Indy Pride politics—Buttigieg's SCOTUS plan—Tariffs' cost to IN

What's happening—and what's next—at the intersection of Indiana politics and business?

By Adam Wren and design by Kris Davidson

It’s Pride Month, and the Hoosier LGBTQ community is honoring the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan at the same time the first openly gay Democratic presidential candidate, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, is running third in Iowa and New Hampshire. It’s a remarkable storyline, particularly since Buttigieg hails from a place like Indiana, which isn’t a bastion of cultural progressivism, at least not in the national imagination.

“I’m a gay man from Indiana, I know how to deal with a bully,” Buttigieg has frequently said in interviews and town halls when asked about how he’ll campaign against President Trump, should Buttigieg become his party’s nominee.

Closer to home, here in Indianapolis, it’s somewhat stunning to realize that the first time a GOP mayoral candidate marched in a pride parade wasn’t until 2015, when Chuck Brewer did so. This Saturday, State Sen. Jim Merritt will become the second Republican mayoral nominee to march in the parade. It’s a potentially fraught moment for a candidate who has not always endeared himself to LGBTQ Hoosiers. In 2012, he drafted a letter requesting that the BMV revoke specialty license plates for the Indiana Youth Group, a drop-in center for LGBTQ teens. In 2014, he voted to ban same-sex marriage here. And in 2015, he voted for RFRA.

Just last week, and again yesterday in an interview with Fox 59’s Dan Spehler, Merritt said that he stands by every vote he’s made during his 29 years as a state senator.

While the parade is a celebration, and Merritt could insulate himself by walking with former Republican Mayor Greg Ballard, who chairs his campaign and is well-liked in the Indianapolis LGBT community, Saturday’s optics will be fascinating to watch.

Good Monday afternoon, and welcome to IMPORTANTVILLE.

WHERE’S VEEP? The vice president has no public events.

WHERE’S PETE? In Fresno for a “Hardball” town hall with Chris Matthews set to air at 7 p.m.

AP NEWS BREAK: SOUTH BEND, IND. (AP) — Indiana attorney general says he has appealed a federal judge's decision to grant an injunction allowing an abortion clinic to open in South Bend.

MORE: “Attorney General Curtis Hill said Monday that his office filed documents Sunday asking for an immediate stay to prevent the clinic from opening until the state's appeal can be considered.

U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker on Friday granted the injunction allowing Whole Woman's Health Alliance's clinic to open. The judge called the state's refusal to issue a license a "substantial obstacle" for women and a violation of due process and equal protections.”

• U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski: “Every human life is precious and deserves our protection. The Indiana State Department of Health was right to deny the application of an abortion provider with a deeply troubling history to operate a clinic in South Bend. This outrageous ruling by a federal judge to allow the abortion clinic to open without a license puts the health of Hoosier women and the lives of unborn children at risk.”

AROUND IMPORTANTVILLE

• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is out with the state-by-state impact of new tariffs on Mexico. Indiana ranks thirteenth nationwide, importing $4.5 billion of goods. A 5% tariff would cost around $226 million.

• Buttigieg wants to reform the makeup of the Supreme Court.

• Buttigieg will make his third trip to Iowa this weekend since announcing his presidential campaign.

• Merritt downgraded his expected fundraising haul for the mayoral race in an interview on Fox 59’s IN FOCUS, saying he needed $1 to $1.3 million. Previously, he has said he needed between $1.5 to $2 million.

IMPORTANTVILLE READS

Ryan C. Brooks, Buzzfeed: “Pete Buttigieg Is Not The First Openly Gay, Major Party Presidential Candidate. This Guy Was.”

Fred Karger would like you to know: Pete Buttigieg is not the first openly gay candidate to run for a major party presidential nomination — he is.

Karger has spent the better part of the past two months tweeting at reporters to remind them about his long-shot campaign in the 2012 Republican presidential primary, which he hopes helped create an opening for Buttigieg, the openly gay South Bend mayor now running for the Democratic nomination. Karger’s been pushing to get newspapers not to erase his historic campaign.

Ryan Lessard, New Hampshire Union Leader: “Buttigieg's campaign strategy aims to replicate McCain's 2000 race, says campaign staff”

The campaign staff of Democrat Pete Buttigieg say they’re trying to run the most accessible and open campaign ever — one inspired by the late Sen. John McCain’s New Hampshire primary upset in 2000.

Last week Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., raced from an ABC News interview with Martha Raddatz at a Derry cafe, to a Londonderry house packed with veterans 10 minutes away, to a town hall in Exeter, all within the span of about three hours. And he stopped at a handful of events in Concord and Keene the following morning.

Brooke Baitinger, Fort Meyers News-Press: “Vice President Mike Pence joins day of prayer for Donald Trump at Sanibel church”

Days after conservative religious leaders called for a national day of prayer dedicated to President Donald Trump, a Southwest Florida church participated with Vice President Mike Pence in attendance.

Pence attended the 11 a.m. service at Sanibel Community Church Sunday on Sanibel Island.

"We already had in our service to pray for the president," said Holly Patton-Roark, director of Children and Family Life at the church. "He got to stand up in front with Pastor Stephen LeBar and they prayed over him and Karen, the president and his wife, and the nation to have open hearts for what's happening right now."

That’s all for today. Thanks for reading.