State ed board to create task force on student cell phone use

Posted on by Brett Stover

The Kansas State Board of Education is directing a new “blue ribbon” task force to take a closer look at student cell phone use in schools.

The board on Thursday asked Education Commissioner Randy Watson to create the group, a 30-member body made up of students, teachers, administrators and at least two state board members.

“It’s going to take a concerted effort to address the amount of time our children spend on their own devices during instructional time,” Melanie Haas, chair of the state board, said in a news release. “We as parents and elected officials need to help our children use technology and social media in safer, more beneficial ways.”

The task force is expected to develop recommendations for state board policies or guidance on how school districts can tackle students’ non-academic phone use at school. More guidance on the task force’s scope will come at the board’s August meeting. 

Watson said the group’s two co-chairs should be a student and a middle or high school principal. He wants the task force to present its recommendations by November, “no later than December.”

“In addition to addressing how our children are using their digital devices for non-academic purposes while they’re in the classroom, we also need to take a hard look at the impact social media is having on children’s mental health,” he said in the release.

The announcement comes two days after the board heard a presentation on the potential hazards of non-instructional screen time for school-age children.

According to Kansas State Department of Education intern Payton Lynn’s report, non-academic screen time has risen by 52% since 2020 to an average of seven to 10 hours each day.

A bill that would’ve required local school boards to create policies banning cell phones at school received a hearing last session but died in committee.

Brett Stover is a Statehouse reporter at State Affairs Pro Kansas/Hawver’s Capitol Report. Reach him at [email protected] or on X @BrettStoverKS.

Betting generates $8.8M in FY24 for attracting pro sports fund

Posted on by Bryan Richardson

The Attracting Professional Sports to Kansas Fund increased by nearly $8.8 million as the state seeks to grow a revenue source for a stadium project for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals.

Fiscal year 2024 — the first full year of sports wagering — ended with Kansas getting $11.7 million, the state’s 10% cut of total revenue, according to a Kansas Lottery report published Thursday.

The sports fund’s increase came from the sports betting revenue. The fund’s total amount is nearly $12.9 million in its second year of existence.

The Legislature in 2022 passed a bill allowing sports betting, which started in September 2022. The bill also created the sports fund, which receives 80% of wagering revenue in July from the previous fiscal year after a mandatory $750,000 deposit into the White Collar Crime Fund.

The state also transferred about $2 million to the State Gaming Revenues Fund and $219,318 to the Problem Gambling and Addictions Grant Fund from fiscal year 2024 sports betting revenue.

In fiscal year 2023, Kansas had about $5.9 million in revenue from September 2022 through June 2023, with the sports fund receiving around $4.1 million.

State officials are banking on the fund’s continued growth as Commerce Secretary David Toland pursues drawing the Chiefs and Royals to Kansas from Missouri.

During last month’s special session, the Legislature approved Sales Tax and Revenue (STAR) bonds financing up to 70% of a $1 billion-plus stadium project. The state identified the sports fund as a key component to help with the remaining costs.

In April, the state was projected to receive $10.5 million in sports wagering revenues, with $7.76 million going to the sports fund, Cory Thone, public information officer for the Kansas Lottery, told State Affairs.

The actual transfer was about $1 million, or 13%, more than projected.

The same April projections called for Kansas to receive $11.2 million in sports betting revenue in fiscal year 2025, with $8.36 million for the sports fund.

Thone said lottery, budget, legislative research and Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission officials will meet in the fall to update those fiscal year 2025 projections.

The bill that created the path to a stadium project also generated a new potential revenue stream for the sports fund.

Yearly starting June 25, 2025, the budget director and legislative research director would certify the money transferred to the State Gaming Revenues Fund from the Lottery Operating Fund. Any amount over $71.49 million would be transferred the last day of the fiscal year to the sports funds.

The Kansas Legislative Research Department told lawmakers last month that transfers would have yielded $3.3 million for fiscal year 2023 and $4 million for fiscal year 2024.

The incentives to bring the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals across the border developed quickly after Jackson County, Missouri, voters in April rejected a 3/8th-cent sales tax extension meant to fund stadium renovations for the Chiefs and a new ballpark for the Royals.

Sen. J.R. Claeys, R-Salina, told State Affairs last month Kansas has a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to bring two major sports franchises to the Sunflower State.

House Bill 2001 gives Toland the ability to negotiate with the teams regarding a STAR bond district until June 30, 2025. The Legislative Coordinating Council can extend that deadline until June 30, 2026.

Bryan Richardson is the managing editor at State Affairs Pro Kansas/Hawver’s Capitol Report. Reach him at [email protected] or on X @RichInNews.

JD Vance, Mitch and me

Posted on by Brian A. Howey

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — It was a wintry night in January 2017, just two weeks into the Donald Trump presidency, and the conversation centered on the populist uprising unfolding before our eyes.

Seated around the Westwood Manor dinner table were bestselling author JD Vance, then-Purdue University President Mitch Daniels, political operative Mark Lubbers and this writer. 

Vance was on The New York Times Best Seller list for his “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis” and is now a U.S. senator from Ohio. He’s on Trump’s vice president shortlist. And he offered this jaw-dropper that winter night: 

“In 20 years, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders will be in the same party. And in 20 years, Hillary Clinton and Paul Ryan will be in the same party. I think that is very, very interesting and that shift will be a big part of where we go over the next 20 or 30 years.” 

It made sense in the Hoosier context. 

