Former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard runs as independent in secretary of state race

This story has been updated. 

Former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard will join the increasingly crowded race for Indiana Secretary of State. 

The former Republican announced Wednesday he will run as an independent. 

Ballard served as the Republican Mayor of Indianapolis for two terms from 2008 to 2015, right before the role was taken over by current Mayor Joe Hogsett. 

But in his announcement video, Ballard said he will run as an independent, saying both parties are broken. Ballard said he’s especially concerned with the politics of the current Secretary of State, Republican Diego Morales. 

“The current leadership in that office has shown an eagerness to engage in partisan politics,” Ballard said. “I thought my career in public service had ended, but when you see something this broken and know you can fix it, you step forward.”

Morales has been dogged by controversy since his first election campaign in 2022, running in part on the unfounded claim that the 2020 election was stolen. Since then, Morales has faced questions about possible election law violations, purchasing a $90,000 vehicle for his office, and hiring his brother-in-law. 

In his announcement video, Ballard said many voters don’t feel they have a place in either party and he hopes to give them a new home. 

“I will not be the Republican or Democrat Secretary of State,” he said. “I will be your Secretary of State.”

A key issue for Ballard will be protecting the integrity of Indiana’s elections. 

Along with Ballard’s announcement, Independent Indiana, a group that supports independent candidates, released polling that found the former mayor and Marine would be competitive among secretary of state candidates. 

That polling did, however, place Ballard last between Morales and Beau Bayh, who announced his candidacy for Secretary of State as a Democrat last year. 

As of December, Bayh had already raised over $1 million for his run. 

Before Ballard, or other minor party or independent candidates, is approved for the November election, he must obtain signatures of registered voters equal to 2% of the total votes cast for secretary of state in the 2022 general election for the entire state. That's 36,943 signatures.

Those need to be verified ahead of a July 15 deadline for independents and minority candidates to be on the November ballot. Only the two majority parties are included in Indiana’s primary election Tuesday, May 5th.

Libertarian Lauri Shillings also plans to join the race for the state office.

Contact Government Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org