INDIANAPOLIS — U.S. Sen. Mike Braun emerged from election night as the clear victor in the Indiana governor’s race, overcoming  a late surge of outside money meant to bolster his Democratic opponent, Jennifer McCormick. 

Braun’s victory was part of a statewide Republican sweep in which Attorney General Todd Rokita easily won reelection and the Indiana General Assembly maintained its supermajority for the seventh straight election. 

Now, Braun must set about governing a state facing a slew of challenges, among them rising health care costs, economic decline in many rural counties and a heated  debate over the future of public education. 

At a news conference Wednesday, Braun, who’s risen from school board member to state legislator to U.S. senator to governor over the past  20 years, outlined the recent history of the governorship and shared some of his short- and long-term plans. 

“Twenty years ago, a guy named Mitch Daniels had to come along and fix a state that was not in the same place politically as it is now but, more importantly, was in the red financially,” Braun said. “I think that got handed over to good stewardship. That doesn’t mean you can’t do better.”

Braun said the wide margin of victory gives him leverage with the state legislature going into his first term, adding that  the two government branches now have “a platter of opportunity” to accomplish things  for Hoosiers. 

“The one thing I’d love for you to sense is I’m in it to actually get some things done, with a track record that … shows that [I] know how to get from here to there,” Braun said. 

Here are some of the key issues facing Braun’s administration and what the state’s new chief executive plans to do about them. 

Education

Braun’s most-discussed education platform leading up to the election was his support for removing income requirements for private school vouchers. 

The governor-elect was asked about a major criticism of this plan — that it would hurt public education, particularly in rural areas where there may be only one local school. 

Many rural counties are losing population, he said, leading to fewer students and therefore less funding. 

He also suggested schools could be funded more efficiently. 

“A statistic that really surprised me is the average cost annually in a Hoosier classroom is about $245,000,” Braun said. “Teachers are only getting, even aspirationally, $60,000 of that. That means we have put a lot of cost into administration and buildings, and we’ve not been putting it into the classroom.” 

He added that, while the cost of education has remained high, traditional metrics have not shown any significant improvement. 

Asked when new appointments — specifically his secretary of education — would be named, he said, “I move fast … expect that to all come out soon.” 

Property taxes

Braun said Wednesday he hopes property tax cuts will be the first bill taken up by the legislature, adding he hopes the bill  will be structured  in a way that “builds on the platform I put out there.” 

“That has been by far the thing I’ve heard the most about over the last two years,” he said. 

Braun’s plan calls for, among other things, a 3% annual cap on property tax increases and a “reset” to 2021 tax levels. 

“No one ever agrees with the fact that you should be growing taxes faster than the growth of your economy, and no one disagrees with the fact that we need to encourage homeownership, especially among young people, and for older people to stay in their homes,” Braun said. 

He expects to work well with the legislature on this and other issues, he added, noting he served with many of its committee heads in the 2010s. 

Health care

Lowering the cost of health care will be his administration’s top priority, Braun said Wednesday. However, he noted that finding a solution would likely take longer than the next legislative session. 

“When you’re wanting to reform health care — you think anybody has tried that in the past?” Braun asked. “No, because it’s one of the biggest sectors of our economy. It’s got political risk to it. I’ll size up all that, and I’ll put a team together.” 

He also called the state’s infant and maternal mortality rates “shameful.”

According to health policy research firm KFF, Indiana ranks as the 19th most expensive state in health care costs per capita, despite ranking near the bottom in most other cost-of-living metrics. 

Government agency shakeups

Braun’s first 90 days will largely revolve around appointing leaders of state agencies and looking to trim at least 5% off their collective costs, he said. 

“I’ve had tips and cues for a long time from legislators who think this agency needs improvement, that one needs improvement, this one is running well,” he said. “If there’s an agency that’s working well … you’d be silly to do something with it. But I’ll look at each one critically.”

Braun will lean on his experience growing and running his family business. 

“Most governors have not signed the front of a paycheck,” he said. 

Economic development

Braun discussed economic development in broad terms, saying the state needed more workforce development programs, STEM-related degrees and pathways for high school graduates to enter the workforce. 

He also talked about “fertilizing” small businesses and entrepreneurship. 

Though it was not discussed at the news conference, Braun also has thoughts about  taking over leadership of the Indiana Economic Development Corp., a sprawling state agency that has grown in notoriety over recent years. 

In an interview with State Affairs last month, Braun elaborated. “I’ll be looking at how to keep the state humming by finding the highest stratum of wages, which is generally going to be associated with STEM degrees,” he said. “I won’t get a perfect view of [the IEDC] until I get in there and start looking at it, but it’ll be with a couple things in mind.

“There’s going to be a lot of transparency associated with it,” he continued. “I think that’s maybe where they got into a little bit of trouble with LEAP [Lebanon Innovation District], for instance, because that was so different. There were several cases where the cart may have been in front of the horse.”

Social issues

Braun was asked if he sought to address any social issues. 

“I don’t think there was one social issue in the seven or eight I’ve mentioned,” he said. “That doesn’t mean [I’m] going to be oblivious to them or [I’m] not going to be drawn into the fray.” 

Braun said social issues such as abortion “immediately create division” and change over time. 

He was asked whether he supported removing the exceptions from the state’s near-total abortion ban, as his running mate, Micah Beckwith, does. Braun stuck to previous statements, saying the legislature correctly solved the abortion issue through its work in 2022. 

Contact Rory Appleton on X at @roryehappleton or email him at [email protected].

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