By Niki Kelly | Indiana Capital Chronicle
For The Republic
INDIANAPOLIS — After teasing a run for months, Democrat Jennifer McCormick announced Thursday she is entering the race for governor in 2024.
“I’m running for governor because our political leaders have lost sight of the challenges they were elected to solve. They are defunding and politicizing our schools, burdening us with the nation’s highest gas tax, taking our rights away, and standing by as we pay the highest health care costs in the nation,” she said in a press release. “It’s time for a leader who will put Hoosiers first. Together, we can restore common sense and put an end to the divisiveness that’s pulling our state backward.”
She is hosting press conferences across the state today and Friday and also released a campaign video.
In the video,McCormick spoke about how she pushed back against GOP state leaders when she was superintendent of public instruction from 2017-2021. She was a Republican then, but officially joined the Indiana Democratic Party in June 2021.
“Too many of our statehouse politicians were focused on their own agendas. They were putting politics before our people. They pushed their extreme ideas … I spoke up then and I am speaking up now,” McCormick said. “I won’t play politics with our kids, our rights or our freedoms.”
She joins three Republicans and one Libertarian already in the race. On the GOP side, U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and Fort Wayne businessman Eric Doden are seeking the nomination. Libertarian Donald Rainwater is also back for a second run.
Her history
McCormick began her career as a special education teacher before working as a school principal and later superintendent of Yorktown Community Schools. The former educator was chosen by the Indiana Republican Party as the nominee for the superintendent of public instruction position in 2016. Her platform emphasized a need for Indiana to reject national Common Core learning standards and “reckless” standardized testing. She went on to defeat incumbent Glenda Ritz that November.
Her tenure ended after Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a bill in 2019 to eliminate the elected position and create an appointed secretary of education position instead. Holcomb appointed Katie Jenner to the office, where she still currently serves.
McCormick’s party switch was foreshadowed by an earlier agreement in 2020 — while still in state office — to stay on at the Department of Education if Woody Myers, a Democrat, was elected governor and won the right to appoint the first Indiana secretary of education.
Last year, McCormick toured the state alongside other Democrat former elected officials, including Joe Donnelly and John Gregg, touting the benefits of the American Rescue Plan for Hoosiers.
McCormick then established an exploratory committee for governor.
Much of McCormick’s public commentary since then has come from her social media presence, especially on Twitter, where she’s often critical of GOP policies concerning Indiana education. Recent posts from her personal account also hint at a 2024 gubernatorial run.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle covers state government and the state legislature. To learn more, visit indianacapitalchronicle.com.
