Indiana
Q&A from 'All Indiana Politics Special: The Governor’s Debate'
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The three candidates in November’s election for governor debated in a live broadcast Thursday night at WISH-TV studios.
“All Indiana Politics Special: The Governor’s Debate” featured Republican Mike Braun, Democrat Jennifer McCormick, and Libertarian Donald Rainwater.
Here are the questions they were asked followed with their answers. Answers are paraphrased until in quotation marks. This story will be updated as new questions are added.
Raise your hand if you support cutting or reducing Indiana’s property taxes as governor?
All three raised their hands.
What specifically would you cut, and how would you replace funding for schools and local police and fire services?
BRAUN: People are complaining about property taxes. Circuit breakers put in place by Gov. Mitch Daniels are no longer working. He would reset property taxes to where they were before they went out of control. He wants to assure local governments and school districts have enough to keep going.
McCORMICK: She knows property taxes are weighing on everyone. She put out a property tax plan to give savings to all Hoosiers in a bipartisan way. It’ll be ready on Day 1 and particular help elderly Hoosiers and veterans. The plan would save $660 million; it’s been well-received. She says Braun keeps revising his plan.
RAINWATER: In 2020, he suggested property taxes should be capped at 1% of the value of the property over seven years. He’s done planning — looking at tax-increment finance districts and 10-year tax abatements — on how to fund local government amid a tax cap.
In the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border a crisis, and what should be the role of Indiana government in addressing it?
McCORMICK: Braun, while in Congress as a U.S. senator, has opposed legislation that would have helped. Braun voted against the legislation for political reasons alone. Indiana needs to consider legal immigration’s positive role in helping Indiana’s economy.
RAINWATER: The governor should enforce the rule of law. The federal government has failed to enforce its mandate to manage immigration. Why Braun hasn’t solved the immigration problem while a U.S. senator? Would he do better as Indiana governor?
BRAUN: Former President Donald Trump protected the borders; President Joe Biden has not. He declined to list the crimes that come to Indiana. “I don’t think any Hoosier would be for making it legal that you could have 5,000 illegal immigrants coming across the border daily.”
Do you believe Indiana should add additional restrictions on abortion, repeal the law, or keep things as they are now?
RAINWATER: If changes need to be made to the current law, then the judiciary needs to determine that. Legislators can listen to constituents and make changes. Additional things: Many lifelong Hoosiers are pro-choice; I’ve never seen in the state constitution where Indiana is declared a pro-life state, as Braun has said; many women, lifelong Hoosiers, are pro-live.
BRAUN: Indiana’s abortion has held up through the courts, and Hoosiers have supported it because Indiana as a pro-life state. He says Indiana’s legislature vetted its law carefully, and that held up in the courts, and “it reflects the majority of Hoosiers in the state.”
McCORMICK: I trust women and health care providers. Let’s put the question to the voters in a ballot initiative. Sixty percent of Hoosiers believe in allowing women control the decisions for their health care. Braun says he thinks he got it right, but we need to go back to standards of Roe v. Wade and trust our women. “Hoosiers, I have your back on this.”
Do you believe the school voucher system is helping or hurting the education of Indiana’s children?
BRAUN: Indiana has a leading edge on choice and competition, and also puts the parents as the main stakeholders in their children’s education. “When you have one size fits all, it’s a monopoly.” If you’re not for choice, competition, and vouchers to make it doable, it’s not a zero-sum game. Indiana’s money follows the kids, as was established years ago.
He says Pike County once had mismanagement within a school district, and had to shut down one with the best performance. “If it had not been for the availability of a charter school, you would’ve had to bus those kids 20 to 30 minutes additionally. They are thriving now because they had the option, and the parents went for it.”
Braun says McCormick was in charge for four years as a state schools superintendent and that “results never got any better. I think you’ve got to be held accountable when that’s the one thing you did in state government.”
McCORMICK: I believe in fiscal responsibility. Indiana puts $1.6 billion into private education, and the results haven’t been good. “Make no mistake, this isn’t about parents choosing, this is about a school choosing. The admission policies need to be looked at. If I should up with a child and the school doesn’t like the academy performance, or the color of their skin, or how they identify LGBTQ, or their religious belief, they do not have to take them. … Public dollars need to go to public schools. That whole program needs to be reviewed.” The threshold of eligibility is $220,000 family of four, and how many Hoosier families make that much?
Indiana schools have been under continuously changing standards and test before the exam results are in. Those changes, every time, cost $40 million. We don’t have good data to know what is and isn’t working.
McCormick, when she was a former state schools superintendent, didn’t have control over changing the test.
RAINWATER: I believe in universal school choice. Our public school system is failing; only 63% of children taking statewide tests in math and English. “We are spending almost 60% of our state budget on education.” The state constitution allows for the funding of public and private schools.
McCormick, when she was a former state schools superintendent, changed the test and wasted money.
Do you support Indiana legalizing marijuana use, either medicinal, recreational, or both?
McCORMICK: I’m aware 80% of Hoosiers support it. My cannabis plan calls for a conversation on medical use before a conversation on adult use.
On adult use, Indiana is losing out on $177 million in tax revenue and hundreds of thousands of jobs because surrounding states have legalized marijuana.
Indiana needs a commission on cannabis use.
RAINWATER: “We don’t need to expand government. We don’t need a new commission. We don’t need new regulations. We can make cannabis in all forms — medicinal and recreational — legal right now.”
“If legislators are not prepared, that is their fault, and we should probably replace them. We should make this legal now, and, as governor, I would make sure that all nonviolent criminal cannabis-related offenses are expunged.”
