“Unpopularity in the Statehouse doesn’t always translate to being unpopular in the district,” Mike O’Brien, president of 1816 Public Affairs Group and former Hendricks County Republican Party chairman, said of Young. 

“You have a young guy working hard, and that’s kind of what it takes to beat a long-term incumbent,” O’Brien said. “We see examples of that every cycle. Maybe this is the one this time.”

Young no longer caucuses

Young, who served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 1986 to 2000 before moving to the state Senate, made headlines in summer 2022 when he decided to no longer caucus with his party. 

“I won’t caucus because I don’t trust our leadership,” Young told State Affairs. He stressed his decision had nothing to do with his failed amendment to the state’s abortion ban, saying he wrote a letter expressing his intent to leave before the abortion bill was heard. 

Young said he remains part of the caucus, as he is a Republican senator, but simply does not attend meetings. 

He has also stopped going to most meetings of his assigned Senate committees: Corrections and Criminal Law, Elections, Family and Children Services, and Pensions and Labor. 

“I go to them if they affect my district,” Young said.

He attended a Jan. 17 Pensions and Labor Committee meeting to argue down Senate Bill 54, which Young said would have hurt Wayne Township firefighters by forcing them to consolidate with the Indianapolis Fire Department. 

Young said all senators are asked to pick five committees they’d want to serve on, but Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray did not select him for any of his listed options. Young informed Bray he did not intend to attend future committee meetings. 

Bray also replaced him as chair of the Corrections and Criminal Law Committee and removed him from the Judiciary Committee. Attempts to reach Bray for comment were unsuccessful. 

“You don’t have to be on committees to get things done,” Young said. “When the bill comes to the floor, you have the opportunity to amend just like you would in committee. So there’s nothing really lost or harmed by it.”

Clay’s push for office

Clay, who has lived within the district in Plainfield for most of his life, said Young’s decision to no longer caucus motivated him to get into the race. 

“There’s a lot of things Mike and I agree on, but after Mike left the Republican caucus and voiced some personal grievances with the Senate … it’s kind of like watching your favorite player not show up to the game,” Clay said. 

Clay said one of his primary campaign platforms is improving workforce development within the district as. He co-founded Arthur Clay and Co., an organization focused on preparing men of color for their future careers. 

Like Young, Clay is anti-abortion. Whereas Young seeks to eliminate property taxes, Clay believes reform is the more prudent path. Clay also hopes to improve education, make adoption easier and increase public safety if elected. 

Clay trained with both the national and state GOP in 2022, completing the Republican National Committee’s Rising Star and Indiana Republican Diversity Leadership Series training programs geared toward recruiting minority conservatives for public office.

“There are so many well-qualified minority conservatives that we’ve not done a good job in either messaging to or helping them explore the Republican Party,” Clay said. 

“There are Black conservatives across the country,” he said. “To have the opportunity to be the only one in the state is an incredible honor. It’s absolutely something I don’t take lightly.” 

Support from Indiana Chamber

Both candidates have spent tens of thousands of dollars on their campaigns as of March 31.

Clay spent just under $34,000 in the first quarter of 2024, leaving him with about $30,000 left for a final push. 

Young has spent around $29,500 and has about $45,000 remaining. 

While Young has raised from various sources — including other lawmakers, small-dollar donors and $22,000 in personal loans — much of Clay’s backing has come from one source: the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. 

The Chamber’s political action committee, Indiana Business for Responsive Government, has given Clay almost $21,000, plus another $11,000 from in-kind donations. 

Jeff Brantley, the Chamber’s senior vice president for political affairs, said Young’s voting record does not often align with his organization. 

“He talks a lot, but he can’t get things done in one of the more rapidly growing suburban districts in the state,” Brantley said of Young. “Constituents aren’t being fully served.”

Brantley said Clay could bring both a fresh perspective as the Legislature’s only Black Republican and new life to the seat. 

“The district needs and deserves someone who really has the energy and the engagement,” Brantley said. 

Young said the Chamber was “beating up on him,” even though he has worked to get Chamber-supported legislation through the Statehouse. He listed reducing the state’s license plate tax as one example. 

The senator has been endorsed by the Indiana Family Action PAC, Indiana Right to

Life, Hoosier Conservative Roundtable, American Family Association of Indiana

PAC and the Indiana State Police Alliance.