Just nine months earlier, both Trump and socialist U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders had won the 2016 Indiana presidential primaries with 53% of the vote. It occurred despite Hoosier Democratic leaders and superdelegates unanimously backing Hillary Clinton, while Gov. Mike Pence and all but two members of the Republican National Convention delegation backed either Sen. Ted Cruz or Ohio Gov. John Kasich. 

During the Indiana presidential primary, Hoosiers witnessed Trump and Sanders insisting the economic and political systems were rigged. Both used the Carrier and United Technology job flight from Indianapolis to Mexico as evidence. But on the ideological spectrum, they were approaching the vortex seemingly 180 degrees apart. 

This writer pressed Vance on how to gauge the upheaval that had gripped the U.S. Capitol and filled airports and public squares with protesters as Trump’s nascent presidency began (it was three years and 49 weeks before the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection). “I don’t think anyone in this room can say where we’re going to end up in the next three or four years,” I observed. 

Nor could we have possibly known that in less than eight years, voters might be weighing a vote for a “Trump/Vance” ticket in November 2024.

In the Feb. 2, 2017, edition of Howey Politics Indiana, I also observed: “The Hoosier folk who voted early in camouflage and flooded Republican precincts … felt such a stirring in their civic souls, some for the first time in a generation, if ever. The Indiana Trump brain trust of Rex Early and Tony Samuel witnessed dozens of denizens who had never turned out before, filling Golden Corral dining rooms and mowing Trump’s name into the Hoosier version of Kentucky bluegrass, viewing the Manhattan mogul as either an economic savior or a raging bull preparing to smash Capitol Hill marble and stuffy Senate decorum.”

Just before the Westwood dinner, Daniels had interviewed Vance at the Loeb Playhouse on the Purdue campus, introducing him by saying, “He is as interesting a person, as authentic and insightful as the book he has written.”

For more than an hour, the former Indiana governor and future Ohio senator grappled with and parsed the cultural divides that have pockmarked American society. The cultural and political elites had missed 15 years of the Trump reality TV show “The Apprentice,” creating a social blind spot that Trump cunningly exploited en route to his stunning 2016 upset.

“This is, to me, a very significant problem in our country right now, and I wish that I could say that it’s gotten better since November, and I don’t know that it has,” Vance said. “It may have even gotten worse.

“I think that that level of smugness is something that is really, really destructive to our political culture, and it’s something that, you know, frankly, you see it all the time,” Vance told Daniels.

“Look, if you are a Hillary Clinton supporter and you think that every single Donald Trump voter is just a bigot, or if you’re a Donald Trump voter and you think that every Hillary Clinton supporter is just … sort of an out-of-touch-elite who doesn’t care about you, you are going to learn a lot about each other by spending more time and you may have a more substantive conversation. 

“That doesn’t mean you’re going to agree on everything,” Vance continued. “It doesn’t even mean that you have to agree with the moral values all the time. It just means approaching it in a way that I think is again much more empathetic, much more compassionate, and that’s something that we don’t have a whole lot of in our country right now.”

When he led the House Republican Study Committee, U.S. Rep. Jim Banks took Vance’s lead and in a March 2021 memo to then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy explained, “President Trump gave the Republican Party a political gift. We are now the party supported by most working-class voters. The question is whether Republicans reject that gift or unwrap it and permanently become the Party of the Working Class.”

The memo observed that 57% of white blue-collar workers supported Republicans in 2020, compared with 45% in 2010. Meanwhile, Black blue-collar support for Republicans more than doubled during the same period, and Latino blue-collar support for the GOP increased to 36% from 23%. In 2012, Wall Street sources contributed $6 million to President Barack Obama and almost $20 million to GOP nominee Mitt Romney. In 2020, Wall Street sources donated four times more to Joe Biden than Trump, something Banks called a “paradigm reversal.” 

Thus far in the 2024 cycle, Wall Street analyst Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld said in a New York Times column that not a single Fortune 100 CEO has donated to Trump, “which indicates a major break from overwhelming business and executive support for Republican presidential candidates dating back over a century.

“Mr. Trump secured the White House partly by tapping into the anticorporate, populist messaging of Bernie Sanders, who was then a candidate, a move that Mr. Trump discussed with me when I met him in 2015,” Sonnenfeld wrote. “The strategy might have won voters but did little to enhance Mr. Trump’s image with the business community.”

He might not need it.

“Democrats abandoned working-class voters for multinational corporations and an elitist, ‘woke’ social agenda. Working Americans deserve a political party that speaks for them and their interests,” Banks told Fox News in a statement about the memo. “House Republicans can fill that void and cement our party as the Party of the Working Class by uniting around the policies that drew working Americans to the GOP in 2016 and 2020. If we do that, we’ll sweep the floor in 2022 and 2024.”

Banks, who will almost certainly join Vance in the Senate next January if Trump doesn’t select the Ohio senator for the ticket, was wrong about the 2022 “sweep,” predicting earlier that year that the GOP was poised to pick up 30 to 40 seats (it picked up nine, for a scant 222-213 majority). 

“If you think about what Trump really ran on … he slaughtered a lot of Republican sacred cows,” Vance explained during the Q&A with Daniels. “He talked about immigration and primarily talked about it through the lens of wages and wage competition. He was very critical of the foreign policy that exists on the right and the left, especially on the right. He framed the whole host of issues as a pretty radical departure from George W. Bush in 2004, and very few people seemed to really appreciate that fact.” 

