(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. Mike Braun won the Indiana governor’s race Tuesday, retaining the seat for the Republican Party by defeating former state education superintendent Jennifer McCormick.
The Associated Press called the race for Braun at 7:01 p.m. ET, immediately after polls closed in the state’s Central Time Zone counties in the northwestern and southwestern corners. A McCormick spokesperson at that time said the news service’s projection seemed too early. However, McCormick, a former Republican who switched to the Democratic Party three years ago, would eventually concede defeat when speaking to her supporters just before 10 p.m. ET.
With 72% of the vote counted as of 10:06 p.m. ET, Braun had received more than 1.2 million votes, or 55% of the unofficial count. McCormick won more than 923,500, or 40.4%, and Libertarian Donald Rainwater garnered more than 106,000 votes, or 4.7%.
Braun will succeed current Gov. Eric Holcomb, a two-term incumbent ineligible for re-election. With the victory, Republicans have won each of the state’s gubernatorial races since 2004.
The governor-elect told his supporters that he planned to draw from his experiences as a businessman, a congressman and a U.S. Senator to help all Hoosiers succeed.
“We’re going to take Indiana to places we’ve never seen before,” he said to cheers.
Holcomb won re-election four years ago with 56.5% of the vote and beat Democrat Woody Meyers by more than 24 percentage points. This year, Democrats were hopeful they could make McCormick the state’s first Democratic governor since Joe Kernan, who became governor upon the death of Frank O’Bannon in 2003 and lost to Mitch Daniels a year later.
What gave Democrats hope was the Republican Party’s selection of pastor Micah Beckwith as the lieutenant gubernatorial candidate over state Rep. Julie McGuire, an Indianapolis lawmaker and Braun’s preferred candidate. McCormick and her supporters hoped Beckwith’s stances on abortion and other social issues would steer more moderate voters their way.
Just before 10 p.m. Tuesday, she urged her supporters to continue the fight for reproductive choice and affordable health care.
“Although tonight wasn’t the result we were looking for, we have so many wins, so many wins,” McCormick told supporters at her campaign’s party. “But it’s up to us to take advantage of them.”
Braun’s victory was part of a sweep for Republicans in Indiana statewide races. Former President Donald Trump won the state’s 11 votes by handily defeating Vice President Kamala Harris. U.S. Rep. Jim Banks won the Senate race to succeed Braun, over Democratic candidate Valerie McCray, and incumbent state Attorney General Todd Rokita also beat Democrat Destiny Wells to win re-election.
