U.S. Sen. Mike Braun speaks during the Aspire Legislation Matters luncheon discussion at Valle Vista Golf Club and Conference Center in August 2023.
U.S. Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana said Tuesday that the spirit in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention is one of confidence and unity.
Even before Saturday’s assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the GOP was on course for success, he said.
“I’m looking forward to culminating on Thursday with a party as united as it could possibly be after five and a half years. In the time that I’ve been there, it’s had so many ups and downs, and I think it’s finally coming home to roost on the policy end of it, punctuated by candidate issues on the other side of the aisle that they’re contending with,” Braun told the Capital Chronicle, via telephone.
“I think we’re at a point that if Republicans can’t figure it out now … we’ve got to go back to first base in trying to figure out how we come up with better ideas that resonate more clearly with Americans,” he added.
Braun also noted his concern about the U.S. Secret Service following the shooting.
“I don’t see how any agency or entity within our federal government could have dropped the ball more than what happened there,” he said.
A number of investigations are already underway.
Braun, who is the GOP nominee for governor, also said he will have a plan soon on helping Hoosiers with high property taxes.
“I would view it as probably the No. 1 issue I hear about,” he said. “Property taxes have been an issue of discomfort for at least a couple of years … it’s been overlooked for at least a couple sessions, and we can’t overlook it anymore.”
He said he is talking with legislators who will be crucial in making any changes to the system, and mentioned the interplay between assessed property value and the levies that raise revenue for local governments.
“That is where the rubber meets the road. These levies are going to have to be in line with a limitation of what even strong economies can generate, and most can’t grow more than 2.5% to 3%,” Braun said. “If you want revenues above that, my feeling is, conceptually, you’d have to fall into where you do a referendum to do it, to where you can’t automatically use the system to generate revenues beyond that level, because we can’t afford to do that year after year.”
By Niki Kelly — The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, not-for-profit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