Daniels concluded the public event by observing that America faces two compelling problems: an “increasing social distance” between economic demographics and the concept of “upward mobility” that is the heart of our evolution in the face of a global economy and the encroachment of artificial intelligence that must be “maintained or recovered.” 

“In every commencement speech I give here I tell our kids … don’t wander into the status of a new aristocracy,” Daniels said. “You’ve got to go bowling, get in a softball league, go join a church across town, something so that you don’t inadvertently separate as society.”

Now on the Trump veepstakes shortlist, Sen. Vance on Sunday called for a special counsel to investigate President Biden. 

“I think what Donald Trump is simply saying is we ought to investigate the prior administration,” Vance told Kristen Welker on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “There are obviously many instances of wrongdoing. Joe Biden has done exactly that for the last few years and has done far more in addition to that to engage in a campaign of lawfare against his political opposition.”

Pence ended his vice presidential term resisting Trump’s vision of a coup d’état to remain in office. The mob the president unleashed on Capitol Hill smashed marble, invaded the Senate and set up a gallows to, as the chant went, “Hang Mike Pence.” 

At the end of my Daniels/Vance interview in the Feb. 2, 2017, edition of Howey Politics Indiana, I made an observation that remains quite relevant: 

“As we learned during the New Deal, political realignments are not tidy affairs, the change moving like a Kentucky Kingdom roller coaster. As we learned when the Great Society forged Richard Nixon’s New South, some of the most compelling dramas occur on Southern bridges, in jail cells, sweltering hotel kitchens, Woolworth diners and a balcony in Memphis. 

“Today we face the same type of challenges, the final chapters of this emerging era unfathomable at this writing.”

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

Unified GOP heads to Milwaukee

Posted on by Jack Colwell

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Delegates head to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, eager to nominate Donald Trump for president, confident he will return to the White House. Any questions?

Q. Do they have reason for confidence?

A. Yes. They are unified, fervent in support of Trump, who has moved farther ahead in the polls, while Democrats now lack unity as they agonize over whether President Joe Biden should even be their nominee.

Q. Is there any doubt about Trump being nominated by acclamation?

A. No. He clinched it with all those primary election wins, resulting in a selection of delegates convinced that Trump can and will “Make America Great Again.”

Q. Will there be important decisions at the convention?

A. No, not in terms of any decisions on the presidential ticket or on the party platform, already completed and designed to mirror Trump’s current positions rather than past conservative ideology. Conventions have become scripted TV shows, like pro wrestling — entertaining for those enthralled by the performance but with no doubt about all the scripted moves.

Q. Will the Democratic convention next month be the same?

A. Democrats also wanted an event prepackaged for TV, with no debate over tough decisions or issues, like modern conventions have become. Since Biden also swept through the primaries, winning virtually all the delegates, it looked as though everything would be scripted in advance. Doesn’t look that way now.

Q. What happened?

A. The debate.

Q. So, will the Republican convention be a coronation of Trump, not just as king of the GOP but as ruler-in-waiting for the presidency once more?

A. Republican delegates believe that. And if the election were this week, Trump would win comfortably in the Electoral College. But much could happen at home and abroad, swaying some voters one way or the other before the Nov. 5 election.

Q. Do preferences really change much during the campaigns?

A. Usually some. Sometimes big. Michael Dukakis had a 17% lead over George H.W. Bush in a July Gallup poll in 1988. Bush went on to carry 41 states in a landslide victory.

Q. Could it change that much this time?

A. Doubtful, with so much of the country locked in with support of one side or the other. Still, a swing of a small percentage of voters in the key states could be decisive.

Q. What could change the race?

A. Democrats could switch to a new nominee, improving or destroying their chances. Trump could tone down rants and solidify a lead or snatch defeat from the jaws of victory with wild ramblings. And we don’t know what unexpected events lie ahead.

Q. Will the vice presidential picks have much effect?

A. Probably not. Even when there is negative focus on a running mate, it usually makes no difference. In that 1988 race, Bush picked a little-known senator from Indiana named Dan Quayle for VP, supposedly a disastrous choice. Bush skyrocketed to victory.

Q. Back then, was the Republican convention less scripted in advance?

A. Yes, of the many Republican and Democratic conventions I covered, that was one of the most interesting in terms of actual news, especially for my coverage, with the surprising announcement of Quayle’s selection as the convention was underway. There was news to cover, not just a TV show to review.

Q. Did the Quayle selection really come as a surprise?

A. Yes. He was mentioned in speculation but not regarded as a favorite among all the better-known prospects. Even Quayle didn’t know until Bush called an hour and a half before announcing the choice at an outdoor rally in New Orleans, the convention city. Quayle fought his way through the rally crowd and arrived breathless at the platform, with no prepared remarks. A “surprise” now would be all scripted. A prepackaged convention is safer but not as interesting or genuine.

Jack Colwell has covered Indiana politics for over five decades for the South Bend Tribune. Email him at [email protected]..