BRAUN: Marijuana use medicinally and recreationally is cascading across the county, and Indiana needs to address it seriously. He’d have to think about whether to allow adult use. On medical use, “We’re probably ready for it.” On both counts, he’s going to listen to law enforcement because they will have to enforce it and put up with any issues.
Indiana
Is ‘The Bachelorette’ happening? This Carmel contestant weighs in
ABC pulls upcoming ‘Bachelorette’ season. Here’s what to know
A Carmel man and former Purdue basketball player was set to compete on this season that won’t air.
Should ABC air the canceled-for-now season of “The Bachelorette”? A Carmel man who was set to compete on it seems to think so.
Matt Carroll, a 43-year-old Purdue basketball alum and Carmel resident, took to social media over the weekend to address the cancelation of season 22 of “The Bachelorette,” on which he appeared. Public opinion on whether the show should see the light of day is split, but the former Boilermaker forward and industrial real estate broker hopes the footage makes it to air.
Disney and ABC pulled season 22 of “The Bachelorette” because its lead, “Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” star Taylor Frankie Paul, faces an ongoing domestic violence investigations. The network announced the decision March 19 after TMZ leaked a video from a 2023 domestic violence incident involving Paul and her ex Dakota Mortensen.
Neither Carroll nor the show have officially commented on the cancelation, but that doesn’t mean he and other contestants haven’t hinted at their feelings on social media.
Carroll’s Instagram reel — in which he struts through the streets of Carmel, rose in hand, RAYE’s “Where the Hell is My Husband” soundtracking it all — breaks the ice. “So…about that,” he joked, tagging both “The Bachelorette” and Bachelor Nation, the franchise’s official hub for news and content.
The reel has garnered comments from fellow Carmel residents wishing Carroll well, even offering to set him up with local singles. Notably, though, some of Carroll’s followers have called for the season to air — and he agrees.
“Trying to manifest that they still air this,” one comment from model Brittany Mason reads. “America wants it the world wants it!”
“From your lips to God’s ears,” Carroll replied.
Another response from him put it more plainly:
“I’m still hoping they decide to air it.”
Whether “The Bachelorette” will air is unclear. Disney Entertainment Television’s official statement only indicated that it was halting the season “for now,” so it’s possible the network could dust off the footage and air it after all.
Contact IndyStar Pop Culture Reporter Heather Bushman at hbushman@indystar.com. Follow her on X @hmb_1013.
Indiana
Game times announced for Saturday’s Final Four in Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament’s Final Four is set.
Four teams have advanced to the Final Four and will compete for the national championship this upcoming weekend in Indianapolis.
The two national semifinal matchups will take place on Saturday. Tip times for the two games have been announced:
- 6:09 p.m. EDT – No. 3 seed Illinois vs. No. 2 seed UConn
- 8:49 p.m. EDT – No. 1 seed Michigan vs. No. 1 seed Arizona
The winners of Saturday’s games will then play in the National Championship Game on Monday, April 6.
Each game will take place inside Lucas Oil Stadium.
Indiana
Hundreds gather at Indiana State Capitol for ‘No Kings’ protest
INDIANAPOLIS — Hundreds of Hoosiers gathered at the Indiana Statehouse Saturday morning as part of nationwide ‘No Kings’ events to voice their concerns about the current administration.
WATCH FULL STORY BELOW
Hundreds gather at Indiana State Capitol for ‘No Kings’ protest
“I’m out here today because what’s happening in our government is completely trash,” Donna Sipes told WRTV. “It’s wrong. We need to do something about it.”
“I’m tired of every single day when the TV comes on to see what stupid thing he’s done next,” Lindi Marti said.
WRTV
Attendees noted the growing popularity of the demonstrations.
“This is my fourth one to come to. I didn’t come to all of them when it was really cold, but I’m glad to see that they are getting a lot more people out here every time,” Marti added. “It seems like there’s more and more coming.”
Demonstrators highlighted specific foreign policy concerns, including the administration’s handling of the war in Iran.
“We’re bombing the heck out of them. We’re killing civilians,” Marti’s husband said. “We’re getting ready to send our Marines.”
WRTV
Others focused on the administration’s handling of immigration.
“That’s what I’m concerned about,” Reverend Kenny Little told WRTV. “Little kids, they’re taking them away from their family. And I’m just one of those people, I think everyone got rights.”
Indiana medical students also attended the rally to speak out against changes to the healthcare system.
“We’re really worried about the attacks on the health care system in general, but with Medicaid… current estimates range from anywhere from 325,000 to 450,000 Hoosiers will lose coverage by 2032,” Wade Catt said with concern.
WRTV
With midterm elections approaching later this year, attendees emphasized the importance of now taking action at the ballot box.
“If we don’t vote, then things are gonna not, they’re gonna stay the same,” a protester said.
Meanwhile, Indiana Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith says he’s happy to see Hoosiers exercise their First Amendment right to protest.
However, he takes issue with the idea that President Trump is acting like a king. Beckwith says the fact that people have the freedom to protest is proof that the president is not acting like a tyrant.
He acknowledges that bridging the gap between the sides is probably an uphill battle, but believes communication is key.
“I think when you sit down with people face to face, you’re confronted with humanity. There’s another human sitting across that table from you and talking to you. And so, all I have to say, I think that’s probably the thing I would encourage all Hoosiers to do is say, ‘Hey, if you don’t agree with somebody or if you don’t like somebody, why don’t you try grabbing coffee with them? And give it 30 minutes, and just see what happens.’ I bet most of the time people will walk away with a much softer heart and spirit towards that person before they came in,” Beckwith said.
Beckwith is currently on a 92-county tour of the state. He says all sides are welcome to attend his events.
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