Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jennifer McCormick has picked former Indiana lawmaker and social conservative Terry Goodin as her running mate, despite pushback from some within her party.
McCormick made the lieutenant governor announcement Thursday afternoon in Indianapolis, just days after she called out Republican state delegates for choosing conservative Noblesville pastor Micah Beckwith as that party’s lieutenant governor nominee.
“My selection of Dr. Terry Goodin is aligned to our unwavering commitment to restoring reproductive rights and freedoms, prioritizing education and ensuring good paying jobs,” McCormick said. “It is also a selection that stays true to empowering all Hoosiers — and all means all. As a ticket, we are committed to bringing back common sense civility and bipartisanship, while focusing on issues that are impacting our daily lives.”
Goodin must still be approved by convention delegates in July, however. In Indiana, delegates in private party conventions decide the nomination of lieutenant governor alongside picks for other statewide offices, such as attorney general.
Two Hoosiers — Bob Kern and Clif Marsiglio — have also filed to run for Indiana lieutenant governor at the upcoming state convention.
“I’ve traveled to many parts of the state in the last two years, and I was troubled by what I saw. In county after county, small towns and small cities seem to be going out of business,” Goodin said. “Unfortunately, the current leadership in our state seems to be okay with this as they have implemented no real policies that will rebuild our small communities, our rural communities. … We can do better than that in Indiana, folks.”
He said change starts with education reforms, creating more union jobs and ensuring Hoosiers get “equal pay for equal work.”
“This race we’re getting ready to undertake is between those who have a vision for a great future for our state, or those who simply want to be stuck in the past,” he said.
A former Democratic member of the Indiana House of Representatives, Goodin represented District 66 — which includes portions of Scott, Clark and Jefferson counties — from 2000 to 2020.
He served as the Minority Leader of the House for a partial term in 2017 but was not re-elected to the position by the Democratic caucus the following year.
Goodin address his voting record
Goodin sparked controversy in 2011, when he voted with a majority of lawmakers for a constitutional ban on gay marriage in Indiana. Three years later, when the measure came up for a vote again, nearly every Democrat voted against it, but Goodin was excused and did not vote.
Goodin also voted with Republicans in support of expanding the ability to carry firearms. In 2020, he co-authored a bill to let off-duty police officers carry firearms into casinos, and in 2019 he co-authored separate legislation to expand Indiana’s “stand your ground” law.
His record also includes votes in favor of several bills adding restrictions or regulations on abortions.
Four years ago, Democrat candidate for governor Woody Myers was readying to tap Goodin as his running mate but progressive Democrats in the party rebelled and he ultimately chose Linda Lawson instead.
“There’s a real battle going on in our state right now against women’s personal freedoms and their individual rights. I know in my 20 years of service in the legislature, my votes on women’s reproductive rights have been somewhat spotty at best,” Goodin said of his prior votes on abortion-related measures. “But I was always counseled by those female colleagues who have told me that, ‘Hey, if we go too far, Roe v. Wade will be there to catch us. There’s a safety net there.’ Well, folks, that safety net has gone.”
Goodin said the 2022 Supreme Court decision to roll back federal-level rights to abortion “was an all-out assault on the woman’s personal freedoms and individual rights,” and that it “has put us in an entirely new universe.”
“It was politically motivated. It was a partisan decision, and it was wrong,” Goodin said. “As defenders of individual rights and personal freedoms and plain old common sense, we must do everything we can to restore the rights of women to make decisions about their own body.”
Goodin also addressed his previous positions on gay marriage.
“In 2011, I voted against allowing gay couples to get married in our state. At that time, I did not realize that with that vote, I had totally dehumanized, demeaned and hurt thousands of Hoosiers,” Goodin said. “I’m person enough to stand here and say I’m sorry for that, that I caused that hurt.”
“Like many other Hoosiers, with time and growth I’ve come to realize my vote was wrong and misguided,” he continued. “Now, I can’t go back 13 years and change that vote. But I can confirm this. I can confirm that love is love. And if two people want to affirm that love with marriage, they should have the right to do so in the great state of Indiana.”
Republicans respond
In February 2022, President Joe Biden appointed Goodin as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Indiana state director for rural development.
A USDA spokesperson confirmed that Goodin has since resigned from that post. His last day was June 14.
Outside of the Statehouse, Goodin previously served for 24 years as superintendent of Crothersville Community Schools, and as an assistant teacher and principal in Brown and Scott counties. He additionally raises beef cattle on his family farm in Austin, Indiana, according to his USDA biography.
The Democrat duo will face Republican gubernatorial nominee Mike Braun and his running mate, Beckwith.
Indiana’s GOP delegates narrowly named Beckwith as the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor in a shocking vote at the party’s convention Saturday, rebuffing first-term Rep. Julie McGuire — Braun’s handpicked choice for the role — who had received a last-minute endorsement from former President Donald Trump.
Beckwith ran an unorthodox solo campaign for the number two spot, publicly pitching himself as both the prospective governor’s cheerleader and a check on his power.
The GOP delegates’ pick has since spurred turmoil within the Indiana Republican Party. In a confidential memo, prominent conservative attorney Jim Bopp predicted that Beckwith could be catastrophic for Braun’s campaign and open the door for a Democratic victory.
“Liberal Democrat Jennifer McCormick continues to let us know who she is, a radical Biden ally. After facing multiple rejections from her own Democrat party friends, she turned to her old pal Joe Biden to pluck a member of his administration to plug in as her running mate,” said Griffin Reid, a spokesperson for the Indiana Republican Party, in a Thursday statement. “She won’t rest until she brings Biden’s policies to Hoosier door steps! These radical, liberal ideas have no place in Indiana, which is still very much Trump country. We look forward to Mike Braun leading our party to victories up and down the ballot come November!”
By Casey Smith – The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, not-for-profit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