Wake Up Call for Thursday, July 11, 2024

Posted on by Yellow Sheet Report Staff
Join Arizona Capitol Times to celebrate the top companies in Arizona Arizona Capitol Times Arizona Capitol Times will hold a live virtual event on Aug. 20, 2024, to honor the Top Companies to Work For in Arizona in 2024. Corporation Commission to weigh changing the way it considers utility rate increases Arizona Capitol Times The Arizona Corporation Commission is considering changing the way utility companies apply for rate increases, a decision that would impact how much Arizonans pay for utilities. Group to sue over GOP lawmakers’ description of abortion ballot measure Arizona Capitol Times A pro-abortion group plans to file a lawsuit Wednesday over the way their initiative is set to be summarized in the information pamphlet that is sent to voters ahead of the election, a spokeswoman told the Arizona Capitol Times. Arizona congressional delegation introduces $5 billion tribal water rights legislation Associated Press Members of Arizona’s congressional delegation introduced legislation Monday that would authorize a water rights settlement with three Native American tribes in the Southwest, providing more certainty for the arid region. Arizona AG investigating school voucher program for illegal payments AZ Mirror The Arizona Attorney General’s Office is investigating the state’s school voucher program for alleged illegal payments that were approved without documentation required by state law. Right-Wing Groups Bring Federal Lawsuit Against Arizona’s Election Procedures Democracy Docket Republicans are taking aim at Arizona’s election guidelines in a new federal lawsuit challenging state policies on county vote canvassing and voter intimidation — the latest attempt from conservatives to unravel aspects of Arizona’s election procedure. Democratic Arizona Gov. Hobbs breaks silence on Biden, says president’s age is ‘top of mind’ NY Post Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs finally broke her silence following President Biden’s meeting with Democratic governors last week — with remarks very different from the positive spin she previously put on her fellow Democrat’s rough debate performance last month. AG to investigate ESA spending on ski passes and $900 Lego sets? Cue the hallelujahs The Arizona Republic Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has put the Department of Education on notice: No more outlays of public cash for ski passes and pianos and pricey Lego sets. Stephen Richer politely handles Elon Musk's election ignorance (again) The Arizona Republic A less polite, less patient, less polished individual — me, for instance — would simply have told Elon Musk that he’s full of you-know-what. Sen. Wendy Rogers threatens GOP candidate to protect a friend — and gets away with it The Arizona Republic In December, Ari Daniel Bradshaw called out Sen. Wendy Rogers’ protégé, saying he used a racial slur to refer to a Black lawmaker.

Betty Haynes, ‘center of the wheel’ in McWherter administration, dies at 83

Posted on by Andy Sher

In the male-dominated world of Ned McWherter’s gubernatorial administration, Betty Sanders’ role as gatekeeper was so central that the Democrat elevated her to Cabinet status when he took office in 1987.

Haynes, who died June 28 at age 83, had performed a similar role for McWherter when he was the powerful speaker of the Tennessee House. The Maury County native had a desk in the governor’s first-floor suite, where she was tasked with keeping McWherter and staffers on their toes while also overseeing the governor’s mansion. She was widely respected for her graceful and tactful demeanor.

“Betty was always the steadying force in our office,” recalled Billy Stair, who served as McWherter’s top policy adviser. 

“Some of us were young and in McWherter’s words would ‘get our gown up over our heads’ sometimes,” he said. “She was always professional and very steady and certainly a great influence on me.”

Haynes began her state service in 1973 with what was then known as the Department of Conservation. She joined McWherter’s office in 1981 and was among his first appointees along with fellow former legislative staffer Jim Kennedy after he was elected governor in 1986.

“They are part of my professional family, and I want them to continue working closely with me when I move into the governor’s office,” McWherter told The Tennessean at the time.

Jimmy Carter, Ned McWherter and Betty Haynes attend an event in this undated photo. At rear is Senate Speaker John Wilder. (Credit: Haynes family)

One of her first major tasks was to oversee a renovation of the governor’s mansion following the eight-year tenure of predecessor Lamar Alexander and his family. McWherter lived in his Nashville condominium while the work was performed.

“The residence is in bad condition and we had to do something,” Haynes told the Atlanta Journal in 1987. “Because Mr. McWherter is a bachelor, it is easier for him to wait to move in so the work can be done.”

Haynes steadily moved into higher roles with more responsibility, eventually adding the newly created title of chief administrative officer in 1992, which made her the highest ranking woman in the McWherter administration. The role carried added oversight of regional governor’s office directors and economic development officials.

“She was always the last person to look over expense accounts and reimbursement and all of those things,” Stair noted.

“Betty personified professional,” he said. “She always dressed for work. And I certainly could not say that for myself.”

In some respects Haynes was somewhat of a McWherter whisperer. But there was steel in her.

“As you can imagine none of us felt we had the wherewithal to dress down the governor,” recalled Stair, who described Haynes in action after the rural West Tennessee governor flew into furor over some episode, releasing a stream of salty invective in front of a young aide, David Gregory.

Haynes quietly took the governor aside, telling him Gregory was an ordained minister. Aghast, McWherter offered his apologies. On Friday, Gregory will conduct the service for Haynes in her hometown of Columbia.

Jim Hall, who served as McWherter’s first-term director of state planning, described Haynes as “a very sweet person — and I would say that she could tell you ‘no’ nicer than anybody I’d ever dealt with.”

“She was at the center of the wheel in terms of getting to see him,” Hall said.

Yet another former staffer marveled over Haynes calming down the bulky 6-foot-4 governor after he discovered a new jacket was too long. 

In her obituary, Haynes’ family described Haynes as a “natural born leader” who “practiced her skills” on her siblings. She met her husband, Jerry, who predeceased her, on a blind date. 

An avid traveler and gardener, the family says she “found joy” working in her flowerbeds and loved watching the “Law and Order” series while always keeping at least one book on her nightstand.

