Braun vs. McCormick: Takeaways from Indiana's first gubernatorial debate
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Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photos: Courtesy of the campaigns
The first gubernatorial debate between Republican Sen. Mike Braun and Democrat Jennifer McCormick on Wednesday night was not quite as cordial as the vice presidential debate the night before, as the candidates addressed controversies around attack ads, running mates and party loyalty.
State of play: Even though every poll has Braun up and he'd raised six times as much money as McCormick by the second quarter of this year, he released an attack ad this week that has some political watchers speculating he may be concerned about McCormick gaining ground.
- Braun is also contending with unforced errors from his own team, criticizing running mate Micah Beckwith for going off-script with several far-right talking points about vaccines and comparing McCormick to the "Jezebel spirit."
What happened: The two candidates stayed largely on track, answering questions on policy issues like education, marijuana legalization, property tax plans and immigration, though FOX59 moderators had to ask both of them to more directly answer questions several times.
- The final minutes of the debate became more contentious as they were asked about their running mates.
- Braun deflected questions about Beckwith's controversial statements while McCormick said the entire Democratic party supports her pick of Terry Goodin, despite initial concerns about his previous voting record on gay marriage.
Here are the moments that stuck out to us in the hour-long debate.
📺 Braun addressed the attack ad he released this week using a digitally altered image without the disclaimer required by a new state law seeking to limit AI-driven misinformation in elections.
- Braun did not apologize for the ad, which has since been replaced with a version that doesn't include the manipulated image.
- "No campaign is going to be perfect," he said.
👀 The latest version of the ad in question ran during a commercial break immediately following the discussion of it.
🤫 Braun also declined to apologize for Beckwith's recent comment likening McCormick to the "Jezebel spirit."
- Jezebel is often used as a shorthand for a shameless or immoral woman.
- McCormick brought up the comment repeatedly, even asking Braun directly for an apology at one point.
- She called Beckwith "dangerous."
🗳️ When pressed, Braun said he does believe that former President Trump lost the 2020 election.
🤑 While McCormick is the former education chief, Braun said her proposal to start teacher pay at $60,000 is "way too modest."
- Current state law requires districts to start teachers at $40,000 — something most, but not all, districts had achieved by 2023 (the most recent statewide report available).
🌿 Both candidates supported, to some degree, raising the state's minimum wage and legalizing medical marijuana.
- McCormick also supports legal recreational marijuana use for adults.
What's next: Another debate — this one with Braun, McCormick and Libertarian candidate Donald Rainwater.
- It starts at 6pm Thursday and airs on WISH-TV.