Bloomington, Indiana – After announcing the opening of her campaign earlier that day, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jennifer McCormick strolled into the back of Switchyard Brewing Company on Thursday night to the applause and cries of fans. On Thursday morning, she had declared the launch of her campaign. Democratic nominees for mayor and City Council District 5 representative, Kerry Thomson and Shruti Rana, as well as representatives of College Democrats at IU and the Monroe County Democratic Party, were seen among the sea of blue and gold “Jennifer McCormick for Governor” placards.
In the election for governor in 2024, McCormick is the first and only Democrat to announce that they will be running for office. McCormick once held the executive office of Superintendent of Public Instruction in the state of Indiana, which is responsible for overseeing the state’s public school system. McCormick was a Republican during the time that she held the job, although she occasionally broke with fellow Republicans as she pursued a program of charter school accountability and showed more support for public schools. During this time, she also expressed more support for public schools.
McCormick made the decision not to seek re-election after having served in the position from 2017 to 2021. A short time later, the state legislature decided to make the job of Secretary of Education one that is appointed, rather than one that is elected, for the position of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
In 2020, McCormick began lending his support to Democratic candidates, and the following year, in 2021, he converted to the Democratic party. If she prevails in the Democratic primary in 2024, she might have to face off against one of the current Republican candidates in the general election. These candidates include Mike Braun, the incumbent Senator from Indiana, Suzanne Crouch, the Lieutenant Governor, and Eric Doden, a businessman. A survey taken in November showed that Braun was significantly ahead of the other candidates.
At Switchyard, McCormick was presented with an introduction by the Chair of the Democratic Party in Monroe County, David Henry; Rana; Switchyard founder and President Kurtis Cummings; and the President of the College Democrats at IU, Mia Seifers.
According to Henry, Indiana had Democrats serving in the United States Senate, United States Congress, and the governorship as recently as twenty years ago. However, since Joe Donnelly was elected as a senator for the United States in 2012 and Glenda Ritz was elected as the superintendent of public instruction in the same year, Democrats have not been successful in statewide elections.
In his speech, McCormick emphasized the importance of getting back to politics based on common sense and uniting people of all political stripes. She voiced her support for affordable healthcare, childcare, and universal pre-K, as well as the importance of letting women and LGBTQ people to make their own decisions regarding their healthcare. She also underlined the need of allowing women to make their own decisions about their healthcare. In addition to this, she placed a strong emphasis on the economy, particularly the promotion of budgetary transparency and the development of well-paying jobs.
McCormick reported that the topics that people all around Indiana were discussing with her were the state’s infrastructure, governance based on common sense, reproductive rights, and the quality of the public education system.
“Hoosiers do not recognize the out-of-touch divisiveness that is coming out of the statehouse,” she said.
McCormick described herself as a member of the military whose husband was a teacher, as well as a native Hoosier.
In an interview, McCormick stated that the key to her success would be to concentrate on principles that are held in common, to have the financial means to ensure that her campaign is broadcast in all 92 counties and to initiate a group effort. This is the strategy that McCormick alluded to as a “boots on the ground” approach in her speech.
McCormick acknowledged the challenges of running for office as a Democrat but remained confident in her potential to prevail in the election. She stated that if she were elected governor of the state and confronted with a Republican majority in the state legislature, she would strive to reach across the aisle.