Haynes also “relished” a good cup of coffee at the kitchen table and was a “connoisseur” of tiramisu pastry.

“And good chocolates,” the obituary added.

Reinventing high school will come at a ‘short-term’ financial cost, officials say

Posted on by Jarred Meeks

State lawmakers’ plan to “reinvent” high school will increase education costs in the short-term, according to a fiscal impact analysis from the Indiana Department of Education.

The department anticipates the change to increase costs primarily by stoking demand for work-based learning, student transportation and school counseling services.

Education officials on June 26 published a draft rule that would create two high school diplomas — the Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed (GPS) diploma and the Indiana Graduates Prepared to Succeed Plus diploma — replacing Indiana’s four current diplomas. The change, spearheaded by state lawmakers, would start with students entering high school in the 2025-26 school year.

A comment period for the rule is open through July 26, according to a notice. If no substantive comments are received during the public comment period or during a July 30 public hearing, the rule can be adopted as proposed or with minor changes.

State education officials say they want to give students more flexibility with the new diplomas, allowing them to tailor coursework to their postgraduation goals, particularly in the 11th and 12th grades. The proposed diplomas place a greater emphasis on earning college credit in high school and completing work-based learning opportunities.

The cost of work-based learning opportunities under the state’s plan could cost as much as $1,697 per student, the analysis found.

During recent State Board of Education meetings, teachers have questioned how work-based learning programs would be coordinated and how students would be transported. The analysis — for the first time giving estimates for each — says program placement will cost on average $500 for each participating student, and transportation will cost about $1,197 per student.

It’s unclear how many students would participate in work-based learning, but education officials expect the proposed rule to increase demand.

Not all students would be required to participate in work-based learning once the changes take effect: Students pursuing the GPS diploma would have other options available to demonstrate college or career readiness; however, students striving for the GPS Plus diploma would be required to complete a work-based learning course.

The draft rule states work-based learning could happen virtually, satisfying the Indiana School Boards Association, which asked the State Board of Education in June to allow for online opportunities, especially in small and rural school districts.

While grant funding — such as the Career Coaching Grant — could offset some school counseling costs, the department says more counselors might still be needed. And the need will likely vary by school district, the department says, noting it is “difficult to reliably estimate.”

“Increased costs attributable to high school counseling are expected to be short-term in nature, lasting from 2025 to 2030, as counselors shift their practices and school corporations increase overall efficiency and counselors’ productivity by refining existing systems,” the analysis said.

According to the American School Counselor Association, Indiana has a 519-to-1 student-to-school counselor ratio, the fourth highest in the nation.

State lawmakers will determine during next year’s budget session whether changes to Indiana’s diploma requirements will warrant additional financial support for school districts.

Adam VanOsdol, the Indiana School Boards Association’s communications specialist and content strategist, earlier this month wrote that if “the same proportion of students who receive the Core 40 with Honors Diploma earn the GPS+ Diploma, Indiana schools and employers will need to provide around 26,500 students with work-based learning experiences each year, and the statewide total cost would be in the ballpark of $45 million.”

But VanOsdol noted the figure “might be too high” because it does not consider work-based learning infrastructures already in place.

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

Beckwith ‘sort of’ part of Braun campaign

Posted on by Brian A. Howey

In past election cycles, once a gubernatorial ticket forms, the lieutenant governor nominee is folded into the campaign.

Asked if Micah Beckwith has been integrated into the Mike Braun for Indiana campaign, the gubernatorial nominee’s camp told Howey Politics Indiana: “Sort of.”

The two nominees have met since Beckwith won the nomination over Braun’s choice of state Rep. Julie McGuire last month. The Braun campaign website hasn’t incorporated Beckwith into its logos, although the Noblesville pastor posted a logo with both of their names on his X page. He has not yet been conspicuously featured as the running mate. The Braun campaign signaled it will not attempt to rein in Beckwith, who has sometimes stirred controversy.

Beckwith continues to co-host his “Jesus, Sex + Politics” podcast with fellow Pastor Nathan Peternel. In the June 28 episode, Beckwith took on IndyStar columnist James Briggs, who called him “scary” in a June article.

The podcast raised this question: How scary is Micah Beckwith really? 

“Probably to a guy like James Briggs I am really scary,” Beckwith responded. “Guys like James Briggs want to mutilate children, put pornographic material in the hands of children. They hate anything of traditional values. They want to murder babies. I’m against that.”

The podcast then addressed whether Beckwith is a “Christian nationalist.”

“Christian nationalism, and the reason I stick by my guns, is that I’m a Christian and I love my nation,” Beckwith said. “James Briggs hates Christianity and he hates America. That’s why he doesn’t like that. 

“They try to use it to say, oh my gosh, I’m going to shove religion down everyone’s throats,” Beckwith continued. “Foolish people like James Briggs buy into that argument really, really easily. No one in conservative circles I run in have I ever heard anyone say, ‘We want a theocracy.’ We are a constitutional republic rooted in Judeo-Christian principles, and the thing that Mr. Briggs forgets is that his blessings of freedom come from those Christian principles he hates so much and wants to attack. 

“The left likes to take words and redefine words,” Beckwith said. “They redefine ‘women’; they redefine ‘gender.’ So I am not going to let him redefine ‘Christian’ and ‘nationalism.’ Both are very good things. We should all have love for our nation and we should all love the Judeo-Christian principles.”

