Mike Braun Wins Indiana Governor’s Race Against Career Educator

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This article is part of The 74’s EDlection 2024 coverage, which takes a look at candidates’ education policies and how they might impact the American education system after the 2024 election.

Sen. Mike Braun and his self-proclaimed Christian nationalist running mate easily defeated former state schools chief Jennifer McCormick in the Indiana governor’s race Tuesday. 

McCormick, a Democrat and career educator who pledged to focus on school funding and academic freedom, lost by a wide margin — 40.9% to 54.6% — with 92% of precincts reporting. 

Braun, 70, will succeed Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, who was unable to run again because of term limits. 

A former school board member who cited faith, family and community as his central concerns, Braun said Tuesday that serving in government is far easier than running a business, as he had for decades: He was founder and CEO of Meyer Distributing, an auto parts and equipment company he built in his hometown of Jasper. 

“In government, you just have to be smart enough to not spend more than you take in,” he told supporters. 

Braun served as a state representative from 2014 to 2017. He resigned in November 2017 to concentrate on his run for U.S. Senate. 

His multi-point plan for education focused on expanding the state’s popular school voucher program, which grew to encompass more than 70,000 students in 2023-24 — a 31% increase from the year before.

Braun is also a staunch supporter of parents’ rights and has, in the past, targeted  transgender students. He said parents should be informed if their child seeks to use a different name or pronouns and that transgender girls — whom he calls biological males — should not compete in girls’ sports. 

His new lieutenant governor, pastor Micah Beckwith, co-hosts a podcast called “Jesus, Sex and Politics.” He raised ire when he said in 2021 that God had sent rioters to the U.S. Capitol. Beckwith wasn’t Braun’s first choice: Indiana’s GOP delegates chose him in a stunning vote at the party’s convention in June, rejecting Braun’s pick, first-term state Rep. Julie McGuire. 

Despite the shakeup, the pair trounced McCormick and running mate Terry Goodin, a former school superintendent and state representative. 

Among his many pledges, Braun has vowed to create an Indiana Office of School Safety to streamline several departments and implement age-appropriate cyber safety training for students. 

He also said the state should limit cellphone use in schools and favors curtailing some speech in classrooms.  

“We need to protect our children by making sure divisive theories like [critical race theory] or discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity have no place in our public schools,” his campaign website said. 

Braun also wants to increase the base salaries for Indiana’s public school teachers and financially reward educators whose students perform well. 

Indiana has not elected a Democratic governor since 2000. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump won the state handily over Democrat Kamala Harris 58.9% to 39.4%. 

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