Taxes key to Young’s reelection bid

If reelected, Young hopes to end property taxes for all Hoosiers, particularly those over 65.

“Speedway has neighborhoods where most people have lived in their homes for 50 years, and they’re on fixed incomes,” Young said. “And when they get a 48% [tax] increase, that’s killing them. They can lose their house.”

Young has pushed the idea for more than a decade, and he believes momentum and money exist to get it done next year, when the Legislature will set the state’s budget. 

Indiana could be the first state to end property taxes for seniors “with no strings attached,” Young said. 

He said he would also work to “stand up for conservative values”: supporting tax cuts, opposing a plan to give “illegal immigrants” driver’s licenses and creating a rule in the state senate requiring 24 hours’ notice to changes in the state budget. 

O’Brien, the former Hendricks County GOP chair who has followed Young’s career for years, said the senator’s long incumbency will be tough to beat. He added that Young’s reputation as a thorn in leadership’s side isn’t necessarily a detriment in the May 7 primary election. 

“Go-give-’em-hell gets you a lot of votes,” O’Brien said. “That’s why [former President Donald] Trump is doing what he does. It’s just the mood of the electorate right now.”

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Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office earlier this month issued an official opinion contending individual abortion reports are not medical records and can be released to the public. In a news conference announcing the opinion, Rokita credited Hill for highlighting the issue. Hill’s former opponent said voters should ask other gubernatorial candidates “where they stand on this.” During an April 23 debate, other Republican candidates said they would push for the reports to be released after Hill questioned them.

And in February, Hill implored Holcomb to deploy Indiana National Guard members to Texas, as more than a dozen other states have done. Days later, Holcomb committed to sending 50 members. He justified the decision by blaming the federal government for not properly enforcing immigration law at the border with Mexico.

Yet, despite his continued influence on Indiana politics, Hill has struggled to win over Republican voters.

“He’s kind of like that pain in your side that just won’t go away for Republicans, and I wonder if his campaign is more about spite than anything else,” said Julia Vaughn, executive director of Common Cause Indiana, a nonpartisan organization that advocates for transparent governance.

The fall

Perry Township Republicans held a Lincoln Day Dinner April 2 at The Atrium, an unassuming banquet and catering facility tucked away in a strip mall off of Thompson Road in Indianapolis. U.S. Rep. Jim Banks was scheduled to be the featured speaker, and the event drew many of the state’s most notable conservatives. 

Before the dinner started, Hill told State Affairs he doesn’t believe Hoosiers want “elite candidates.” He believes there is still a place for barnstorming around the state and delivering a message in person.

In 2016, Hill was elected state attorney general. Before that, he spent 14 years as the elected prosecutor for Elkhart County, where he was born and raised. The youngest of five children, Hill earned a Bachelor of Science in marketing and a Doctor of Jurisprudence at Indiana University, where he met his wife, Teresa, according to his campaign website. They are now parents of five.

During his time as attorney general, Hill was a champion of socially conservative causes, taking to Fox News to opine on national anthem protests, crime and homelessness in San Francisco. Many considered him a “rising star” in the Republican ranks.

But Hill’s once-promising political career derailed when the Indiana Supreme Court suspended his law license for groping four women at a  party marking the end of the 2018 legislative session.

The court found “by clear and convincing evidence that [Hill] committed the criminal act of battery” against three female legislative staffers — ages 23 to 26 at the time — and a Democratic legislator. Hill has maintained his innocence, saying he never inappropriately touched the women.

Prior to the court’s decision, a special prosecutor declined to file criminal charges against Hill. The women filed a civil lawsuit in July 2020, claiming Hill committed battery against them. In early April, a Marion County judge called off a jury trial for the case, which remains pending. (Attorneys representing the women did not respond to a State Affairs request for comment.)

Following the state Supreme Court’s decision, Democrats and many Republicans — including Holcomb — called for Hill’s resignation. But Hill did not resign. Instead, he fulfilled his term and lost a close 2020 Republican attorney general nomination to Rokita.

Hill has since kept a mostly low profile. His most notable foray came in 2022, when he launched an unsuccessful bid to replace the late U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski. (He lost to U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym, who was backed by Walorski’s family.) In 2022, Hill was also supposed to be involved in a mock trial of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Hill said an episode was filmed, but technical difficulties caused it to “fizzle out.”