Peternel asked, “Does that make you a heinous, evil sociopath that needs to be destroyed?”

Beckwith responded, “According to the IndyStar, yes.”

They switched to the topic of gender transition. 

“You are against the cutting off of the genitals of children?” Peternel asked Beckwith.

“I am,” he responded. “The reason the IndyStar sees me as a threat, and they should, is that they want to enact things that are just plain wicked, and I’m not going to let them do it. I’m going to fight them. I’ll fight them in the hills; I’ll fight them in the streets; I’ll fight them everywhere we can. I’m not backing down on this because we are right and they are on the side of wrong. It’s OK to be an embarrassment to the left.”

As for Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Terry Goodin, Beckwith said, “He used to be a pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment, pro-traditional marriage Democrat, and he had to come out at his press conference. He had to backpedal so much he might as well have turned the bike around and rode it the other way. There is no place for anyone in the Democratic Party if you believe that life begins at conception, if you believe marriage is between a man and a woman and if you believe you have a right to defend yourself with the 2nd Amendment. They say I’m the extremist. No, no, no, you guys have become the radical Marxist extremists.”

The episode then turned to Beckwith’s tenure on the Hamilton East Public Library Board. 

“As far as the Hamilton East Public Library Board, the stuff that was falling into the hands of children, I haven’t found one radical leftist, when I showed them this stuff that was in the kids section, they could honestly say that should be allowed in the kids section,” Beckwith said. “If you’re a radical leftist listening to this, come to church and I’ll show you some of these pictures and I’ll get you on video saying, ‘Yes, these are OK for children.’”

Then Beckwith addressed his statement following the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol insurrection. 

“The more people I talk to about the Jan. 6 stuff, the more they are realizing how much of a scam that was,” he said. “What the Lord was saying to me at that moment was they mocked His name.”

He cited a prayer by a congressman from Missouri that opened the congressional session on Jan. 3 as the first time the name “Jesus Christ” was not invoked. Instead, Beckwith said, “the name of a demonic spirit” named “Bramma” was invoked. 

“What the Lord told me was, ‘Those rioters were a direct result of you, America, mocking my name,’” Beckwith said. “I didn’t like what I saw on Jan. 6, but I will say this, too: That was a pretty soft spanking.”

4 Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor

Three little-known candidates have filed to challenge Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jennifer McCormick’s pick of former state Rep. Terry Goodin as her running mate at next week’s state party convention. 

Those candidates met Monday’s filing deadline with the state Democratic Party, with their paperwork being reviewed for fulfilling qualifications ahead of the July 13 convention, party spokesman Sam Barloga said. 

Besides Goodin, those who filed are 2022 state Senate candidate Tamie Dixon-Tatum of Anderson, perennial candidate Bobby Kern of Indianapolis and community activist Clif Marsiglio, who ran in the 2023 Democratic primary for Indianapolis mayor. 

Wells, White seek attorney general nod

Indiana Democratic Party delegates will choose between two candidates for the party’s attorney general nomination at their July 13 convention. Destiny Wells, a defense attorney and U.S. Army Reserve officer who ran unsuccessfully for Indiana secretary of state in 2022, and Beth White, former Marion County clerk and president of the Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault & Human Trafficking, are vying for the nomination. 

Wells entered the race in November, while White joined in January. Both are seeking to unseat Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita, who is running for reelection. Rokita, whose office has championed socially conservative causes such as the fight against abortion access, is a primary target for state Democrats in 2024. 

Wells said she was asked by several Republicans and Democrats to run against Rokita. She was not expecting a Democratic opponent, she added. 

“Having an opponent has been a valuable experience, pushing me to become a stronger candidate,” Wells said. “I’ve been proud to campaign each day, engaging with delegates and presenting Hoosiers with my history of leadership in both the public and military sectors.

“Delegates are looking for a new vision to lead their state and party, and I am ready and eager to take up that mantle.”

Wells had outraised White by the end of March, ending the month with about $106,000 in her campaign account. White had about $32,000.  

Lake County Democrats endorse Wells

The Lake County Democratic Party held a meeting to consider a unanimous recommendation from the city and town chairs to endorse Destiny Wells for attorney general. 

Michelle Fajman, vice chair of the Lake County Democratic Party, who chaired the meeting, stated, “The Lake County Democratic Party intends to report this decision to the delegates attending the Democratic State Party Convention in Indianapolis on July 13th to encourage all the delegates to consider supporting Destiny Wells as the Democratic nominee for Attorney General. Destiny Wells is clearly our best choice to defeat Todd Rokita in the Fall.”

Governor

Indiana Debate Commission contacts campaigns

The Indiana Debate Commission has approached the gubernatorial campaigns of Democrat Jennifer McCormick, Republican Mike Braun and Libertarian Donald Rainwater about a late-October debate, according to Kelly Wittman, McCormick’s campaign manager. 

Wittman said “multiple dates” have been proposed beginning Oct. 18. “I’m sure one of those dates will work,” she said. 

Wittman previously told Howey Politics Indiana that the McCormick and Braun campaigns had agreed to two non-Indiana Debate Commission debates on Oct. 2 and Oct. 3, sponsored by WISH-TV and Fox 59/CBS 4, respectively.

Rainwater accepts 3 debates

Libertarian gubernatorial nominee Donald Rainwater said he accepted an invitation from the Indiana Debate Commission for a moderated debate.

“I have accepted the invitation, and look forward to hearing that Mike Braun and Jennifer McCormick have done the same,” Rainwater said in a statement.

