Why Greg Ballard is getting into the Secretary of State's race as an Independent
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Greg Ballard. Photo: Courtesy of the Greg Ballard campaign
Former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard can count on one hand the number of times he's made a major decision based on gut instinct: joining the U.S. Marine Corps after college, marrying his wife of 43 years and running for mayor in 2007.
Why it matters: It's been a decade since the two-term mayor left office, but he says he's got that feeling again — this time, about entering Indiana's crowded Secretary of State race.
- "Running for U.S. House, governor ... I got asked all those things," Ballard tells Axios. "None of it felt right."
- "This feels right, especially considering the state the country is in right now."
Driving the news: Ballard announced his return to politics this week — not with the Republican Party he was part of when he upset incumbent Democrat Bart Peterson two decades ago, but as an Independent.
- The Republican and Democratic candidates will be chosen at their respective party conventions in June, but multiple candidates have declared.
- Incumbent Republican Diego Morales is being challenged by Knox County Clerk David Shelton and Jamie Reitenour, who ran unsuccessfully in 2024's GOP gubernatorial primary.
- The Democratic nomination is being sought by Beau Bayh, attorney and son of former Sen. Evan Bayh, and small-business owner Blythe Potter.
State of play: Ballard says he's entering the race to tone down the rhetoric of partisan politics.
- "I want people to be proud of their elected officials, which is getting pretty rare these days," he says.
- He also wants to make the office nonpartisan and has pledged to refrain from donating to, fundraising for or endorsing any candidates while in office.
The intrigue: Win or lose, Ballard could advance the cause of Independent candidates statewide.
- A minor party gains ballot access after receiving 2% in the Secretary of State race.
- Until then, though, they have to collect signatures from 2% of the total votes cast in the last Secretary of State's race in their election district.
- For Ballard, that's about 37,000 signatures, which he'll collect with the help of a firm.
By the numbers: A recent statewide survey found that 41% of Indiana voters identify as Independents.
- Separate polling tested a potential three-way Secretary of State race among Morales, Bayh and Ballard.
- It found Ballard could be competitive, supported by 24% of votes, compared to 29% for Morales and 32% for Bayh.
Between the lines: Some who want to see Morales, who has faced much controversy, unseated have criticized Ballard's entrance as an Independent, worrying he'll split the vote and make the challenge of overcoming Indiana's straight-ticket GOP voters even harder.
- "Running another Republican as an Independent is a waste of time, money, and effort better spent defeating Diego Morales at the ballot box and electing a new leader to deliver for the people of Indiana," Karen Tallian, chair of the state Democratic Party, said in a statement.
- Bayh said he's "building the only campaign" that can defeat Morales, "put an end to the blatant corruption, and restore the office to all Hoosiers."
The other side: Republicans have already started taking aim at Ballard, too, criticizing the Indianapolis native for the two years he lived in South Carolina and raising questions about his voting record.
- "Hoosiers deserve candidates who are not holding a moving box in one arm while gathering signatures in the other," state Republican Party chairwoman Lana Keesling said in a statement.
Ballard, who moved back to Indiana in March 2023, says these kinds of attacks are the reason he's running.
- "They're lying ... right out of the gate, which is why I'm running," he says. "That's the whole point. This partisan politics has got to stop. It's way over the line for both parties."
What we're watching: How Ballard's fundraising efforts stack up.
- With the $1.8 million Bayh raised last year and the $1.2 million available to the Morales campaign, it's shaping up to be more expensive than the 2022 race.