Hill has kept busy with his namesake law practice and a consulting business, Maverick Consulting LLC. He has worked with the anti-vaccine nonprofit Children’s Health Defense and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a consultant on “some post-pandemic matters.” And he participated in a senior fellowship at the conservative-leaning think tank Center for Urban Renewal and Education.

When he spends the weekend at home, Hill tries to make time for tennis with friends. They call themselves the Brandy Boys. Their Saturday routine: tennis, then breakfast and “a celebratory bottle of brandy that goes a long way.”

Hill told State Affairs the fallout from the court’s decision to suspend his license has been an “unfortunate chapter.” He said it was “a sign of the times when you’re a popular, particularly conservative figure, and knives come out.” Asked whether he would have done anything differently that night, Hill said he “probably would have gone home.”

His vision

On the campaign trail, Hill has advocated for a comprehensive tax plan. His proposals include cutting Indiana’s corporate income taxes and the state gas tax while also eliminating state income taxes for residents who are 18 to 35, according to his campaign website. But he says “wasteful spending” must be addressed before the tax breaks can be realized. (Hill has criticized Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch’s proposal to eliminate state income taxes for all residents.)

In addition, Hill’s campaign centers on stopping “the flood of illegal immigrants” and preserving “medical freedom.” At the COVID-19 pandemic’s zenith, Gov. Holcomb implemented a mask mandate in Indiana. Hill pounced on the decision, arguing Holcomb overstepped. “We had a government that failed us in many respects by providing misinformation, wrong information,” Hill said, pointing to guidance on mask usage changing as the pandemic progressed.

Hill maintains the damage done by government lockdowns “far exceeded the damage that was done by the virus itself, and we’re still seeing that a lot of businesses were scuttled. A lot of school kids have some learning and social behaviors that are offset because of the time that was taken away from the education process.”

Leah Wilson, executive director and co-founder of the nonprofit Stand for Health Freedom, said Hill “wasn’t tricked like others were” during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Most of the others you talk to say it was justified to cancel freedom for at least a few weeks,” she said of the other gubernatorial candidates. Because of that, Wilson’s organization endorses Hill. She said he is “not excitable, which allows him to be unwavering.”

Asked during debates about his other policies, Hill has compared the federal government to a “crack dealer” that attaches programmatic “entanglements” to its financial support of schools. If elected as Indiana’s next governor, he wants to do away with the entanglements, cut government regulations to help more child care facilities enter the market, empower locals to make their own economic development decisions, corral the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and end diversity, equity and inclusion practices in state government as well as “radical gender ideology” and “critical race theory” in classrooms.

“Objective truth is under assault on a regular basis,” Hill told State Affairs. “I think the manipulation of the justice system, the weaponization of race, the sexualization of our children call upon us to have a new administration of freedom.”

Asked about his chances of winning after several poor showings in recent polls, Hill said, “The only poll that matters is the poll on May 7.”

State Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, said Hill had “managed to bring discredit to his office in an unusual and particularly terrible fashion.” In 2019, DeLaney authored a resolution urging the House to conduct an investigation of the allegations against Hill, but it wasn’t taken up.

Hill came into the gubernatorial race as a “hard-right, pro-Trump” candidate, DeLaney said, “but he hasn’t had money to send that message. And when, essentially, almost all of the candidates are sending that message, how does he distinguish himself? So, sadly for him, this distinction is the one that I pointed to: He got himself in this horrible situation.”

Horvath, Hill’s campaign chair, sees his situation differently. She described the allegations against Hill as a “he said, she said” scenario that has only been brought up sparingly on the campaign trail.

In The Atrium lobby, Hill spoke with his team, surrounded by bustling conservatives. Just, the Gladiator owner, walked through one of the facility’s entrances — he was there to support Andrew Ireland in the House District 90 race — and spotted Hill. The pair reminisced about the Jeep show. “He remembered exactly what the Jeep was; he remembered everything about it,” Just told State Affairs of his conversation with Hill.

Hill asked Just to “remember” him during the upcoming primary election, Just told State Affairs. Yet, after their April encounter, Just said he is “still kind of closed” on the candidate he plans to vote for.

“I still haven’t made up my mind yet,” Just said. But he acknowledged Hill “definitely left a mark.”

