Indiana
This Libertarian had a record-setting 2020 election. He’s on the ballot again this year.
Gubernatorial candidate Donald Rainwater wants to replace violence with hope
In an interview with IndyStar, the Indiana Libertarian gubernatorial candidate said we don’t have a gun violence issue, rather residents with no hope.
Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar
The Libertarian Party of Indiana has selected its nominees for key races on the ballot in the 2024 general election this November.
The party gained ballot access this election by getting at least 2% of the votes in the race for Indiana secretary of state in 2022, per state law. Libertarian Jeff Maurer received about 5.7% of the vote in an election ultimately won by Diego Morales.
The party nominated these candidates at its annual convention held over the weekend in Fishers.
Donald Rainwater on the issues: Indiana governor candidate Q&A
The governor’s race
For the second time, Donald Rainwater, a software engineer and Navy veteran from Johnson County, will run for governor.
During his bid for governor in 2020, he capitalized on anti-government-shutdown rhetoric in the wake of COVID-19, and with some success: He earned 11.4% of the vote, a record-high percentage for the Indiana Libertarian party in a three-way race for a statewide office.
This year, he’s competing for attention among a historically crowded field of contenders. Six people are running for the Republican nomination. Former schools superintendent Jennifer McCormick is the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Tonya Hudson, of Lawrence County, a longtime member of the Libertarian State Central Committee, is running for lieutenant governor as Rainwater’s running mate.
U.S. Senate
Andrew Horning has appeared at the top of the Libertarian party’s ballot multiple times. This time, as in 2012, it’s for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Mike Braun.
Horning earned 5.7% of the vote in the 2012 election, the party’s second-highest percentage for a three-way statewide race in Indiana. (In 2006, when Steve Osborn earned 12.6% of the vote as a Libertarian against Richard Lugar, there was no Democrat in the race.)
The Owen County resident has also previously run for governor in 2000 and 2008, and multiple times for the U.S. House.
Also on the ballot for U.S. Senate will be U.S. Rep. Jim Banks, the presumptive Republican nominee, and the winner of the Democratic primary, which has two candidates: former state Rep. Marc Carmichael and Indianapolis psychologist Valerie McCray.
U.S. House
These Libertarian candidates will appear on the ballot in various U.S. House races:
- District 2: William Henry of Elkhart County
- District 3: Jarrad Lancaster of Whitley County
- District 6: James Sceniak of Johnson County
- District 7: Russel “Rusty” Johnson of Marion County
Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.
MUNCIE, Ind. (WISH) — Police are investigating a triple shooting that took place on Muncie’s south side Sunday evening that left a woman dead and two men injured.
According to police, at approximately 5:27 p.m., Muncie Police Officers were dispatched to the 2700 block of South Walnut Street in reference to reports of several people being shot.
Officers arrived and located three gunshot victims: A 23-year-old female who died from “multiple wounds,” a 39-year-old male who is hospitalized in stable condition, and a 40-year-old male who was airlifted to an Indianapolis hospital in critical condition.
Police say a suspect is in custody, a 21-year-old man.
Police did not provide any additional information.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Muncie Police Detective Division at 765-747-4867 or dispatch at 765-747-4838.
Candace Parker, Cynthia Cooper share thoughts on Knicks playoff run
USAT’s Sam Cardona-Norberg asks WNBA legends Candace Parker and Cynthia Cooper to give their thoughts on the Knicks hot playoff run.
Sports Seriously
The Indiana Pacers lost 63 games this season for a chance at a franchise-changing lottery pick. On Sunday, May 10, they lost that chance, too.
All Pacers president Kevin Pritchard could do was apologize for taking the risk.
Indiana’s pick landed at No. 5 in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery, one spot outside the top four protections attached to a midseason trade. The selection now belongs to the Los Angeles Clippers .
Shortly after the results were announced, Pritchard took social media and apologized.
“I’m really sorry to all our fans,” Pritchard wrote. “I own taking this risk. Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we were due some luck.”
The Pacers entered the lottery with a 52.1% chance of securing a top-four pick after finishing 19-63, the second-worst record in the NBA. It wasn’t enough.
Indiana sent Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 first-round pick to Los Angeles in the midseason deal for Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown, along with the conditional 2026 first-rounder. The pick was theirs to keep only if it landed in the top four.
Zubac appeared in just five games for Indiana after the trade because of a fractured rib.
“This team deserved a starting center to compete with the best teams next year,” Pritchard wrote. “We have always been resillient.”
Pritchard will have to be resilient if he looks at the replies to his statement. About half of the Pacers fans’ comments were not happy, and fans of other teams called him out for “tanking.”
There were also a large number of fans who were supportive of Pritchard taking that risk.
Tyrese Haliburton is expected to return next season after tearing his Achilles in last year’s NBA Finals. The Pacers will have him Pascal Siakam and a roster they think is built to compete. They just won’t have that first-round pick to add to it.
The 2026 NBA Draft begins June 23 in Brooklyn.
Caitlin Clark explains what she learned from injury in Indiana Fever season
Caitlin Clark spoke for seven minutes on the opening day of Indiana Fever training camp. Here’s what she learned from an up-and-down season, and more.
INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark has some new strategies to help keep her loose throughout games, and one garnered a lot of attention in the Indiana Fever’s season opener against the Dallas Wings.
Saturday was Clark’s first regular season WNBA game since July 2025, when she suffered a right groin injury against the Connecticut Sun. She was limited to just 13 games last season because of various injuries that compounded and lingered throughout the season, including to her left groin, right groin, left quad, and ankle.
Clark, who finished with 20 points, five rebounds and seven assists in 30 minutes, went back to the Fever’s tunnel twice throughout the 107-104 loss, and she said postgame it was just to get her back readjusted. It’s something new for the Fever star after she missed most of last season because of various injuries, but she didn’t report any major issues with her back.
“It gets out of line pretty quickly,” Clark said. “It’s just that, getting my back put back in place a little bit, but other than that, I feel great.”
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Clark also started wearing a heat therapy pad on her back as well when she’s on the bench, but that doesn’t automatically mean an injury, either. Former Fever player Natasha Howard wore one while sitting on the bench the entire 2025 season, and she did not miss a game.
These back issues, Fever coach Stephanie White said, shouldn’t keep her out of the game.
“We wouldn’t have played her 30 minutes if she wasn’t OK,” White said.
Clark’s response postgame came after ABC’s commentators reported in-game that trainers were working on Clark’s hip flexor and groin area — the same that kept her out of most of the 2025 season. When asked about ABC’s in-game report, White said: “That would be the first time I’ve heard that.”
Fever communications staff added that they did not provide an official update to ABC on why Clark left for the tunnel, so everything reported on the broadcast in-game was speculation.
“I think it’s just part of maintaining the body,” White added of the tunnel trips. “… I mean, look, when we’re all really young, we don’t learn proper mechanics, and then it doesn’t get exposed until something happens, and we’re trying to get her body mechanically the way it needs to go. This is gonna be an ongoing thing, and not just her. We’ve had multiple players who have gone back, and we don’t have a blue tent, right, but they’re gonna go back and get it adjusted and make sure that the body’s working.”
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
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