May 8 (UPI) — Former President Donald Trump unsurprisingly captured Indiana’s Republican nomination on Tuesday when voters cast ballots in the state’s presidential and state primaries.
Trump secured the nod and picked up Indiana’s 58 GOP delegates with a little more than 78% of the vote, according to election results from WHAS11 and NBC News.
However, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley won nearly 22% of vote share, representing more than 125,000 ballots, despite having dropped out of the race in March.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden ran uncontested for the Democratic nomination.
At the state level, Sen. Mike Braun won the GOP nomination for governor, and is to take on the Democrat’s Jennifer McCormick, a former state superintendent of public instruction who ran uncontested.
They will battle it out in November for the governor’s mansion that will be made vacant by Republican Eric Holcomb who can not run for a third consecutive term.
“Congratulations to Sen. Braun on a decisive victory tonight,” Holcomb said in a statement.
“Now we all unite through November to keep Indiana on the fast track.”
Indiana has long been considered to be a “red” state. Its last Democratic governor was Joseph Kernan, who assumed Indiana’s mansion in 2003 following Gov. Frank O’Bannon’s death while in office.
“Tonight, we’ll make Indiana a beacon of freedom and opportunity for America, Braun said on X. “Thank you, Hoosier Republicans for putting your trust in me. I won’t let you down.”
Braun bested five other contenders for the gubernatorial nomination with nearly 40% of the vote. In second, Suzanne Crouch, the state’s lieutenant governor who ran on eliminating taxes, had nearly 22%.
“While today’s vote did not give us the victory for which we worked so hard, I am respectful of the outcome and grateful for the opportunity God has given me to meet so many wonderful people,” she said in a concession statement on X.
“We must come together as a Party and a people to ensure we elect Mike Braun in November. We need bold leadership to reduce the state’s tax burden, help those battling mental illness and addiction and support our law enforcement professionals.”
Valerie McCray, a clinical psychologist, also won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, making her the first Black woman to be a nominee for the Senate from Indiana.
She easily beat Marc Carmichael, a former Indiana House representative, with 68% of the vote to 32%.
“It’s just our time. It’s time for the women. It’s time for a Black woman. It’s time for people to come together and make this thing work,” she said in her victory speech.
“We’ve got to handle environmental injustices. We got to handle financial injustices. We got to handle medical injustices. We have so many things that we have to get straight for the next generation to move forward, and I can’t wait to be your next senator to do that.”
She will now face Republican Rep. Jim Banks and Andrew Horning, a Libertarian, in November.