About Hill

• Age: 63
• Hometown: Elkhart
• Education: Bachelor of Science in marketing and Doctor of Jurisprudence from Indiana University
• Family: Wife, Teresa, and five children
• Job: Attorney, consultant
• Work history: Indiana’s 43rd attorney general (2017-2021), an attorney since 1988, consultant with Maverick Consulting LLC, Elkhart County prosecutor (2003-2017)

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Tucker defeated House Minority Leader Phil GiaQuinta and Stephanie Crandall, a top aide to Mayor Henry, on the second ballot Saturday. A jubilant Tucker told the 92 precinct officials and an overflow crowd at Parkview Field: “Today you had the opportunity to make history by electing the first 5-foot-3 mayor. To be in a place where they’re fed, loved and cared for, that’s my vision for our community.” 

Many saw GiaQuinta as the front-runner going into the caucus, with at-large Councilwoman Michelle Chambers in contention. But Tucker’s fiery speech before the first ballot couldn’t be denied. “I’m the only candidate who stands before you who has all those boxes checked on her résumé,” said Tucker, noting she was the only candidate to be elected at both the county and city levels. “You see, as 6th District representative, I have had the pleasure of sitting at the table with developers and investors and telling them how great our city is and encouraging them to make investments. 

“I fully understand government,” she added. 

The applause Tucker received quickly indicated a new order would soon be unveiled. About 15 minutes later, she led GiaQuinta 38-30 on the first ballot (Crandall had 10), with 47 needed to win. Tucker prevailed on the second ballot over GiaQuinta and Crandall after Chambers and Wayne Township Trustee Austin Knox dropped out, and two other candidates were eliminated due to a lack of votes. 

In a press release, Fort Wayne Democratic Party officials said, “Today, Mayor Tucker proved that she has the energy and support of our party, and we look forward to supporting her as she works to continue moving our community forward.”

Tucker will be the second woman to serve as Fort Wayne mayor. After Mayor Win Moses resigned in 1985 following a campaign finance law conviction, Deputy Mayor Cosette Simon served for 11 days before Democratic precinct officials returned Moses to office. 

Tucker replaces Mayor Henry, who was elected to a city-record fifth term last November. Henry, who announced in February that he had late-stage stomach cancer, died on March 28 at age 72. 

What’s happening in Indiana is historic. Not only are four Black women leading Indiana cities, but also for the first time in the state’s history, eight Black mayors across the state are serving at the same time. The others are Mayors Eddie Melton of Gary, Anthony Copeland of East Chicago, Rod Roberson of Elkhart and Ronald Morrell Jr. of Marion. Morrell is Indiana’s first Black Republican mayor.

In February, the House unanimously passed a resolution acknowledging the historic moment.

“Whereas, It is important to acknowledge all Black leaders who are implementors of selflessness and upholders of high standards and order. The courage to lead is not easy but it is an honorable notion to take pride in; and Whereas, The Indiana Black Legislative Caucus shows its full support of the work these distinguished mayors have put forth, and it is a privilege to honor and acknowledge their names and their duty to serve the citizens of Indiana to the utmost capacity,” House Concurrent Resolution 21 states.

“I don’t know that we have ever had this many Black mayors in city halls across the state of Indiana,” Indianapolis Recorder columnist Marshawn Wolley wrote last November.

Terry told WFIE-TV after she declared victory in November: “Honestly, it’s surreal. I never believed an African American could really be in this position. The fact is our city is ready to move forward, that this city really is for everyone and that we can be inclusive.”

Lawrence Mayor Whitfield, giving her first State of the City address in February, said, “During the last year, many of you may have heard me say, ‘It’s time!’ To me, that turn of phrase has meant so many things in so many contexts. It means it’s time to bring new, forward-looking leadership to our city. It’s time to take the momentum of the past administrations and move forward to achieve our goals. And, of course, it’s time to unite our city and make sure we are connected on a deeper level than ever before.”

Mayor Terry told Evansville residents at her first State of the City address last month: “One hundred days ago, we launched a new era in Evansville. We broke two glass ceilings, swearing in the first Black mayor and the first female mayor in the city’s 212-year history. The energy, the enthusiasm, the hope that I felt that day have carried us through these first 100 days as we’ve finished assembling our team and gone right to work moving Evansville forward.”

Terry added, “I said at my inauguration that I knew I was going to be held to a higher standard, and I knew you were going to be watching. And I told you I was ready. I told you I was going to make sure Evansville is a city that works for everyone, and I knew you were going to hold me accountable for that. I knew I was going to hold myself accountable, too.”

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

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