The Latest on developments in Indiana political campaigns (all times local):
3:20 p.m.
It will be a short campaign among Indiana Republicans vying replace Mike Pence as the party’s candidate for governor.
Indiana GOP chairman Jeff Cardwell says the 22-member Republican state committee will meet July 26 to vote on who will oppose Democratic nominee John Gregg on the November ballot.
That vote will come just 11 days after Pence’s Friday withdrawal from the governor’s race with Donald Trump’s announcement of Pence as his running mate.
Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb and U.S. Reps. Susan Brooks and Todd Rokita have announced bids for the GOP nomination. Other possible hopefuls have until three days before the state committee meeting to declare their candidacies.
Cardwell says the committee will vote Aug. 1 on a lieutenant governor candidate.
___
1:50 p.m.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Gregg says Indiana’s problems have taken a back seat to Mike Pence’s personal ambition and ideology during his time as governor.
Pence and Gregg had been in a contentious campaign for governor before Pence withdrew his candidacy Friday following Donald Trump’s announcement of Pence as his vice presidential pick.
Gregg says his campaign has been “about Indiana’s future and who is best equipped to clean up the mess Mike Pence made.”
The former Indiana House speaker says he wants to hear whether the potential new Republican candidates will continue Pence’s policies. Gregg says Pence has neglected issues such as a lack of high-paying jobs, infrastructure problems and drug abuse.
___
1 p.m.
The two members of Congress seeking to take Mike Pence’s place as the Republican candidate for governor say they want to continue what they see as Indiana’s progress under GOP administrations.
U.S. Reps. Susan Brooks and Todd Rokita joined Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb in withdrawing from their re-election campaigns so they can seek the Republican nomination for governor.
Rokita says Indiana was “a backwater as a state” before the past 12 years of Republican governors. Rokita twice won statewide races for secretary of state before being elected to Congress in 2010.
Brooks says she wants to continue Indiana’s fiscal responsibility and business growth during Pence’s tenure.
Holcomb cites his experience as lieutenant governor and a top aide to former Gov. Mitch Daniels as qualifications for the top spot.
___
12:20 p.m.
Indiana Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb says his Statehouse experience qualifies him to replace Mike Pence as the Republican candidate for governor.
Holcomb filed paperwork Friday to withdraw as the GOP lieutenant governor candidate so he could seek the nomination for governor. Republican U.S. Reps. Susan Brooks and Todd Rokita did the same.
Holcomb is a former state Republican chairman whom Pence picked as lieutenant governor in March after the resignation of 2012 running mate Sue Ellspermann. Holcomb says his four months in the state’s No. 2 office and eight years as a top aide to former Gov. Mitch Daniels gives him the needed experience to become governor. He’s never been elected to office.
___
12:10 p.m.
Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma says he won’t try to replace Mike Pence as the Republican candidate for governor.
Bosma was regarded as a leading possible candidate for the position, but he released a statement Friday saying he wouldn’t seek the nomination. Bosma said he remained committed to his work in the Legislature.
The Indianapolis Republican has been the House leader since 2010 and has long held gubernatorial ambitions.
Bosma faced a noon Friday deadline to withdraw from his House re-election bid to seek the nomination for governor because state law prohibits candidates from seeking multiple offices at the same time.
Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb and U.S. Reps. Susan Brooks and Todd Rokita all withdrew from their races to seek the GOP nomination. No other withdrawal forms were submitted.
___
11:50 a.m.
Several Republicans have taken steps to possibly replace Mike Pence as their party’s candidate for governor.
Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb and U.S. Reps. Susan Brooks and Todd Rokita withdrew from their re-election bids Friday shortly after Pence ended his re-election bid following Donald Trump’s announcement of Pence as his running mate.
Indiana law bars a candidate from seeking multiple state and federal offices at the same time. So any Republicans wanting to get the nomination for governor can’t be on the ballot elsewhere, and they faced a noon Friday deadline to withdraw. GOP officials could later restore any of them to a vacancy.
The 22-member Indiana Republican state committee will have 30 days to select a new nominee for governor against Democratic candidate John Gregg.
___
11:30 a.m.
Prominent Republicans have started taking steps to possibly replace Mike Pence as their party’s candidate for governor.
Paperwork withdrawing Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb and U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks from the election ballot for those offices was filed Friday shortly after Pence ended his re-election bid following Donald Trump’s announcement of Pence as his running mate.
Indiana law bars a candidate from seeking multiple state and federal offices at the same time. So any Republicans wanting to get the nomination for governor can’t be on the ballot elsewhere, and they face a noon Friday deadline to withdraw.
U.S. Rep. Todd Rokita is among others also expected to seek the GOP nomination against Democratic candidate John Gregg.
___
11:15 a.m.
Now that he’s Donald Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence has withdrawn from the Indiana governor’s race.
The first-term Republican governor was seeking re-election, but state law bars him from running for that office and also appearing on the ballot as a candidate for vice president.
The deadline for Pence to exit the race was noon Friday. One of the governor’s aides filed the paperwork with the Indiana Secretary of State’s office a few minutes after Trump announced that Pence would join him on the Republican ticket.
Trump had originally planned to make his announcement Friday, but called off the formal event in the wake of the deadly truck attack in France. Trump says he’ll now hold a news conference on Saturday morning.
___
11 a.m.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence still faces a deadline to withdraw from his re-election bid after Donald Trump announced on Twitter that he has picked Pence as his running mate.
Indiana law bars a candidate from seeking state and federal offices at the same time. Pence needs to file paperwork by noon Friday to take his name off the gubernatorial ballot so Indiana Republican leaders can pick a new candidate for governor.
Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb and U.S. Reps. Todd Rokita and Susan Brooks all have signaled interest in the gubernatorial nomination. They face the same deadline to drop off the November ballot in their races, although GOP officials could later restore any of them to a vacancy.
The state Republican committee would pick the candidate to oppose Democratic nominee John Gregg.
Other races likely will be affected should Pence withdraw.
___
9:50 a.m.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is nearing a deadline to withdraw from his re-election bid following Donald Trump’s offer of the vice presidential nomination.
Indiana law bars a candidate from seeking two state offices at once. Pence needs to file paperwork by a noon Friday deadline to take his name off the gubernatorial ballot so state Republican leaders can pick a new candidate for governor.
Trump aides have told Pence the formal announcement could be made as soon as Saturday. That’s according to a Republican with direct knowledge of the process, who spoke to The Associated Press on Friday on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to publicly discuss the details of Trump’s search for a running mate.
Several Republicans interested in replacing Pence as the gubernatorial nominee face the same withdrawal deadline.
[Source:- Montana Standard]
