Braun, Crouch land big donations since legislative session’s end

Sen. Mike Braun, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and former IEDC president Eric Doden are vying for the Republican nomination in the 2024 governor's race.

The two frontrunners in the race for the GOP nomination in the 2024 governor’s race aren’t wasting any time courting political donors in what is expected to be a fiercely competitive and expensive primary election cycle—and some evidence is in large contributions reported over the past month.

Sen. Mike Braun has raised $240,000 in large contributions since April 27, the end of the legislative session, according to campaign finance reports. Indiana is one of 28 states that prohibits candidates from giving and receiving campaign contributions during the legislative session. Most of Braun’s contributions came from entrepreneurs and business executives, including Todd Cleveland, CEO of Patrick Industries, Inc., an Elkhart-based RV equipment manufacturer, and Stephen Hilbert, founder and former CEO of life insurance giant Conseco Inc. (now CNO Financial Group Inc.).

Braun reported a campaign balance of $2.9 million at the end of last year. That was the end of the last full reporting period, when campaigns are required to detail all of their contributions and spending. But between those full reports, candidates must file paperwork when they receive so-called large contributions, which are those of more than $10,000.

According to those reports, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch has raised $190,000 in large contributions since the end of session. The Evansville native who started her political career as a Vanderburgh County commissioner reported nearly $3.2 million in cash on hand at the end of 2022.

Her biggest contributors in the past month include the campaigns of 8th District Congressman Larry Buschon and Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen, which each donated $25,000. The majority of her donations came from company executives, including Evansville-based Koch Enterprises CEO Bob Koch, who donated $10,000.

Rep. Buschon hosted a fundraiser event for Crouch in Evansville on Thursday in what was her most successful fundraising event to date, according to a Crouch spokesperson.

Crouch, who won two terms as lieutenant governor running with Gov. Eric Holcomb, announced her entry into the 2024 governor’s race on Dec. 12, the same day Braun kicked off his gubernatorial bid at Prime 47 steakhouse in downtown Indianapolis.

Eric Doden, a businessman from Fort Wayne and former head of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. under then-Gov. Mike Pence, has raked in $120,000 in large contributions since May 1. He reported a campaign balance of $2.8 million at the end of last year.

Jennifer McCormick, the former Republican state superintendent of public instruction who switched to the Democratic Party in 2021, hasn’t reported any new contributions this year. Her campaign had about $42,000 in cash as of Dec. 31. No other Democrat has entered the race.

Given that money doesn’t appear to be an issue for any of the GOP candidates, their relevant experience and positions on hot-button culture war issues may serve as greater factors in who secures the nomination, said Laura Merrifield Wilson, associate professor of political science at the University of Indianapolis.

“The policy differences between Crouch and Braun remain vague, which is pretty typical and expected for this point in the election cycle,” Wilson said. “From what we know about their previous stances and service, Braun’s position further to right, more conservative, more ideologically extreme, will benefit him.

“For voters, the perception of experience is likely to matter most in terms of relevance, and that is the responsibility of the campaigns to craft a message that resonates with the voters,” she said.

Wilson added that she doesn’t think there is a clear frontrunner at the race at this point.

While Braun self-funded his 2018 campaign for U.S. Senate, he has said he does not plan to dip into his own fortune to support his campaign for governor.

Some political observers say it is likely that Gov. Eric Holcomb, who is finishing his second term and cannot run again due to term limits, will feel obligated to endorse Crouch. But the sitting governor only garnered a 50% approval rating from Republicans in a December 2022 poll, which could prove problematic for a candidate that gets his support.

“People will say he owes her his endorsement,” said Andy Downs, director emeritus of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at Purdue University. “Depending on his poll numbers among Republican primary voters, Crouch may not want his endorsement.”