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    We are just over a week away from Election Day! We’ve been covering the major races in Indiana for months, but the political action is really ramping up now as early voting takes place and candidates make their final pitches to voters.

    The marquee race is the Indiana gubernatorial race between Republican Mike Braun, Democrat Jennifer McCormick and Libertarian Donald Rainwater. But the race for attorney general between Republican Todd Rokita and Democrat Destiny Wells is also one to watch.

    We’ve been bringing you crucial election news throughout the 2024 cycle. Keep watching this space this week as we update our live blog with our latest coverage.

    GOP and Dem tickets crisscross the state Saturday

    The only time you’ll hear similar quotes from Attorney General Todd Rokita and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jennifer McCormick is in the home stretch of election season, preaching a message of all people to their supporters respective at the exit. voting events Saturday.

    “I Promise You Can Get Your Life Back After 10 Days,” by Rokita, and “We Have to Put Everything We Have Into These Next 10 Days,” by McCormick.

    The statewide slate of GOP candidates — including Rokita, gubernatorial candidate Mike Braun, his running mate Micah Beckwith and 6th Congressional District candidate Jefferson Shreve — resumed their “Bus Tour” Saturday of Freedom and Opportunity,” starting at the Johnson County GOP headquarters in Greenwood and heading to Dearborn, Jackson and Clark counties.

    McCormick started her day in Fort Wayne and, in the afternoon, traveled to the Frederick Douglass Family Center in Indianapolis to speak at a rally hosted by Marion County Democrats. Other speakers included U.S. Rep. Andre Carson, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Valerie McCray and state party chairman Mike Schmuhl. Later in the afternoon, she interviewed Matt McNally, the Democratic candidate for District 39 in Carmel.

    Republicans may have electoral reasons to feel confident this Election Day, but that was not the dominant message of this frosty morning. Republican Party Chairman Randy Head spoke of a cautionary tale regarding Valparaiso, where last year the Republican-majority city council shifted to a Democratic majority thanks to three close races — in one of those races, a Republican lost by four votes.

    Braun reiterated this message to the crowd made up of several dozen elected officials, candidates, volunteers and families.

    “Don’t take it for granted,” he said. “Complacency is the only thing keeping November 5 from being a happy day.”

    He even lightly chastised the audience for not raising enough hands when asked who had voted earlier. He said he wants Republicans to “end up with a mandate” on Nov. 5 — which is particularly relevant to his race, where he hasn’t topped 50 percent in the polls.

    At the Democrats’ rally at the Frederick Douglass Family Center, volunteers were stocked with clipboards containing large QR codes leading to volunteer sign-ups. One volunteer even went person to person in a crowd of at least 100 people.

    It was a rally in the traditional sense, with cheers and applause after most sentences and loud music between each speaker. Like the Republicans, they presented their competition as extreme and themselves as possessors of common sense. And they urged attendees to find people in their lives who could stand aside and inspire them to vote.

    “You have to help us with this,” McCormick said. “There is no time to relax.”

    -Kayla Dwyer

    Late-Stage Mega-Dollars from National Governors Associations

    Last week and into the weekend, the horse race between the Republican and Democratic governors’ associations continued.

    The RGA injected an additional $500,000 into Braun’s campaign on Tuesday, a campaign finance release revealed Wednesday. This brought the group’s total investment in its campaign to $1.5 million.

    Also Wednesday, the DGA gave McCormick $500,000, documents filed Friday revealed, bringing his total investment in the race to $1.65 million.

    -Kayla Dwyer

    Consult our voter guide

    Have you seen our Indiana Voter’s Guide? Now’s a great time to check it out, because we’ve got a look at all the biggest races, from the Indiana governor’s race, to the attorney general race, to congressional races, to state legislative elections and more.

    More: Indiana Voter’s Guide: Congress, Statehouse, Governor, AG and School Board

    The race for governor heats up

    The Indiana gubernatorial race between Braun, McCormick and Rainwater appears to attract the most attention in Indiana, with national money flowing to both sides.

    The race still leans in Braun’s favor, but it appears to have tightened recently. Recently, for example, Indiana Republicans publish an attack letter against Rainwater, hoping to cut off his support.

    Here are the key questions that dominated the race.

    We’ve written profiles on each of the candidates so voters can learn more. Discover them here:

    Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at [email protected] or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X@CarloniBrittany.

    Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter. @kayla_dwyer17.

    Contact Hayleigh Colombo, IndyStar’s senior government accountability reporter, at [email protected].

    Pabio
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