He also agreed to the WISH-TV and Fox 59/CBS 4 debates on Oct. 2 and 3.

Large donations

Large donations posted on the Indiana Election Division website include:

Jennifer McCormick: Nicholas Slater, $5,000 (July 8); Donald Westerhausen Jr., $1,000 (July 8); Michael Doran May, $1,000 (July 8); Dan Beaty, $1,000 (July 8); Morris Erickson, $1,000 (July 8); Noah Smith, $10,523 (June 28); Ann M. Stack, $20,000 (June 19).

Mike Braun: Gary Neidig, $2,500 (July 7); Nisource PAC, $5,000 (July 6); Goecker Construction, $2,000 (July 7); James Hodge, $1,000; Indiana Muslin PAC, $2,500; John Smith, $10,000 (July 2); George Daniels, $3,300 (July 2); Carol Dozier, $1,000 (July 2); Isoclima Specialty Glass, $1,000 (July 2); Roger Penske, $50,000 (July 2); Devin Anderson, $10,00 (June 29); Trucking Industry PAC, $10,000 (July 2); BLB St. John, $25,000 (June 29); DPBG PAC, $10,000 (June 29); Fadness for Fishers, $10,000 (June 29); Friends of Indiana Hospitals, $10,000 (June 29); Curtis Creek Daily, $35,000 (June 29); Peter Hawryluk, $10,000 (June 29); Ice Miller PAC, $10,000 (June 29); Bose McKinney & Evans, $50,000 (June 29); William Barrett, $10,000 (June 29); James Stevens, $15,00 (June 26); Chris Baggott, $10,000 (June 26); Chris Jensen, $10,000 (June 24); Charter Communication, $10,00 (June 30); Indiana Realtors PAC, $100,000 (June 30); Harold Antonson, $10,000 (June 30); Rick James, $25,000 (June 30); John Lecheiter, $25,000 (June 30); BLB St. John, $65,000 (June 30); Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, $50,000 (June 30); Richard Byers, $15,000 (June 30); Anthony Samuel ,$10,000 (June 30).

There were no large donations for lieutenant governor nominees Micah Beckwith or Terry Goodin.

Congress

1st CD: Niemeyer seeks 3 debates

Republican Lake County Councilman Randy Niemeyer issued a statement inviting his opponent, U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, to three debates across the district ahead of early voting on Oct. 8. 

“As we approach a critical election, the voters in Indiana’s First District deserve to have a clear understanding of where each candidate stands on the most pressing issues facing our country,” Niemeyer said in a statement. “In the spirit of openness and transparency, I invite my opponent, Congressman Frank Mrvan, to three debates — one in each county of our district — before early voting begins on October 8th.”

Presidential

RFK Jr. close to qualifying

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is another step closer to becoming the first independent presidential candidate on Indiana’s election ballot in over two decades. County election officials have certified enough petition signatures from his presidential campaign for his name to appear on the November ballot.

The Kennedy campaign must still file the petitions with the state Election Division by July 15, but unofficial tallies submitted by county offices show the signatures of nearly 39,000 registered voters had been certified as of Tuesday morning. State law requires at least 36,943 certified signatures for independent and minor-party candidates to qualify for the statewide ballot.

Kennedy’s campaign says it has met the requirements for his name to appear on the ballot in at least 27 other states, although not all have affirmed ballot placement. His campaign says it has an aggressive ballot access operation with a $15 million budget aimed at getting Kennedy on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  

Kennedy is seeking to join presumptive Democratic and Republican candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump, respectively, and Libertarian Chase Oliver on the Indiana presidential ballot. 

County officials had certified about 17,000 petition signatures from Green Party candidate Jill Stein, according to Tuesday’s report from the state Election Division. 

Trump campaign issues Republican National Convention themes

Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, together with the Republican National Committee, released program themes for the “Make America Great Once Again” Convention on July 15-18, 2024, in Milwaukee. 

“From the beginning of President Donald J. Trump’s campaign to Make America Great Again, we’ve received an outpouring of support from everyday Americans who are ready to turn the page on the last four years of failure, disaster, and embarrassment at home and abroad,” Trump campaign senior advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita said in a statement. “The 2024 Republican National Convention will showcase President Trump’s vision to turn our country around and launch our America First movement to victory come November.” 

The following are daily themes according to a news release from the Trump campaign:

Monday: Make America Wealthy Once Again 

During the first Trump administration, America experienced an unprecedented economic boom. President Trump’s America First economic policies slashed cumbersome regulations, cut tax rates and reworked trade deals to create a fairer playing field for American industry and workers. Under the Biden-Harris administration, all of this progress has stalled or reversed — real wages for American workers are lower than before Biden took office, meanwhile inflation and high energy prices thanks to the Biden’s Green New Deal-inspired, anti-drilling agenda have made everyday life unaffordable for working-class Americans. The second Trump administration will turn the page on the mindless “Bidenomics” agenda and usher in a new age of prosperity.  

Tuesday: Make America Safe Once Again 

Once iconic American cities and communities have become hollowed out, dystopian nightmares thanks to Joe Biden and Democrats’ “woke” soft-on-crime and open border policies. In Joe Biden’s America, unvetted illegal aliens and deranged criminals are free to roam the streets and terrorize everyday Americans, all while law enforcement is demonized. Cartels have overrun our border, flooding our neighborhoods with enough deadly fentanyl and methamphetamine to kill every American multiple times over. President Donald J. Trump will stand up for our law enforcement and put an end to the senseless crime spree and drug flow that plague America.  

