Just two weeks ago, Indiana’s Attorney General Todd Rokita was endorsing Diego Morales for the Republican nominee for secretary of state. Now he’s saying Morales should step down from the race.
On Thursday, Rokita, along with other notable Indiana Republicans including U.S. Sen. Jim Banks and U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz, now say they back newcomer Max Engling in the race.
Engling announced his plans to run for the seat the day before the May 21 filing deadline. Engling is currently serving as a senior advisor to Banks and most recently ran in the Republican primary for the 5th Congressional district in 2024.
Rokita said in a statement that he had asked Morales to suspend his reelection campaign.
“The Secretary of State’s office is too important to be lost to out-of-touch, left-wing Democrats who put Hoosiers last,” Rokita said. “To that end, I have asked Diego to suspend his campaign. With so many self-inflicted wounds and issues, I now do not believe he can win in November.”
However, on Thursday afternoon, Morales announced he intends to stay in the race.
“Delegates will decide who will be the Republican nominee for Indiana Secretary of State,” Morales said in a statement. “The decision belongs in the hands and only the hands of Republican convention delegates and I'm confident I'll be renominated.”
Indiana’s Republican Party will choose its preferred candidate at the state’s GOP convention June 20 in Fort Wayne.
Banks had also previously endorsed Morales for secretary of state, before his staffer Engling jumped in the race.
“Max is a strong conservative who will keep our elections safe and secure, support Indiana small businesses and farmers, and he will win in November,” Banks said in a statement. “He has my full and total support.”
Morales’s time in office, and even before he was elected, has been continuously plagued by controversies involving accusations of nepotism, fraud and mis-spending of state dollars.
Knox County Clerk David Shelton and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Jamie Reitenour are also seeking the Republican nomination for Secretary of State.
Other candidates have also yet to be decided for the November ballot. Democratic delegates will choose between Blythe Potter and Beau Bayh for the nomination at the party’s June 6 convention Indianapolis.
Former Republican Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard is currently gathering enough signatures to be on the ballot as a third-party candidate.
Libertarian candidate Lauri Shillings will also be on the November ballot.
Contact Government Reporter Caroline Beck at cbeck@wfyi.org.
