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Underdog Jamie Reitenour, a faith-based candidate running to succeed Gov. Eric Holcomb, made her debut appearance on the stage with other candidates last week but is objecting to being excluded from at least two events for contenders in the coming days.
“My exclusion from these important events in the democratic process is an injustice that needs to be corrected! Are the requirements of the Indiana Constitution to run for statewide office so disrespected that those in power must find other ways to direct the electorate?” she implored in a Thursday press release.
Reitenour is one of six Republican candidates pursuing the office, along with U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, Brad Chambers, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, Eric Doden and former Attorney General Curtis Hill.
In particular, Reitenour criticized “the establishment” for “ignor(ing) any consideration of diversity, equity, and inclusion when it doesn’t suit their desires…” Reitenour and Hill are the only two Black candidates in the race. Hill is excluded from one of the three events Reitenour targeted but included in two others.
In a lengthy statement, Reitenour says “never have I ever cried, ‘racism’” and goes on to say that, “… This is not the typical, virtue-signaling (Diversty, Equity and Inclusion criteria), where merit is wrongly penalized for the sake of demographics.”
“Rather, this is a case where a non-political citizen, who also happens to be a minority woman, without the benefit of family wealth or political donors, defied the odds by meeting the same high standards as the other candidates,” Reitenour said.
Forum and debate appearances
The March 11 debate in Carmel was the first to include all six candidates. Reitenour wasn’t included in an October forum, December’s legislative conference nor in a January forum.
All occurred before the February filing deadline, when Reitenour surprised some political pundits by amassing 6,000 signatures—more than the 4,500 requirement—and qualifying to appear on the May primary ballot.
But she might not appear at another three events scheduled over the next few weeks: a Tuesday forum hosted by the National Federation of Independent Business and two televised debates next week.
NFIB, which is co-hosting its event with the Indiana Builders Association and Americans for Prosperity, said it invited all of the “top” candidates to the event at the beginning of the year and Reitenour is welcome to participate.
“We began working on this event several months ago and invited all of the top gubernatorial candidates as of Jan. 1. Neither Jamie Reitenour nor anyone from her campaign has reached out to us about adding her to the roster, but if she’d like to join us, she’s certainly welcome,” NFIB State Director Natalie Robinson said in a statement to the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
NFIB didn’t define its criteria for “top” candidates or say whether other campaigns had reached out to invite themselves. The event will be the first to feature candidates from all three parties, including Democrat Jennifer McCormick and Libertarian Donald Rainwater.
Due to the number of candidates—who are limited to 60-second responses in their introductions, conclusions and answers to 3-4 questions—the seven candidates would have roughly six minutes of exposure in a one-hour event.
Following publication, NFIB said that Reitenour reached out on Friday and will be included in Tuesday’s event.
FOX59/CBS4, which is hosting a live, televised debate on March 26, pointed to its company debate criteria published in a recent story with an effective date of August 2023.
According to the criteria, a statewide candidate must receive 5% in a primary test poll question—or 10% for a general election poll—and must report at least $100,000 in contributions, one-quarter of which must be from Hoosier residents.
That bar disqualified both Reitenour and Hill, who received less than 5% in a recent independent poll. But Reitenour notes that the same poll shows that 43% of Hoosiers are still undecided when it comes to their preferred Republican candidate.
On March 27, WISH will host its own debate as well but Hill met its criteria, which isn’t spelled out in a recent story. WISH couldn’t be reached before publication.
Reitenour reports that their threshold was $300,000 in fundraising, a number Reitenour noted was several times the Hoosier median household income—which is $67,173 according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“… Is it democracy when gubernatorial candidates are asked to raise almost three to ten times the median income of the State of Indiana to be afforded the opportunity to speak to Hoosiers alongside the other candidates? Is it democracy when televised debate exposure is dependent on a poll taken prior to any debate, where 43% of Hoosiers claim “undecided?” Reitenour asked.
According to the state campaign finance database, she had raised around $30,000 by the end of 2023.
Reitenour urged other groups not to impose “self-contrived stipulations” and include all candidates in their events. A planned April 23 debate hosted by the Indiana Debate Commission will have all six Republicans who are on the ballot.
“I have faith that the Republican Party, which I’ve belonged to my entire life, will continue to promote freedom and fairness, increasing the size of its tent for all who would come in. Hoosiers deserve a fair and equal opportunity to hear the voice of every candidate running for Governor, and every candidate deserves to be heard!” Reitenour concluded.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, not-for-profit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
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“My exclusion from these important events in the democratic process is an injustice that needs to be corrected!“
What a clueless individual. She’s as bad as John Rust. Party primaries have (like it or not) nothing to do with the democratic process.