Mike Braun is going to spend his twilight years trapped in a political hell of his own making.
Braun, 70, is on path to become Indiana’s next governor and he’s already lost control of his impending administration. Christian nationalist pastor Micah Beckwith on Saturday defeated Braun’s preferred running mate, Julie McGuire, in a convention vote to win the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.
This campaign just became all about Beckwith from here to November, when Beckwith … err, I mean, Braun … is slated to face Democrat Jennifer McCormick in the general election, barring a surprise run-in from former Sen. Joe Donnelly.
Beckwith is not here to be subservient to Braun. He ran on a platform — tax cuts, pro-gun legislation and fighting the “woke agenda in our schools” — that falls entirely under the purview of the governor and Indiana General Assembly.
Does that sound like a No. 2 to you?
Welcome to the Micah Beckwith show
The Micah Beckwith show is just getting started. Beckwith is a master at drawing attention to himself, often for spouting deranged ideas. One video clip making the rounds over the weekend shows Beckwith claiming that, while in prayer, God told him he sent the rioters to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.
That’s just perfect, because, as I wrote on that infamous day, Braun also invited the rioters to Washington, posing for a photo to show he was “signing my objection to Arizona electors,” as he jockeyed with other Republicans to placate their man-toddler president who was seeking to overturn the election.
When the mob broke in, threatened to kill then-Vice President Mike Pence and forced all of Congress into hiding, things got a little too real for Braun. He dropped his objections to election certification, in contrast to other Republicans who were more committed to the bit.
Now, Braun marches toward the governor’s office under the cattle prod of an enforcer who’s there to ensure he remains committed to the bit … or else. Braun thought he could play voodoo with the forces of MAGA while reaping all rewards and no consequences.
It’s time to pay the piper.
Mike Braun almost gets it
It’s a befitting final chapter for a heretofore respectable man who put on the armor of nihilism and shape-shifted his way from Democratic-voting businessman to Trump toady, all for the sake of ego and power. Even now, Braun deludes himself into thinking he’s taming the current that’s sweeping him away.
“There’s no doubt about this: I’m in charge,” Braun told reporters Saturday, mere moments after 891 Republican delegates voted for Beckwith and sent a clear message that he is not in charge. “Micah is going to be someone that works with me. And, if he doesn’t, I think that means that it will probably not be as fruitful in terms of what we can get done.”
You see there? Beckwith has all the leverage and Braun has nothing. You think Beckwith cares whether Braun’s time as governor is “fruitful,” as defined by Braun?
Braun is processing his fate in real time and almost getting it. Let me spell it out. Braun’s footsie with the dark arts summoned a MAGA high priest who just subsumed Braun’s gubernatorial campaign, his dignity and any hope of successful governance.
Braun is not alone in his delusion. Just two years after Diego Morales executed a similar convention coup to become one of the most embarrassing statewide office holders in Indiana history, establishment-wing Republicans again approached Saturday’s convention professing unearned confidence that their lieutenant governor pick, McGuire, would come out on top by a wide margin.
It’s like they’re not paying attention to their own party.
The Indiana Republican Party, like Braun, is blinded by hollow victories of the past eight years. The country club Republicans think they’ve harnessed MAGA to achieve their own ends, but MAGA has put the establishment’s head on a pike. Even the most mild-mannered Republicans have spent the Trump years catastrophizing enemies, trading policy for cruelty, and embracing words and behaviors that no responsible parent would want their children to emulate.
Republicans’ decade of moral and cognitive corrosion has put Morales atop the Secretary of State’s Office that once fired him; sent Twitter troll Jim Banks on an unabated path to the Senate; and catapulted Beckwith toward statewide office and, possibly, frontrunner status to win the next Republican nomination for governor, maybe in as few as four years.
Hell, as I mentioned, Braun is 70 and has a habit of giving up when things get hard. We might not even have to wait four years to see Beckwith as governor. If you hadn’t considered that prospect yet, well, you’re welcome.
Republicans think their base is stupid
So many Republicans fooled themselves into thinking they could contain a duality, performing for the unwashed masses in public and playing businesslike leaders in private. Establishment Republicans think Trump supporters are too simplistic and stupid to see who’s with them and who isn’t.
Convention delegates saw through it. They saw Beckwith, an unhinged pastor who’s unqualified to lead most mainstream churches, as one of their own and correctly identified Braun and McGuire as fakers.
Braun tried everything. He tried reverse psychology, saying nice things about Beckwith to show he’s cool and of the people, while also cajoling statewide officeholders (even Morales!) to endorse McGuire. Braun got the big gun, Trump himself, to fire off an endorsement at the last minute.
