“You’ve f***ed it up already”: The Democratic freakout over Jennifer McCormick’s pick for lieutenant governor
“You’ve f***ed it up already”: The Democratic freakout over Jennifer McCormick’s pick for lieutenant governor
Yesterday she announced former State Representative Terry Goodin as her preferred running mate to the dismay of many Indiana Democrats
“Messy, messy, messy.”
That’s how one longtime Indiana Democratic leader described gubernatorial nominee Jennifer McCormick‘s choice of former State Representative Terry Goodin to be her lieutenant governor running mate.
“Goodin is going to be a problem,” the leader continued. “It’s not insurmountable, but I’m sorry, I just don’t have faith that [the McCormick campaign] isn’t going to screw it up.”
This person wasn’t alone.
As the news of Goodin’s selection spread across the state in the hours before the McCormick campaign’s official 3:00 PM announcement yesterday, several journalists tweeted out messages they’d been receiving from Democrats upset at the prospect of Goodin appearing on their ticket this fall.
Niki Kelly, editor-in-chief of the Indiana Capital Chronicle, shared one from a Democratic convention delegate who days earlier had told Kelly they were committed to supporting McCormick’s choice no matter what. Now that they knew it might be Goodin, they had changed their mind.
“I am no longer certain I will be supporting whomever McCormick pick[s],” they messaged Kelly, according to her tweet.
Former Indianapolis City-County Council member Keith Potts, who launched a short-lived campaign for U.S. Senate last year, told Politico’s Adam Wren he was “quite frustrated with this choice, but Jennifer and her team believe it’s her best path to victory.”
The reason so many Democrats were upset about McCormick choosing Goodin? During his 20 years in the statehouse, he gained a reputation as being quite conservative, often voting against the majority of his fellow Democrats on key issues.
In 2018, Goodin, who represented House District 66 just north of Louisville, was the subject of a lengthy profile in Politico. Here’s how reporter Michael Kruse described him:
He’s an anti-abortion, pro-gun, self-described “Bible-poundin’, aisle-runnin’” Pentecostal.
On guns:
Goodin owns seven guns, and his 4-year-old son, he told me, has four .22-caliber rifles of his own.
On LGBTQ+ rights:
In 2011, Goodin voted for a constitutional ban [on gay marriage] in Indiana; three years later, when public opinion had moved markedly and Democrats favored marriage equality, Goodin was excused from voting.
Even before Wren reported late Tuesday night in his Importantville newsletter that Goodin was rumored to be McCormick’s lieutenant governor pick, Democrats across the state had been exchanging messages about Goodin’s conservative positions.
They were expressing panic, fear, and anger over the prospect of a pro-life, anti-LGBTQ candidate on the Democrat’s statewide ticket in November.
Hours before the official announcement came on Thursday, that longtime Democratic leader I spoke with was shocked at how poorly the rollout was being handled. McCormick and Goodin could weather this, they told me, but only if they had a well-thought-out plan to address Goodin’s conservative record.
“The messaging has to be tight,” they said, “and quite frankly, I feel they’ve fucked it up already. Because they let his name get out there, and they let people run at the mouth about him. You know how many people I’ve talked to about this already?”
When Goodin stepped to the podium at the UAW Hall in Indianapolis later that afternoon, he addressed his previous stances on abortion and gay marriage in an attempt to quell the panic. (State party chair Mike Schmuhl was noticeably absent, according to Wren.)
“I know in my 20 years of service in the legislature, my votes on women’s reproductive rights have been somewhat spotty at best,” he said.
His views on abortion, Goodin told the crowd, had changed after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. “I was always counseled by those female colleagues who had told me that, hey, if we go too far, Roe Wade will be there to catch us. There’s a safety net there. Well folks, that safety net is gone.” Unlike GOP lieutenant governor nominee Micah Beckwith, he said, he was now pro-choice.
Terry Goodin explains his previous stance on abortion (Video: FOX59)
Terry Goodin apologizes for his past support of gay marriage bans (Video: FOX59)
He also apologized for his vote against gay marriage in 2011. “At that time I did not realize that with that vote, I had totally dehumanized, demeaned and hurt thousands of Hoosiers,” he said. “I’m person enough to stand here and say I am sorry for that, I caused that hurt on so many Hoosiers.”
Goodin’s mea culpas didn’t appear to persuade at least one prominent Democrat that Goodin was the right choice to be their nominee for lieutenant governor.
While still in the parking lot of the UAW Hall after Goodin’s announcement event, Wren reported that he started getting messages that State Senator J.D. Ford — the first and only openly gay member of the Indiana General Assembly — was seriously considering challenging Goodin at the Democratic state convention on July 13.
Before the day was over, Ford confirmed his interest to both Wren and the Indy Star.
“I think the world of Jennifer and I’ve gotten to know Terry, but I just don’t think that he brings that pizazz to the ticket,” Ford told the Indy Star. “We need to have Marion County and Boone County [and] Hamilton County involved in this equation, to excite our base and to get people excited to come out and vote.”
Prior to Goodin’s selection, Ford had been a visible supporter of McCormick’s campaign, even wearing a McCormick sticker while walking in the Indy Pride Parade earlier this month.
Now, however, he was weighing a challenge to McCormick’s hand-picked choice for lieutenant governor.
It’s a move that would echo what just happened inside the Indiana Republican Party: upstart candidate Micah Beckwith defeated Julie McGuire, Mike Braun’s preferred running mate, at their convention last Saturday.
There are significant differences, however, between the two situations. Unlike Beckwith, Ford has strong, warm relationships with party leaders across the state and would not be campaigning against the establishment. Instead, he would be running against a candidate in Goodin who is currently perceived by much of the party base to be out-of-step with Democratic views on key issues.
What Ford must determine is whether party leaders and elected officials will ultimately decide to get behind McCormick’s choice — even if they’re not thrilled with him — to project a unified front and avoid the messy scene that plagued the GOP convention last weekend.
Based on conversations I had with several Democrats on Thursday afternoon, that’s still up in the air. There appears — at least for now — to be an appetite for Ford’s candidacy among a portion of the party establishment. Many of them share Ford’s frustration with McCormick over choosing Goodin; some never truly trusted the former Republican even prior to her pick.
That doesn’t mean Goodin won’t end up being her running mate in November. For that to happen, though, she and her team — and especially Goodin — must convince key Democrats that he has truly changed his views on abortion and LGBTQ rights. It also wouldn’t hurt if they could show polling data that putting him on the ticket will help McCormick appeal to the independents and moderate Republican voters she needs to be competitive against Braun.
If they can do that successfully, Ford is unlikely to jump in the race.
If not, look for Ford to officially declare his candidacy soon, and don’t be surprised if he ends up victorious at the convention next month. At this point, he appears to be more popular than Goodin among the types of Democrats who will be delegates to the state convention and ultimately choosing the party’s lieutenant governor nominee.
As Dana Black, a Democratic activist and host of the Turn Left podcast, tweeted after the Goodin announcement, in order for McCormick to defeat Braun, “you have to energize and turn out the base. Not piss them off.”
If you want McCormick to win, then she made a good choice. Teachers and education advocates got Ritz elected in 2012, and they can do it again for McCormick.
As the article says, McCormick must "appeal to the independents and moderate Republican voters she needs to be competitive against Braun," and this pick is the best chance of doing that.
When Obama won in Indiana in 2008, he was not the most progressive Democrat. You can excite as many people as you want with a better LG, but, in this state, that will not be enough for her to win.