to consider another race. Cash currently lives in District 23, a seat held by Sen. Phil Boots. “She declared her candidacy with the understanding that she was in that District,” a spokesperson said. “While she is still hoping to serve the people of District 23, she will await the finalization of the district maps for both the House and the Senate before weighing all of her options.”
Elise Nieshella, president of the Boone County Council, is committed to running for State Treasurer (“there’s maybe a 5% chance she comes to her senses and realizes the open house seat would be easier for her,” a GOP source familiar with the dynamics tells me. “But she doesn’t want to run for it.”). Nieshella was not immediately available for comment.
Adam Krupp, the former Indiana Department of Revenue Commissioner, is not interested in the seat and is prepping a run for mayor of Zionsville.
The HRCC did not respond to comment.
And that’s just one of the six open districts. Buckle up.
MAJOR MOVES
Professional moves in Indiana politics, media, and business—with a nod to former Gov. Mitch Daniels 2000s-era 10-year transportation plan.
Sabra Northam joins Indianapolis-based government relations and communications consulting firm, Hallowell Consulting, LLC, as vice president.
IMPORTANTVILLE READS
“Mike Pence is making moves ahead of possible 2024 race,” by David M. Drucker in Washington Examiner
Former Vice President Mike Pence is picking up the pace, with a flurry of public events and political activity, as the former vice president prepares for a possible White House bid.
In recent days, Pence traveled to Nebraska to headline the annual “steak fry” hosted by Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts; launched a podcast, American Freedom; delivered remarks at the rededication of a memorial in Indiana to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; and filed an amicus brief through his political nonprofit group, Advancing American Freedom, asking the Supreme Court to overturn the landmark abortion rights case, Roe v. Wade.
“6 signs Mike Pence is gearing up for a 2024 presidential run,” by Brigid Kennedy in The Week
For one thing, Pence's Advancing American Freedom nonprofit group, staffed by some of his "top allies and ex-aides," is aiming to raise "a whopping $18 million this year," Axios reports. AAF could then use that war chest for pre-campaign activities like "polling and candidate travel," or "pour a chunk of its funds in to a supportive political group" if Pence does seriously enter the race later. A recent Wyoming retreat asked donors to "chip in a percentage" of that target sum.
The former VP has also been fundraising for high-profile Republicans, like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin, Axios writes. Furthermore, he has traveled to Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina — all "key early primary states," notes the Washington Examiner.
"How Dan Quayle saved democracy. Yes, really," by CNN's Chris Cilizza
After all, the Indiana senator-turned-much-maligned-vice-president under George H.W. Bush left national politics with exactly one thing attached to his name: He didn't know how to spell "p-o-t-a-t-o." Well, now Quayle is going to be known by history for something a little more positive: Helping to save democracy.
See, Quayle served as a sort-of sounding board for Vice President Mike Pence in the final days of the administration as President Donald Trump leaned hard on him to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
IMPORTANTVILLE TAKE: How do you spell hero? H-e-r-o-e.
That’s all for today. Thanks for reading and subscribing. What did I miss? What did you like? Let me know in the comments below?