Hopeful delegates thought the Trump endorsement sealed the deal for McGuire. I didn’t. Neither did Beckwith, who noted Trump doesn’t even know McGuire and correctly viewed the endorsement as a sign of how close he was to winning.
Establishment Republicans refused to believe Beckwith had the votes and, after he won, they blamed their defeat on McGuire supporters for failing to show up to the convention. It’s a turnout problem, you see, and not a party problem.
No. It’s a party problem. Republicans put their true faith in Trump, a showman who tricked them all into thinking he is a great and powerful wizard. MAGA is not only about Trump, the person, though. It’s a movement powered by airing grievances, finding scapegoats and taking vengeance against them. Beckwith is the man for this moment, with or without a Trump endorsement.
Beckwith is the new conservative movement leader in Indiana. Braun must answer to that movement every step of the way from here on out. He deserves every minute of this oncoming dumpster fire. So do state Republican Party leaders. They brought it on themselves.
Unfortunately for the rest of us, we’ll pay the price for Republicans’ education in MAGA.
Contact James Briggs at 317-444-4732 or james.briggs@indystar.com. Follow him on X and Threads at @JamesEBriggs.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Micah Beckwith isn’t here to play No. 2 to the next Indiana governor
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Bucking tradition, Indiana’s Republican delegates have rejected U.S. Sen. Mike Braun’s choice for lieutenant governor, instead nominating Noblesville pastor Micah Beckwith, whose unconventional campaign centered around giving delegates a choice.
The lieutenant governor race was the main event at Saturday’s GOP convention, a biennial gathering of party officials and more than 1,800 elected delegates from across the state. Delegates had a choice between Beckwith and state Rep. Julie McGuire, who was Braun’s endorsed candidate.
“I’m humbled, I’m overwhelmed and I am encouraged that Indiana knows that the power of the government rests with the people,” Beckwith said, before walking off the stage to “God Bless the U.S.A.”
Beckwith won the vote 891-828.
Republican nominee for lieutenant governor Micah Beckwith is congratulated by Sen. Mike Braun, the Republican nominee for governor, Saturday, June 15, 2024, during the 2024 Indiana GOP State Convention in Indianapolis, Ind. Taking the stage with his new running mate, Braun reiterated his support for having some competition, and said Beckwith did “a heck of a job.”
“And Micah,” Braun said, looking at Beckwith, “even though I chose someone else to be my partner, you and I have known one another. Everything you believe in, I have as well. I’m a guy that knows how to get from here to there. I’ll handle it well, even when it doesn’t go your way. And we will take Indiana to that next level because everything you’re interested in that you’ve been disappointed with recently, that’s gonna change.”
Republican delegates hadn’t had multiple candidates to choose from for this office since 1996, when gubernatorial nominee Stephen Goldsmith opted not to endorse a running mate and six people hopped in. Traditionally, the party ceremoniously approves the gubernatorial nominee’s pick.
Interest in the race was omnipresent. At least half the attending delegates sported some sort of merchandise associated with one of the camps, from McGuire stickers and signs to Beckwith buttons, bags and cardboard hand wavers. One of Beckwith’s buttons said “I’m a delegate, not a rubber stamp!!”
A spectator wears a hat with pins and buttons collected over several years while encouraging delegates to vote for Micah Beckwith to be the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor Saturday, June 15, 2024, during the 2024 Indiana GOP State Convention in Indianapolis, Ind. And dotted throughout were the occasional bright green shirts ― a reminder of Secretary of State Diego Morales’ convention upset two years ago.
Donald Trump endorsed Julie McGuire. It didn’t matter.
The outcome was by no means a guaranteed victory for either candidate. Perhaps emphasizing that point, the Braun team called in a favor Thursday night: an endorsement of McGuire from former President Donald Trump.
Though there was a Trump-themed booth with T-shirts, the response to his late endorsement was tepid. Beckwith supporters were already all-in, some decked out head-to-toe in merch. They largely saw the Trump endorsement as a last-ditch attempt to influence the race rather than genuine support from the former president, who likely has little notion of the lieutenant governor race in Indiana.
“I’m a die-hard Trump supporter. I’m going to vote for him with enthusiasm in the fall, but he doesn’t know what’s going on in Indiana,” said David Winters, a delegate from Danville. “This is not something I think he actually vetted. Trump always talks about loyalty, and Mike Braun has been loyal by him and vice versa.”
Neither was it likely to affect the thinking of more traditional, party-supporting Republicans, those who dislike Trumpian politics. Undecided delegate Nate Lamar of Henry County said the endorsement didn’t affect his thinking at all.
