By Cate Charron, Indianapolis Business Journal
Gubernatorial candidate Sen. Mike Braun and the Indiana Republican ticket have a strong lead ahead of Democrats just three weeks before early voting begins, according to a new Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey released Tuesday.
The poll—commissioned by Indianapolis Fox affiliate WXIN-TV Channel 59 and CBS affiliate WTTV-TV Channel 4—also shows former President Donald Trump with a major lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in Indiana.
Braun leads Democratic challenger Jennifer McCormick by 11 points, 45% to 34%, according to the poll. Libertarian Donald Rainwater, who received 11% of the vote in the last gubernatorial election, was at 6% in the poll. The poll found 13% of voters were undecided.
The three candidates are running to replace Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, who is term-limited. The poll found the governor has a 35% approval rating, with 31% disapproving and another third neutral or with no opinion.
The poll shows incumbent Republican Todd Rokita leading the race for Indiana attorney general, 49% to 35%, over Democrat Destiny Wells with 16% undecided, conflicting with a poll released by Wells showing a margin of less than 5%.
Republican Rep. Jim Banks also leads over Democrat Valerie McCray 47% to 33% in the U.S. Senate race. Libertarian Andrew Horning gathered 5%.
Trump held a 17-point lead over Harris, 57% to 40%, with only about 2% undecided. Harris’ percentage is just sightly below President Joe Biden’s 41% vote in Indiana in 2020.
The top issue for Indiana voters is the economy, according to 44% of those polled. Other issues of concern include education at 9% as well as housing affordability, abortion access and threats to democracy, each with 8%.
The poll queried 1,000 likely voters on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 12-13. More than 75% of those polled identified as Republicans; nearly 85% are white; and the age range was more or less equal across six decades.
The margin of error was plus or minus 3%.
