In Indiana attorney general race, candidates’ visions diverge

Indiana’s spot as attorney general is back on the ballot, and the candidates vying to fill the once-technocratic role of chief legal officer have diverging visions for its future.

Incumbent GOP Attorney General Todd Rokita has positioned himself as a “fighter” who will continue taking on “wokeism” in schools, at the border and beyond. He even wore boxing gloves at the Republican state convention.

Democrat Destiny Wells, however, has said she’ll show restraint — and keep the office’s focus within state lines.

A liberal pollster found a close race in a survey conducted between August and September but Rokita swamps Wells in fundraising and name recognition.

His campaign on Wednesday touted that the had raised over $1 million in the last quarter, taking his total cash on hand to over $2 million going into October. He already had a massive lead as of the last campaign finance filing on July 15 of $1.3 million cash on hand to about $100,000.

The Office of the Attorney General represents the state in court, defending officials and agencies, and offers advice on constitutional or legal questions.

It also runs consumer protection and Medicaid fraud divisions, and is responsible for returning unclaimed property like insurance proceeds or money orders to Hoosiers.

The incumbent

Rokita was born in Chicago but grew up in Munster. He earned a law degree from Indiana University and went to work as an attorney at Epstein & Frisch, according to his LinkedIn.

He entered state government as a chief operating officer and general counsel for the secretary of state’s office, then spent eight years as secretary of state himself.

Rokita was named as a defendant in the court battle over Indiana’s pioneering voter identification law, which survived examination by the U.S. Supreme Court. He also sought to eliminate gerrymandering by banning the use of political data when drawing electoral maps, the Indianapolis Star reported — but didn’t get far.

He served another eight years in the U.S. House of Representatives before leaving for a private insurance broker. Rokita beat out embattled former Attorney General Curtis Hill — sanctioned for battery — for the role in 2020, and has led the office since.

Rokita’s tenure has been marked by legal battles over policies put forth by President Joe Biden’s administration on unauthorized immigration, climate regulations and more.

He has also taken on Indiana schools through his “Eyes on Education” portal, which collects documents purporting to expose critical race theory materials and gender identity policies.

And he’s championed “pro-life” policies, pushing the state to release abortion records to anti-abortion activists and leading a campaign against an Indianapolis doctor after she performed an abortion on a 10-year-old rape survivor.

The state’s Medical Licensing Board found that Dr. Caitlin Bernard violated patient privacy laws. The Indiana Supreme Court reprimanded Rokita for his public comments about her, though. He issued a lengthy and unrepentant statement after the reprimand, prompting other attorneys to submit complaints — but the Supreme Court’s disciplinary commission hasn’t filed formal challenges.

Rokita has also fought allegedly abusive landlords in courts on behalf of Hoosier tenants, and has been active in the state’s efforts to hold opioid manufacturers and distributors accountable for the deadly crisis. He regularly sues to help consumers in cases of fraud and data breaches, and plugs the state’s unclaimed property portal.

His campaign didn’t respond to multiple interview requests.

In an interview with the Indianapolis Star, Rokita pledged to keep fighting — regardless of what the next governor thinks.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Mike Braun is “comfortable with me being the legal voice for the state, he says, and I’m comfortable with him being the economic development voice for the state,” Rokita told the newspaper. “But when it comes to the legal voice, I will not give any ground.”

The challenger

Wells grew up as the eldest child on a Martinsville farm and was the first in her family to attend college.

“I’ve always done things for the first time, and usually on my own,” she said.

Wells enlisted after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, earned a law degree in Texas, then bounced around: military deployments, the bar exam, a brief stint in private practice. She returned from Afghanistan and settled down, taking a job under former Attorney General Curtis Hill.

“I couldn’t ignore the shortcomings of the office, but just saw so much potential in that office,” Wells said. “So, I had to … decide to get involved in politics.”

Wells made her first foray onto the campaign trail in 2022, when she competed with Republican Diego Morales to become secretary of state. Morales, dogged by accusations of sexual harassment, election improprieties and more, won with 54% of the vote to Wells’ 40%.

Now, she’s taken on a second uphill battle — after being hesitant to try again.

“I mean, it’s the Indiana Democratic Party. They don’t necessarily have the infrastructure. When you jump out to do this, you have to build it,” said Wells, a party officer.

Even after making “infrastructure” headway in 2022, Wells said, “I hesitated because I knew the one thing I couldn’t do that is I’m not a self-funder. I’m not independently wealthy. I’m just middle class, still paying all my school loans.”

She said her top priority was “reprioritizing” resources.

“It’s about putting the focus back on the state of Indiana. I can’t be entering all these friend-of-the-court briefs that are political footballs,” Wells said. “It’s a distraction.”

She has promised to safeguard “medical privacy” by backing off Rokita’s campaign against abortion providers while taking action in licensing cases involving doctors and dozens of other regulated professions.

Wells also envisions an office that is friendlier to workers, emphasizing increased coordination with local prosecutors.

“A lot of these unions … give donations to a county prosecutor because that county prosecutor says, ‘I will prioritize going after your issues, with the crimes happening to being committed against your membership,’” she said. “… They’re having to be super creative in how they invest their money, because the … government is not meeting its obligations.”

Wells additionally pushed housing as a priority. She called Rokita’s brawls with landlords “case-by-case” fixes made after his party “gutted protections” for renters.

She said she’d engage in louder advocacy during legislative sessions.

Nonetheless, Wells said she’d walk a middle line.

“I want the taxpayer to … come walk in our office, look around and not know if we’re Republicans or if we’re Democrats,” she later added. “The taxpayer just knows that we’re damn good attorneys, and they feel good about the work we’re doing.”

By Leslie Bonilla Muñiz — The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, not-for-profit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.