Q. You said on primary election day in May that your candidacy would be a virtual referendum on abortion rights. Is it? Are you seeing a surge of female voter registration, participation and energy?

A. Yes. It certainly is. We still have Hoosiers across the aisle regardless of political affiliation, regardless of age, and I would say it’s not just women; it’s also men who are very concerned about their daughters, their granddaughters, their wives. We’re seeing very much a big interest in making sure we have a governor who will protect and defend reproductive freedoms. They also do not like Mike Braun’s messaging around this. That’s also a big part of this.

Q. You’ve run TV ads assailing Sen. Braun’s positions on reproductive rights. Are you getting any traction from those ads? Have they been effective?

A. They have been. If anything, we are informing people. You are a better voter when you are informed. I’ve had a lot of people say, “Hey, I saw that ad,” or I’ve had Republicans say, “I just didn’t know where he was on that.” They are paying attention to Micah Beckwith and Braun. They are concerned they are going to go after their birth control and IVF. They are not confident that they won’t do that. They are worried about the rhetoric around taking it even further to the extreme, taking out the rape and incest exceptions. So, yes, we are seeing a lot of that.

Q. Registration and turnout data from the Indiana secretary of state/election division seems to be slow. What are you seeing?

A. That’s not what I’m hearing. They’re telling me there is good participation right now. I’m hoping people are out voting. I hear they are or they have plans to early vote. I’ve had a lot of people tell me they’ve always voted on Election Day but they’re going to vote early this year.

Q. Last week I laid out the scenario for a McCormick upset: Use the Glenda Ritz 2012 coalition of teachers and families, retirees and families, educators and families; connect with the 128,000 Republicans who voted for Nikki Haley; see a distinct increase in female, suburban voters; and capture any energy from a Kamala Harris movement. Is this a strategy that appears to be paying off for you?

A. Absolutely. I would just add you’ve got the whole Republican dynamic that isn’t thrilled with the option of Mike Braun. They don’t trust him. They don’t like his messaging. You throw that in with our grassroots coalition with great support of our educators, with the women who are upset. You look at the holistic picture of things, and I think you pretty much laid it out.

Q. Have you been able to contact and appeal to the 128,000 Nikki Haley voters?

A. We are working the phones.

Q. What has the reaction been to your proposed cannabis reforms? And have you engaged on this issue with law enforcement? Both you and Sen. Braun suggested that law enforcement needs to be a component of that.

A. Our common-sense cannabis plan has been very, very well received. I mean 80% of Hoosiers are with us on this. We took it in a way that made a lot of sense, from going to a commission to that medical piece and then adult use. We’ve had a lot of good feedback from Hoosiers as far as doing it the right way to “let’s get this done.” We’re missing out on revenue and jobs. I have not, personally, had communication from law enforcement, but I’m sure our team has been in contact.

Q. Sen. Braun says if he’s elected he will propose to lift all income limits on school vouchers. Is that a threat to public education?

A. Absolutely. This election is a referendum on abortion, but it’s also a referendum on public schools. So we know what’s coming; it’s not worked in other states — whether it’s Arizona trying to model this or parts of Florida, it has not worked. It’s been a complete disaster not only for kids but for taxpayers. We’re sitting here today with 3,300 educator openings that we will never fill, so this is not helping. The avenue they want to go [down], a lot of people are paying attention and are very upset that their dollars are going away from their public schools and into areas that are not benefiting their own children or grandchildren or neighbors.

Q. Do you differ from Braun on plans for the LEAP District?

A. For us it’s a matter of making sure the government is accountable and that things are transparent. We have a lot of questions on Indiana serving as a real estate agent at this point. We have a lot of questions on what’s gone into that, moneywise, from Indiana. I appreciate economic development and the Lilly investment, but I really am a firm believer that we deserve to know and we deserve to have more of a handle. It shouldn’t be a free-for-all for the LEAP District or IEDC.

Q. Your quarterly finance report shows you’ve raised a little more than $2 million. Will that be enough to pull off an upset?

A. Absolutely. I said from the beginning we will have enough to be competitive. We keep bringing it in. We’re working really hard. Obviously we know the challenges of that, but we’ve had a great deal of support from Democratic Governors Association helping out and the many many unions, in particular ISTA [Indiana State Teachers Association] and AFT [American Federation of Teachers]. We keep getting nice donations from them and it shows support across Indiana. But I just love it when we see those individual donors coming in, whether it’s $50 or $20. That shows the whole grassroots mobility of our campaign. We will have enough to be competitive. [Kentucky] Gov. [Andy] Beshear just gave us a nice donation. That is very humbling and amazing.