Wednesday: Make America Strong Once Again 

Under Joe Biden, the weakest commander-in-chief in our country’s history, America has become a global laughingstock. From our dumpster fire of a southern border to the botched Afghanistan withdrawal to the Hamas-Israeli war to enabling the Iranian terrorist regime, Biden has repeatedly made the wrong move on the world stage. Under President Trump’s vision, America will once again be strong and secure and put an end to the Biden-Harris administration’s weakness. President Donald J. Trump will secure our borders, curb Chinese and Iranian threats, and restore America’s rightful standing on the world stage. 

Thursday: Make America Great Once Again 

President Donald J. Trump will usher in a new golden age for America. At home and abroad, America’s standing will be restored. American families will once again experience prosperity, safety, and strength. Our decaying and decrepit cities and communities will experience a resurgence. Americans will once again have reason to harbor hope and optimism for the future of our country. President Trump will Make America Great Once Again!

Senior Statehouse reporter Tom Davies contributed to this report.

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

They said it (07.11.24)

Posted on by David Jacobs

“People would say, ‘James you can’t say this. We need a unified party. Joe is a good guy. It’s not beneficial.’ I’d say, ‘Everything you say is right, but he still is too f****** old.’” —Political pundit James Carville on President Joe Biden, in The Advocate

“You don’t see Republicans suggesting that (U.S. Sen. Mitch) McConnell or (U.S. Sen. Charles) Grassley should go given their age. You don’t see them trying to dump Trump despite his disreputable character. Joe Biden has performed well in his role as commander in chief. I’m sticking with him.” —Sandra Green Thomas, a delegate to next month’s Democratic National Convention from New Orleans, in The Advocate

“Mr. Grigsby’s message is what we have been saying since Day One. With the $500 million cut anticipated, Louisiana clearly needs budget reform and the only way to effectively do that is with refreshing our constitution.” —Landry administration spokesperson Kate Kelly on Lane Grigsby’s attempt to push for a constitutional overhaul in time for voters to consider changes this year, in The Advocate

“Whether or not we can get an appetite of a majority of the legislature, I still say would be a high bar. It was a long spring, and I think initially people were worried that this was being rushed and needed more time for proper vetting.” —Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Chair Franklin Foil, in The Advocate

“One of the most conservative Supreme Courts we’ve ever had is still repudiating right-leaning decisions from the most conservative appeals courts in the country. But even then, it’s doing so in cases that should never have gotten to the Supreme Court in the first place.” —Georgetown University law professor Steve Vladeck, about the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in The Illuminator.

“I turned 50 a couple of years ago. When you get to a certain age, and you reach a certain level of what you’ve done in your career, you always look and see what else potentially is out there.” —Longtime LSU athletics equipment manager Greg Stringfellow, on his decision to leave for another job, in The Advocate

“Deputies arrived on scene and began to walk towards the camp site looking for any suspicious activity or glowing eyes…Deputies reported the disposition as unable to locate any suspicious activity involving a growl with glowing eyes and standing 5-feet tall.” —Statement from the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office, following a report about a “Bigfoot” sighting in Kisatchie National Forest

Our History: Gov. Sam Jones, who beat the Long machine

Posted on by David Jacobs

Sam Jones, who temporarily wrested the governor’s office away from the Long faction that had ruled Louisiana for the previous 12 years, was born on July 15, 1897 in Merryville. 

Jones served in the Army during World War I, primarily at Camp Beauregard in Pineville. While he didn’t complete his formal education at LSU, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1922. 

He served as a city judge in DeRidder and for nine years as an assistant district attorney in Lake Charles. Jones also was the youngest delegate to the 1921 constitutional convention. 

The anti-Long faction recruited Jones to run for governor following a series of scandals in 1939, which culminated in Gov. Richard Leche’s resignation. Leche would be convicted for taking $31,000 in kickbacks on the purchase of state trucks, receiving a 10-year sentence, serving five and eventually receiving a pardon from President Harry Truman. 

“The paramount issue in this race for governor is the restoration of honesty to public office,” Jones reportedly said. 

Jones edged out Earl Long, who as lieutenant governor had succeeded Leche, for the Democratic nomination, which was akin to winning outright. 

“I said that I intended to destroy the state machine — and I meant it,” Jones said at his inauguration. “I propose to uproot it, rip it limb from limb, branch from trunk and leaf from twig.”

While hindered by legislative decisions to reduce the governor’s power, Jones’ administration enacted civil service legislation, established competitive bidding for state purchases and abolished the practice of annual voter registration. He also continued several Long programs, including free lunches for school children, equal pay for black and white teachers, increased funding of state colleges and aid to the blind, elderly and indigent families.

At the time, governors were barred from succeeding themselves, so Jones returned to his law practice in 1944. He ran again in 1948 and faced off once again against Long, this time coming up short. 

Jones remained active in politics as an advisor to candidates and officials, and helped to found the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana. His son Bob Jones, who was a year old when the family moved into the Governor’s Mansion, was elected to the Legislature in 1968 and became known as a member of the “Young Turks” during the 1970s. 

Editor’s note: Sources consulted for this story include the Secretary of State’s office, the Shreveport Times and a Jim Beam column in the American Press. 

Your search query contained invalid characters or was empty. Please try again with a valid query.