Indiana
A down-ballot candidate from the right throws a wrench into the Indiana governor's race
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Braun’s bid to become governor of Indiana seemed fairly straightforward until he got the running mate he didn’t want: a pastor and self-proclaimed Christian nationalist who finessed his way onto next month’s ballot.
Micah Beckwith, a podcaster from the Indianapolis suburb of Noblesville, where he leads Life Church, secured enough delegate support to upend the lieutenant governor nomination process at this year’s state GOP convention and become Braun’s running mate. His brand of conservatism has complicated the race by forcing Braun to discuss Beckwith’s views.
Friction between the running mates and a series of negative ads have given an unexpected boost to Democratic nominees Jennifer McCormick and Terry Goodin, the overwhelming underdogs in a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat to statewide office since 2012. The dynamics on the Republican ticket plus strong campaigns from the Democrats have caused forecasters to hedge on their certainty that both seats will stay Republican.
“The race is more competitive relative to expectations,” said Greg Shufeldt, a University of Indianapolis political science professor.
Who is Micah Beckwith?
Usually, gubernatorial candidates select who they want as running mates and count on party delegates to usher their choices in during party conventions. But Beckwith started courting delegates over a year in advance and pulled a major upset at the GOP convention in June. Delegates blessed his nomination and rejected Julie McGuire, a freshman state representative chosen by Braun, even after Braun helped her secure Donald Trump’s endorsement.
Beckwith, who did not respond to multiple requests for comment, has used his social media platform to air views that have stirred up trouble. In addition to declaring that God sent the people who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, he was criticized last month for saying his Democratic opponents have a “ Jezebel spirit.”
Braun has spent recent weeks fielding the fallout.
At a debate earlier this month between McCormick and Braun, she pressed Braun to apologize for the “Jezebel spirit” comment from his running mate.
“I don’t like that,” Braun replied. “You don’t see that out of me, and he’s been pretty good at avoiding that.”
Earlier this month, Beckwith was seen on video at a local Republican Party meeting saying he would fire any employee in his office or the agencies he oversees who lists their pronouns in emails. The story was first reported by the Advocate, an LGBTQ+ publication, and the video was uploaded by The Bloomingtonian.
“If you think that men can be women and women can be men and there’s pronouns needed when we’re talking to one another, you don’t understand the basics of even reality,” Beckwith said.
Braun denounced the statement, saying he would hire and fire employees based “solely on their merit and commitment to delivering efficient, effective state government to make life better and more affordable for Hoosiers, period.”
The lieutenant governor is first in the line of succession under Indiana law. Lieutenant governors oversee four state agencies but have no real legislative power. Those limits haven’t stopped Beckwith from wading into topics he likely wouldn’t encounter on the job.
Mike Murphy, a former Republican state lawmaker and political commentator, said Beckwith represents the socially conservative side of the party.
“I’d say that Micah Beckwith is a product and a symbol of a lot of unrest in the Indiana Republican Party,” Murphy said.
Braun, who led an auto parts distribution company and has run campaigns aligned with Trump, may be able to unite business-oriented Republicans and the social conservatives, Murphy said.
In an interview, Braun said all campaigns have their ups and downs. He believes voter turnout for Trump will have a positive impact down the ballot.
“When I ran for Senate six years ago — we’re in better shape now than we were then,” he said.
Who are Braun and Beckwith running against?
Braun, a one-term senator, has represented Indiana in Congress since 2018. His campaign has focused on high healthcare costs and property taxes, as well as criticizing the federal government on southern border policy.
Braun handily won a five-way gubernatorial primary in May with nearly 40% of the votes.
But that means 60% of the state’s primary voters didn’t back him. McCormick and Libertarian Donald Rainwater are looking to peel away some of those Republican voters.
McCormick has cited Beckwith’s views in labeling the GOP ticket as extremist. She’s built her appeal to moderate voters around the restoration of abortion rights in a state that enacted a near total ban in 2022.
The candidates themselves reflect some recent shifts in Indiana politics. Braun voted as a Democrat until 2012; McCormick switched parties in 2021 after breaking with Republicans over education policy when she was state school superintendent. A new ad released Monday depicts a Republican man vowing to support her.
“We’ve got great momentum, and that momentum is really Republicans and Democrats and independents,” McCormick said in an interview.
Indiana does not allow for citizen-led ballot initiatives like those in other red-leaning states that have abortion on the ballot this year. Even if McCormick defies the odds, Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers of the legislature, and reversing the state’s ban would be difficult if not impossible.
