Inside Pence's re-emergence—Indiana Society of Washington is back—Deets on the new Pete Buttigieg documentary—state treasurer candidate interview
Buttigieg on whether he'll be president one day: "I know that I might be."
Former Vice President Mike Pence is staging a carefully choreographed comeback amid chatter that he may launch a possible 2024 presidential bid.
In an interview on the Ruthless podcast Thursday—scheduled to coincide with the opening of his nonprofit organization, Advancing American Freedom—Pence dished on his approach to the 2022 midterm elections and his relationship with former President Donald Trump.
"We've spoken probably a dozen times since the inauguration," Pence said in the live recording, as fellow Hoosiers Sen. Todd Young and Rep. Greg Pence sat in the audience.
In the friendly interview conducted by GOP-aligned hosts, Pence came across as more relaxed than he did during his tightly scripted days in the Trump administration, reminiscing about his old talk radio days. “I was big in Bedford,” he joked about the Lawrence County, Indiana burg liking his old radio show.
All of this comes as Pence plans to return to Iowa on Nov. 1 for an event sponsored by the Young American Foundation at the University of Iowa.
You might be seeing him around Indiana more, too, if recent events are any indication. Pence spoke at Indiana's 9/11 Memorial rededication. He did a Bargersville fundraiser for Young. And he spoke at the Logansport funeral of the late Cpl. Umberto Sanchez, who died in Afghanistan amid the withdrawal.
PETE BUTTIGIEG HEADS TO THE BIG SCREEN
I got my hands on an early screener of the documentary “Mayor Pete,” directed by Jesse Moss, the man behind the hit “Boys State” documentary, and wrote about some of my takeaways for Insider.
Like Pence, Pete Buttigieg also sheds some light on his political future.
In one of the final scenes of the new Amazon original film "Mayor Pete," which is scheduled to premiere at the Chicago International Film Festival on October 14 before Amazon releases it worldwide on November 12, Buttigieg answers a question about whether he thinks he'll be president one day. (The film debuts at Indianapolis’ Newfields on October 17.)
"I don't know," the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, responds. "I know that I might be. And that's something."
The doc is heavy on South Bend scenes, opening up on the then-mayor in his office, signing documents, and singing “How a Bill Becomes a Law” from Schoolhouse Rock.
Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Mike Schmuhl, Buttigieg’s campaign manager and friend, is also a main character in the doc.
You can read 8 things I learned from the documentary despite having covered Buttigieg for years by clicking below.
INDIANA SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON RETURNS
The Indiana Society of Washington is back. The philanthropic social group that gives Hoosiers in Washington D.C. a place to connect hosted its Annual Brewfest on Wednesday at the Oracle Townhouse on Capitol Hill—its first event since 2019/
It’s an organization that’s been around in one form or another since the days of the Civil War—founded by Indiana Republicans living in Washington at the time. By 1905, the society had become a nonpartisan philanthropic group.
Now, the group holds an Inaugural Ball in D.C. regardless of which party wins the presidency on the eve of each inauguration, a tradition started in 1952. It also celebrates the state's birthday on December 11 and throws an Indy 500 party.
On Wednesday, all eleven Indiana congressional offices were represented and Sen. Mike Braun even showed up to enjoy a beer.
BRAUN GOES AFTER SECRETARY OF EDUCTION CARDONA
Sen. Mike Braun went after Biden Education Secretary Miguel Cardona for comments he made to me about people across the nation storming school board meetings to express their concern about what they perceive to be critical race theory and COVID-19 mandates.
In other Braun news, he has a new comms staff:
Zach Riddle is now Braun's communications director.
Allison Dong is Braun's press secretary.
Will Gibson in Braun's deputy press secretary.
AROUND IMPORTANTVILLE
The U.S. Senate this week confirmed Clifford D. Johnson as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, as well as Zachary A. Myers for Southern District.
Carmel, Indiana native and alum of Rep. Baron Hill and the Democratic National Committee Adrienne Watson is headed to the National Security Council at the White House.
Rep. Victoria Spartz violated the STOCK Act by purchasing stock in Simon.
FIRST IN IMPORTANTVILLE: Now that the Senate lines have been released, Becky Cash is now in Senate District 7. Since this is not an open seat, Cash will be running for the open seat in House District 25. “She is looking forward to a vigorous campaign and to having a chance to serve the people of HD25,” an adviser tells IMPORTANTVILLE. As previously reported, a number of GOPers are angling for the now open seat anchored in Zionsville.
THE IMPORTANTVILLE SITDOWN: Lana Keesling, Republican candidate for State Treasurer
The hottest club in Indiana Republican politics is the primary race for state treasurer.
This club has everything: four declared candidates so far, including a former Trump administration official, a former George W. Bush administration official, and a Rick Perry endorsement. Its latest addition: Republican Fort Wayne City Clerk Lana Keesling.
In an interview with IMPORTANTVILLE, she talked about the job and her qualification.
Why Indiana state treasurer, and why now?
I'm the current city clerk of Fort Wayne. And I am on my second term, so I've had this position for almost six years at this point. So let me give you a little bit about my background first and then I'll try to answer why. I have an MBA. I have 10 years of experience as a small business owner, I have owned my own business for 10 years. And I have 18 years of experience as a CFO and an IT manager for a very large company, national company, that was in five states with over 18 locations. So obviously I have a lot of CFO and financial background.