Q. Are you expecting more money from the Democratic Governors Association?

A. We’re not certain but we’re hopeful. We’ll stay in communication. They’ve been extremely helpful. They have been in communication with us on a daily basis. They are paying attention. They know we can get this race done. They are well aware and familiar with Indiana. They are as excited as we are. It’s been good.

Q. Are you expecting any high-profile surrogates to come in and campaign for you, a Pete Buttigieg, a Barack Obama or a Bill Clinton, perhaps?

A. If Barack Obama comes in, I think my campaign manager will not let him go home. I know Gov. Kelly is coming in from Kansas. We came off from a fundraiser yesterday with Gov. Beshear. That was amazing. We had a great turnout. We’ll keep working on that. I know a lot of people are watching what we’re trying to accomplish. We’ve had a lot of national outreach from news media outlets. People are intrigued about me switching parties. They are intrigued by my educational background. They are so impressed that it’s this close. They’re looking forward to a big upset in Indiana. People are paying attention.

Q. What kind of impact is Micah Beckwith having on your race?

A. It’s nonsense — that’s what it is. It’s very sad. This election is about who tells the truth and who can be trusted. Obviously they don’t tell the truth and they can’t be trusted. I’ve never said a thing about gas stoves, being called a “Jezebel spirit.” It just goes on and on. It very much takes me back to my elementary school principal days when I had to deal with name calling. It doesn’t help, and Hoosiers are smarter than that. They are tired of the fear, chaos and nasty rhetoric. It’s senseless. So we stay true to the issues at hand, the kitchen table issues of health care and education and good-paying jobs. I know people are still concerned about our infrastructure needs and our environmental issues. It’s noise. They will continue to do what they do and not own it. We’ll keep our heads down and plow forward to victory.

Q. Is the Beckwith angle impacting the race?

A. We do hear a lot of Republicans who think he’s dangerous, who think he’s just ridiculous and too extreme. We do hear from a lot of Hoosiers that this doesn’t reflect the values of who we are. Statements about firing every state employee who uses a pronoun and his comments about white Christian nationalists and Nazis and book banning. The list goes on. But for a lot of Hoosiers, that just doesn’t work for them. That’s not how their values are aligned. They don’t want to be embarrassed on the national or state stage. I keep reminding people that he is just a heartbeat away from the governor’s office, and that is scary.

Q. As you mentioned, Beckwith said he intends to fire any state employee who uses a pronoun in their email signature. A lieutenant governor can fire a department head, but what about a civil servant?

A. Well, when you have someone like that who is reckless for even saying it, I’m sure he would try and I’m sure the state will be tied up in lawsuits because he will lose. He can try anything. As far as the lieutenant governor, HR [human resources] is quite interesting at how it works at the state level. I would hope we wouldn’t have a lieutenant governor who would be threatening to fire people because of pronouns while ignoring the merit of their work. It’s insulting. He’s trying to posture right now, and Mike Braun certainly doesn’t have any power or check on him. That, too, is alarming that he has just gone so rogue. He just seems to be doing his own thing.

Q. How do you win?

A. We keep doing what we’re doing. We keep raising money. We keep getting bipartisan support. We keep making phone calls. Knocking on doors and getting our message out. Staying positive with Hoosiers and getting to that hope and optimism for a brighter future. It’s working, but we need to keep doing that. We’ve got 21 days. We’re gonna put our heads down and keep moving forward.

Q. You’ve got 21 days and one debate left. Will that final debate on Oct. 24 be crucial? And how many people actually watch these debates?

A. I’m not sure what the viewership of those last two debates were, but we’ve gotten a lot of great responses. People were very impressed about how we handled ourselves with the answers. We looked like the adults in the room. That was very hopeful. There’s a different dynamic when you add another person on the stage. I was glad to welcome Mr. Rainwater on the stage at that last one. I believe he’ll be on the stage again. Debates are a lot of work for a lot of people, but they inform voters, which is obviously part of democracy.

Brian A. Howey is senior writer and columnist for Howey Politics Indiana/State Affairs. Find Howey on Facebook and X @hwypol.