But the response from the Braun campaign shows he isn’t assuming he’ll win. Earlier this month, Braun aired an ad attacking McCormick as a liberal, tying her to Hillary Clinton and President Joe Biden. The ad drew attention both for its negativity in a race that was supposed to be easy for Braun and for its use of a doctored image.
The ad claims McCormick supported banning gas stoves, an idea that became a culture war flashpoint in 2023. It featured an image that had been manipulated to depict people standing behind McCormick holding signs that said “no gas stoves.” It was a digitally altered version of a photograph taken by a South Bend Tribune journalist in May 2023.
Indiana lawmakers passed a law this year banning the use of artificial intelligence in election materials without a disclaimer. Braun’s campaign said the ad was mistakenly given to TV stations.
Rainwater, the Libertarian candidate who is running again, has concerned the state Republican Party enough that they sent a mailer out criticizing him, according to the Indiana Capitol Chronicle. He won 11.4% of votes when he ran for governor in 2020 after pandemic lockdowns riled up Indiana voters. A similar turnout for him could siphon votes away from Braun.
“I think people are very dissatisfied with the status quo from both federal and state and really local government as well,” Rainwater said in an interview.
Braun has trumped McCormick in advertising overall, spending more than $13 million this year on ads, which includes the time period of the GOP primary, according to data from AdImpact, which tracks campaign spending. He’s spent more than three times what McCormick has on advertising.
According to campaign finance reports, Braun raised almost $4.87 million from July through September. McCormick lagged but has made gains since earlier in the year, raising over $2 million in the same period.
McCormick received $1.65 million from the Democratic Governor’s Association in October, according to campaign finance reports. That’s the first significant investment in an Indiana governor’s race since 2016, when Mike Pence stepped down to run for vice president.
The Republican Governor’s Association responded quickly, giving Braun $1.5 million this month — a clear sign the race has gotten their attention.
Shufeldt, the IU-Indianapolis professor, said the DGA money could help Democrats rebuild in Indiana even if McCormick falls short, and “might pay dividends down the road.”
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Volmert reported from Lansing, Mich.
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – DECEMBER 20: Ethan Thompson #55 of the Indiana Pacers takes a shot over Derik Queen #22 of the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half of a game at Smoothie King Center on December 20, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON – The Indiana Pacers have a player availability puzzle to put together down the stretch of the 2025-26 season, and it involves all three of their players on two-way contracts.
Currently, the Pacers have Jalen Slawson, Ethan Thompson, and Taelon Peter signed to two-way deals. Thompson and Peter have been helpful at different points this season, and all three players are healthy right now. They each project to have a bigger role in the Pacers’ final outings of the season.
But they can’t all play in every game thanks to two-way contract rules, and the Pacers will have to juggle the availability of each player. Indiana has already played multiple games since the All-Star break with just one or two or their two-way contract signees available to play.
That’s because two-way agreements come with a limit – players on such contracts can only be active in 50 games per season (or a proportionate ratio of 50/82 games at the time of signing based on the number of days left in the season). The Pacers couldn’t get by without their two-way contract players at various moments this season due to injuries, with Peter being active for 23 of the team’s first 25 games and Thompson during every game from December 1 through January 17.
During those stretches, Indiana needed their two-way players to field a team or a rotation that actually made sense. It wasn’t a poor use of their active days. But that two-way usage early in the season now requires the Pacers to be strategic down the stretch of 2025-26. They have 22 more games this season but won’t be able to use their two-way talents in all of them.
Peter, a rookie selected in the second round of last June’s NBA Draft, had a rush of games to open the campaign, and he’s allowed to suit up 14 more times this league year. “He’s figuring out what being a professional basketball player is about,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of Peter and his in-season growth earlier this month. “It’s about being who you are all the time, regardless of make or miss. Just keep playing, just keep staying aggressive.”
Thompson was signed on November 30, which permitted him to appear in 39 games this season. He’s only got 10 left – Thompson was effective right away with the Pacers and played often after his signing. He was named to the NBA G League Next Up game, effectively the G League All-Star game, for his performances this campaign.
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – OCTOBER 13: Taelon Peter #4 of the Indiana Pacers takes a shot against the San Antonio Spurs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on October 13, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) Getty Images
Slawson signed his contract earlier today and is eligible for 13 appearances the rest of the way for the Pacers. So, with 22 games remaining, none of the team’s two-way contract players can be active for each remaining game. The team will have to figure out the best strategy when it comes to managing two-way player availability during the final months of the season.
Another consideration for the franchise is that two-way players, by virtue of their contract, can be transferred down to the G League at any time. Peter, Slawson, and Thomspon have combined for 64 appearances with Indiana’s G League affiliate team, the Noblesville Boom, this season. Once the Boom’s season ends – their final scheduled game is March 26 but the team currently holds a playoff spot – then the G League is not an option for two-way players.