“Trump’s not a real Republican,” he said. “Trump’s an opportunist.”
In remarks to delegates before the vote, McGuire covered wide ground: She promised never to have a mask or vaccine mandate in Indiana, and talked about funding the police, getting children to read proficiently by third grade, and putting parents in charge of their children’s education. She recalled her surprise when Braun called her to be his running mate.
She also touted endorsements from Trump and 150 other elected officials and community leaders.
More on Micah Beckwith: Pastor who led book removal policy in HamCo resigns from library board
Mike Braun on lt. gov. pick: ‘I’m in charge’
Aside from the rapturous applause upon Beckwith’s win, the loudest cheering of the day might have been in response to convention chair Randy Head saying that all the texts, mailers, ads, and meet and greets are finally over.
Delegates have been barraged since the gubernatorial primary in May. The day after the primary, Braun, the Republican nominee, announced his endorsement of McGuire for his running mate; Beckwith had been courting delegates since he announced his unusual campaign a year ago.
Spectators cheer as Micah Beckwith is named the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor Saturday, June 15, 2024, during the 2024 Indiana GOP State Convention in Indianapolis, Ind. Beckwith pitched himself as someone who would provide a check on the governor’s office, who would approach the lieutenant governor role with his own agenda, rather than bowing to that of the governor. He also has a prominent focus on social issues, whereas the Braun-McGuire campaign focused mostly on the economy.
Braun had seen McGuire as a “COO” to his “CEO” ― someone who wouldn’t upstage him but would work diligently toward his goals.
Speaking to reporters after the convention wrapped, Braun downplayed the challenge ahead ― marrying his and Beckwith’s philosophies on the role of lieutenant governor, leading a clearly divided party ― saying it doesn’t compare to his prior challenges of running a business through the Great Recession and defeating two sitting congressmen in his race for Senate in 2018.
“Micah worked his tail off. We did as well,” Braun said. “But there’s no doubt about this: I’m in charge. And Micah is going to be someone that works with me. And if he doesn’t, I think that means that it will probably not be as fruitful in terms of what we can get done.”
More: Indiana’s GOP convention is Saturday. Delegates have one major decision to make.
Micah Beckwith targeted ‘woke agenda’
In his remarks, Beckwith, flanked by a few dozen sign-carrying supporters on stage, recounted his time leading a controversial book relocation policy on the Hamilton East Public Library Board, the 4,500 religious exemptions he wrote for people who didn’t want to take the COVID-19 vaccine, a couple who went into business but had to shut down when the government deemed them “nonessential.”
“The woke agenda is everywhere,” he said. “And it is not going away unless we have strong conservative leadership.”
Beckwith quoted both Ronald Reagan and Trump in his remarks, both with regard to thinking big ― “maybe bigly, might have been the word that he used,” he joked.
Micah Beckwith gives his acceptance speech after earning the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor Saturday, June 15, 2024, during the 2024 Indiana GOP State Convention in Indianapolis, Ind. His top priorities include property tax relief and “bringing truth back into our schools” ― a reference to conservatives’ critique of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The only other nomination for delegates to make Saturday was the Republican slot for attorney general, in which Attorney General Todd Rokita ran unopposed.
Before delegates voted to nominate him, Rokita mounted the stage in red boxing gloves, miniature versions of which supporters wore on lanyards. He promised to fight the Democrats’ “woke” agenda. The entire crowd approved him with a “yay;” there were no nays. Then he descended to the “Rocky” theme song.
What’s next
Few were entirely certain what would actually happen Saturday.
Party insiders were predicting a close race, usually in favor of McGuire. Once Beckwith’s name was announced, supporters erupted, while others started to trickle out of the convention center.
There’s every indication Democrats will use this as fuel in the November election. After Beckwith’s win, state party Chair Mike Schmuhl released a fiery statement saying that Beckwith’s win “shows how out-of-the-mainstream extremism has hijacked the current Indiana GOP.”
“Beckwith will bring the worst of the culture wars to the lieutenant governor’s office, which is usually tasked with increasing tourism and supporting agriculture,” Schmuhl said. “He is dangerous for business, dangerous for women, dangerous for families, and dangerous for Indiana’s future.”
Braun told IndyStar he doesn’t see this result having an impact in November.
“Because if they’re putting that much on a lieutenant governor, that’s giving more clout to that position than what it is,” he said. “I mean, that position’s about doing some things constitutionally that you’ve got to do. If you want to make it a pulpit for what you’re interested in, you know, I might suggest otherwise, and I’ll still get my agenda through.”
