Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jennifer McCormick on Thursday named Terry Goodin as her choice for the party’s lieutenant governor nominee.

Goodin, a former state representative and House minority leader, is perhaps best known in political circles as a socially conservative Democrat who voted in favor of a 2011 joint resolution saying marriage should be between a man and woman.

During a Thursday news conference, Goodin apologized for the vote. “At that time, I did not realize with that vote I had totally dehumanized, demeaned and hurt thousands of Hoosiers,” Goodin said.

Goodin also addressed his self-described “spotty” voting record regarding women’s “personal freedoms” and “individual rights.”

“I was always counseled by those female colleagues who had told me that, ‘Hey, if we go too far, Roe v. Wade is there to catch us.’ There is a safety net there. Well, folks, that safety net is gone,” said Goodin.

Now, Hoosiers must “restore the rights of women to make decisions about their own bodies,” Goodin added.

First elected in 2000, Goodin was defeated in 2020 by Rep. Zach Payne, R-Charlestown. Goodin also served as the superintendent of Crothersville Community Schools for 24 years. And in 2022, President Joe Biden appointed Goodin as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s state director for rural development.

McCormick’s endorsement comes days after GOP delegates selected Noblesville Pastor Micah Beckwith as the conservative ticket’s lieutenant governor nominee.

Democratic delegates will still need to solidify who will earn the lieutenant governor nomination at the party’s July 13 state convention in Indianapolis. Also in the running are former Indianapolis mayoral candidates Clif Marsiglio and Bob Kern.

McCormick, a former state superintendent of public instruction who was elected to that post as a Republican in 2016, said Tuesday that Beckwith’s selection was “alarming” and added an urgency to her campaign.

During the Tuesday news conference, State Democratic Chair Mike Schmuhl joined McCormick in criticizing Beckwith for supporting Christian nationalism, leading a push to relocate teen section books at the Hamilton East Public Library and saying he believes God sent the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill riots.

To date, U.S. Sen. Mike Braun’s gubernatorial campaign has significantly outraised McCormick’s. Between May 29 and this past Tuesday, Braun collected $300,000 in large donations, McCormick just $10,000. Fundraising is critical to campaigns because money is needed to pay for staff, ads, events, outreach to voters and other things that help candidates win races.

“We obviously know we need work in fundraising,” McCormick said. “I do certainly think this [announcement] will help.”

Griffin Reid, the Indiana Republican Party’s communications director, said in a statement that McCormick “turned to her old pal Joe Biden to pluck a member of his administration to plug in as her running mate.”

Contact Jarred Meeks on X @jarredsmeeks or email him at [email protected].

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