So the Pacers have to figure out the best way to deploy, and evaluate, their two-way contract signees during March and April. It’s a lot to manage.
“We’re trying to save games for him,” Carlisle said of the Pacers decision to keep Quenton Jackson, who was previously on a two-way contract, inactive for a game earlier this month. “We want to conserve those games as much as possible.”
Jackson had his contract converted from a two-way deal to a standard deal earlier today, and Slawson filled his two-way slot. It was sharp business for the Pacers, but they lost some available two-way days as a result – Jackson had more than 13 games remaining, but Slawson gets fewer because of the day he signed his contract.
“Two-way guys, your life is a lot of unpredictability of where you’re going to be from day to day,” Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan shared in February.
If the Pacers want to keep their two-way talents around the NBA club as much as possible, their best course of action could be to keep two of the three active in every game and occasionally just have one of the three available. If the team can get to a spot in which they have 15 games left on the schedule and all of their two-way talents have 10+ games left in which they could be active, two of the three could play every night during the final 15 outings. Using all three at once could be difficult, though Indiana may choose to deploy each of Thompson, Peter, and Slawson on the second night of back-to-backs as they manage injuries down the stretch. Putting any of the trio in the G League for a few days is an option, too, but comes with injury risks.
Slawson has not appeared in a game for the Pacers yet this season. Peter is averaging 3.3 points per game while shooting 35.8% from the field while Thompson is posting 4.9 points per contest and knocking down 36.7% of his shots. The Pacers are 15-45 with three back-to-backs remaining and three games left against teams near them in the inverse standings.
Indiana Pacers’ Jalen Slawson dribbles during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
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INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers plan to sign wing Jalen Slawson to a two-way contract. The 26-year old forward has spent the ongoing campaign with the Pacers G League affiliate franchise, the Noblesville Boom. It’s a one-year pact covering the rest of the 2025-26 season.
Slawson was a second-round pick back in 2023 and spent his rookie season with the Sacramento Kings. That campaign, the Furman product appeared in 12 games and averaged 0.7 points and 0.6 rebounds per game. Since then, he has bounced around between the Orlando Magic and Pacers organizations.
Most of Slawson’s time in the pros has come via the G League. With the Kings and Magic affiliate teams, the forward averaged between 12 and 13 points per game while being a solid passer and rebounder for his position.
That got him a training camp invite with Indiana last fall. Slawson spent all of the 2025 preseason on an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pacers, and he appeared in all four of the team’s tune-up games ahead of the regular season. He averaged 2.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
Slawson was waived just before the regular season, but the Pacers affiliate team owned his G League rights, and he’s spent the entire season with the Noblesville Boom. That’s where the 6-foot-7 forward has popped – he’s averaging G League career highs of 19.2 points and 5.4 assists per game for the Boom this season, including an improved 34.7% three-point percentage.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – OCTOBER 7: Jules Bernard #14 of the Minnesota Timberwolves dribbles the ball against Jalen Slawson #18 of the Indiana Pacers during the second half of the preseason game at Target Center on October 7, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
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He’s been among Noblesville’s best players this year, and with the team losing many players to injury or overseas opportunities, he has recently become the G League’ club’s top option. Even with more responsibility and attention, Slawson has continued to produce.
Now, he gets a call up to the Pacers via a two-way contract. He’s eligible to be active for 13 of the Pacers final 22 games – two-way contract players are only able to appear in a maximum of 50 games in a league year, and that ratio of games gets prorated if they are signed mid-season.
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle had good memories of Slawson’s play for Indiana during the preseason. “ I think he’s an NBA player,” Carlisle said. “He’s had a good year with the Boom and this will be a great opportunity for him to play some games.”
Two-way contracts provide a salary that is half of the NBA’s rookie minimum, which would equate to $636k over the course of a full season. Prorated for the current day on the calendar, that means Slawson will make about $161k on his two-way with Indiana the rest of the season.
Two-way deals have no impact on a team’s salary cap, so the Pacers have no changes to their spending reality. They opened up a two-way spot by converting the contract of Quenton Jackson earlier this weekend.
WHITELAND, Ind. (WISH) — “The Zone” featured highlights from eight high school boys basketball games from across central Indiana on Friday.
Watch highlights of Beech Grove at Whiteland above.
Final Score: Whiteland 89 Beech Grove 61
“The Zone” airs each Friday at 11:08 p.m. Click here to watch ‘The Zone’ for basketball highlights on February 27, 2026.
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