• IN-Gov, IN-LG: Delegates at Saturday's Indiana Republican convention unexpectedly voted 891-828 to nominate far-right pastor Micah Beckwith for lieutenant governor over state Rep. Julie McGuire, who was backed by gubernatorial nominee Mike Braun and Donald Trump.
One prominent Braun ally responded to Beckwith's selection by arguing it will pose a "serious threat" to Braun's electoral prospects even in this red state and perhaps lead one of the state's best-known Democrats to launch a late bid for governor. Powerful attorney Jim Bopp, who runs Braun's super PAC, used a memo obtained by Politico's Adam Wren to predict that the Democratic nominee, former state education superintendent Jennifer McCormick, will step aside so that party leaders could replace her with former Sen. Joe Donnelly.
Bopp also believed that McCormick, who does not have a running mate right now, would fill that spot on a Donnelly ticket. (Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor are chosen separately but win or lose the general election together.)
Donnelly, who lost reelection to Braun 51-45 in 2018, announced in late May that he'd step down as ambassador to the Vatican effective July 8, but he's shown no obvious interest in running for office this year. McCormick, whose assent would be required to pull off such a swap, also has yet to publicly signal that she's open to such a maneuver. The deadline for nominees to withdraw is July 15, and it would be up to party leaders to choose new candidates to fill any vacancies.
Both Democrats and Republicans took advantage of this law in 2016, though for different reasons. Former Rep. Barron Hill gave up the Democratic nomination for Senate that year so that the party could replace him with former Sen. Evan Bayh, who nonetheless lost to Republican Todd Young.
Gov. Mike Pence, for his part, had to end his reelection plan to become Trump's running mate because state law prohibited him from appearing on the ballot for both posts: Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb took Pence's place on the ballot and went on to win two terms.
Bopp, though, argued that Braun's campaign to succeed the termed-out Holcomb is now in danger because of Beckwith. Bopp highlighted how reporters already asked Braun to respond to a video Beckwith made following the Jan. 6 riot where the pastor declared, "I was in prayer this morning … and you know what the Lord told me? He said, 'Micah,' he said, 'I sent those riots to Washington.'"
That's far from the only thing Bopp said that has his detractors aghast. Wren on Monday posted a now-deleted 2011 tweet where Beckwith mocked people with autism. The candidate more recently responded to a column from the Indianapolis Star's James Briggs warning that he'd "hijack the governor's office for Christian nationalists" by proudly claiming that label for himself. "My definition of a 'Christian Nationalist' is someone who loves Christ and loves their nation," he wrote last week. "I will NEVER be ashamed of my identity in Christ and I will NEVER stop loving this great nation God has given us!"
Bopp also used his memo to highlight how Beckwith won over delegates by saying he'd push his own agenda and "hold the Republican Establishment in account," which Bopp said could create chaos should the GOP ticket prevail this fall. The attorney, though, was not happy to see his words blasted out. "I do not discuss confidential communications with others," he said in a statement to the Indiana Capitol Chronicle. "And I think it was despicable that someone leaked it."
Braun, unlike Bopp, argued all was fine between him and his unwanted running mate. Braun addressed Beckwith during his convention speech and declared, "[E]ven though I chose someone else to be my partner, you and I have known one another. Everything you believe in, I have as well."
• NH-01: Manchester Alderman Joe Kelly Levasseur announced Friday that he was joining the Sept. 10 Republican primary to take on Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, a declaration that came hours before the close of candidate filing. Levasseur, who told the New Hampshire Journal he was running "100% to be with Trump and to help him get his agenda through," is campaigning for a seat that Joe Biden carried 52-46 in 2020.
Levasseur, who was first elected to his citywide post in 2011, has remained in office despite numerous instances of Trump-like outbursts, including a 2013 incident where the police chief accused him of calling officers "dopes, clowns, jerks, buffoons." He was later censured by his colleagues after the state's attorney general concluded he'd made "unfounded" allegations about officers trying to intimidate him.
But while voters at home have continued to reelect Levasseur, his numerous attempts to win other offices have almost always gone poorly. These include a 2016 bid to cost Pappas his seat on the state's unique Executive Council that ended in a 49-46 defeat, and a failed 2022 campaign for a spot in the 400-member state House.
Levasseur is one of seven Republicans competing to take on Pappas in the 1st Congressional District, which is based in the eastern part of the state. The two prominent candidates appear to be former Executive Councilor Russell Prescott, who took fourth place in the 2022 primary, and businesswoman Hollie Noveletsky. Businessman Chris Bright is also in.
There were no unexpected last-minute developments in the primary to succeed a pair of retiring incumbents, GOP Gov. Chris Sununu and Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster in the 2nd District. With the close of filing in the Granite State on Friday, the only three states where major party candidates can still run for Congress or state-level office in 2024 are Delaware, Louisiana, and Rhode Island.