Indiana's (almost) Trump-free week

Is the Hoosier primary headed for a less-Trumpy 2024 gubernatorial primary next May?

A remarkable thing happened in one of the Trumpiest states in the union this week. Here in Indiana, when former President Donald Trump’s historic indictment came down Thursday, the majority of the 2024 GOP field for governor didn’t have much to say about it.

In a state that Trump won by 16 points in 2020, two of the leading gubernatorial candidates—Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and Fort Wayne businessman Eric Doden—didn’t rush to issue blanket statements on the matter¹.

This, on a week when even former presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush felt compelled to weigh in on Trump’s behalf.

On Thursday, only Sen. Mike Braun had this to say, in a 45-word de rigueur note: “Our justice system is being abused as a political weapon to go after former President Trump and affect an election,” he said. “This indictment is clearly a politically-motivated prosecution by a DA who ignores murders and carjackings but will contort the law to attack his political enemy.”

Doden made no public statements about the indictment this week, but when asked about it Sunday, a spokesman sent along this: “No prosecution should be motivated by politics or partisanship, full stop. This announcement by a radical, far-left prosecutor will undermine Americans’ faith in the rule of law.”