I've never had more fun professionally as I have had as the city clerk of Fort Wayne because I can see the difference that we've made, and I see how we impact the community. And we've created an office that's transparent, effective, and efficient. And we turned around the department, which is parking control, that was not self-sustaining, it was losing money and the taxpayers were funding it. And they no longer fund it. We've turned it around and it's doing really well.
And what I thrive on is making a difference and having a good challenge. I'm very proud of the work that we have done, and I would love to make a bigger difference on a bigger level. And so I believe that the state treasurer position provides that opportunity to use my skills and experience on a bigger scale to impact Indiana. And so it'd be my honor to have that nomination from the state convention next June.
Among the field, you have the most traditional qualifications for the position.
I feel like I've spent the last 30 years preparing for this opportunity. And my whole goal. None of us get into public service for the money, we get in it because we want to make a difference and we love it. And so I feel like I have prepared myself to do this for a very long time, and I'm very excited about the opportunity.
You brought up the issue of compensation. Especially given Attorney General Todd Rokita's dual employment early on in the private sector, if nominated and if elected to serve, would you have outside employment, or would your taxpayer-funded salary be your only source of income?
I would not have another job. First of all, I'd have to give up my current position, which is the city clerk, obviously. It's an elected position. So I would have to give up my current position as city clerk to become the state treasurer. It would be my honor to be the state treasurer. And I would be committed to working as the Indiana state treasurer full-time in order to strengthen Indiana financially. And I think, I absolutely... We know that as a public servant, we know what the salary is, we know what the responsibilities are. The responsibilities are vast. And I think the only way to do it is to have it be your full-time position. I will be committed to being the Indiana state treasurer. And that would be my only source of income.
And do you have any sense off the top of your head, roughly how much money you would be managing on a daily basis, at any given time, in Indiana's state accounts as State Treasurer?
Yes, I do. It's over $8 billion.
Yes. $8 billion, and do you know across how many accounts?
Well, there are numerous accounts throughout the state of Indiana. There's a general fund and then you have 70 trust funds under that. So it is vast, and so when you talk about accounts, that's kind of a difficult question to answer because you've got different funds, you've got different accounts.
Do you think the state of Indiana should have any of its money invested in cryptocurrency or bitcoin?
I think that cryptocurrency is high risk. I think it's speculative, I think it fluctuates a lot. My job as state treasurer is to protect the assets of the state. And as my job to protect the assets of the state in an environment where it is high risk and it's speculative, I would be inclined... And I'm also fiscally conservative with how I manage money. I would be inclined to avoid it, at this point.
What's been your biggest professional failure in your life and what have you learned from it that you'll apply to this job if elected?
Oh, that's a very, very good question. My biggest failure... I don't know that I have a big failure. I think for me, I come from a very conservative Catholic family. And I think coming straight out of high school, I started college and I actually, kind of funny, decided that I wanted to be a programmer. I love computers. I love information technology. And this was back in the very early '80s. And I actually did several years of college and then decided I like to work more than I liked to go to school at that point, and so I quit. And eventually, I went back and I earned my bachelor's of science and business administration.
When you look across the field politically, there's some stiff competition there. You have Pete Seat, who's raised roughly $25,000 so far, and has a base of support in several counties with endorsements of GOP chairs. You have Suze Jaworowski, who ran the Trump campaign in 2016 and has relationships with county chairs. And then you have some other entrants who are getting involved as well and have a base of support in their own areas. Where is your opening here, and what do your potential endorsements look like, and how has the fundraising been in the first week or so, since you've been out?
I know the competition is out there. It does not bother me. My path is clear with my accomplishments and my resume. And my accomplishments say a lot for who I am and how I work. I've worked hard for years to build the qualifications for this position. As I stated earlier, I believe that I have very, very strong credentials to be the chief investment officer of the state of Indiana. I don't believe anyone else has the MBA, the education, the entrepreneurial experience, the CFO experience, as well as governmental experience on their resume. I believe that I'm the only one that has that basis on my resume. So for me, I'm not afraid to work hard. I will be out there meeting the delegates and earning their votes over the next 10 months.
This interview has been lightly edited for context and clarity.
IMPORTANTVILLE READS
Big stories about Hoosiers and Indiana issues that move the needle.
"John Mellencamp Ain’t Even Done," by Anthony Decurtis in Indianapolis Monthly.
One of the reasons Mellencamp has achieved that vaunted state of freedom is the staying power of his music, songs that have earned him induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Once he hit his stride as a songwriter, he developed an ability to express complicated emotional truths in direct language that everyday people—the sort of people he grew up around—could understand and feel. And there’s a reason why he’s still capable of doing that. “The reason I stayed in Indiana was because all of my friends were here,” Mellencamp says. “When I was younger, people said, ‘You’ve got to move to New York. You’ve got to be seen.’ Even at 22, I said, ‘I’m not doing that. I’m not going to go to some club. This isn’t about being seen with a certain bunch of people. It’s about learning to write songs and how to make a decent record.’”
“Briggs: Todd Young’s top Democratic challenger acts like Donald Trump, but ‘has a soul’” by James Briggs in the Indianapolis Star.
[Sen. Todd] Young is likely too disciplined to fall for McDermott’s trolling — the Young campaign declined comment for this column — but McDermott’s next-best hope is to bring attention to his own campaign and get in front of Republican-leaning voters who might consider supporting a pro-gun, pro-police Democratic veteran who speaks his mind.
