Everyone in politics is exhausted, dazed and confused. Yet there also seems to be a new energy afoot, thanks to an entirely upended presidential contest.
To boot, this week, Indiana got pulled into the presidential election spotlight with visits from candidates on both sides.
We are also bidding a fond farewell to stellar Pulliam Fellow Nadia Scharf , who has done great work at IndyStar this summer. Thanks for everything, Nadia!
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THE MAIN EVENT: Kamala Harris is existing in the context
One week ago, President Joe Biden was the Democratic nominee for president. On Sunday, Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 race ― something no incumbent president in the modern era has ever done this close to the election.
Vice President Kamala Harris is now the presumptive Democratic nominee likely to take on former Republican president Donald Trump later this year. (How does this affect Indiana's ballot? Nadia has an explainer .)
Some top Indiana Republicans, like Jim Banks and Mike Braun , called on Biden to resign immediately , while others, like former VP Mike Pence said Biden made the right decision .
But Democrats around the country, including Indiana delegates to the DNC in Chicago , shared messages of gratitude for Biden and threw their support behind Harris within days. That included former U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly , who has just returned to Indiana from his time as Ambassador to the Holy See and is expected to lead Indiana's DNC delegation next month.
Donnelly told us jumping back into politics was not his original intention, but he couldn't pass up the opportunity to lead the delegation when Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Mike Schmuhl called. "I actually went home with the intention of mowing my lawn," he said Wednesday.
( Of note : Donnelly is leading Indiana's DNC delegation in Chicago while Braun led Indiana's RNC delegation to Milwaukee last week. It's a fun little flashback to the 2018 Senate race .)
Harris stopped in Indianapolis Wednesday for a pre-scheduled official visit to speak to the Zeta Phi Betas at their biennial convention, a speech which felt a LOT like a campaign message. IndyStar reporters were at the airport as Harris arrived, covered her speech to the Zetas inside the convention center and were outside talking to folks wanting to spot Harris. Read more of that coverage here .
But what now? We are watching for who Harris might pick for VP . While there are lots of names floating around, early reports have included former Hoosier and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg , who is now Transportation Secretary in the Biden administration.
AT CITY HALL: A decade of grooming and sexual harassment
One of IndyStar's core missions is holding powerful people accountable.
Late last week, our colleagues Hayleigh Colombo and James Briggs brought to light long-simmering allegations against a powerful broker in city politics , the right-hand man to the mayor, Thomas Cook . The women accuse Cook of pressuring them toward sexual intimacy in exchange for career growth over the course of a decade. Cook has since lost his job at a major law firm.
This week, amid the fallout, top city officials headed to Columbus, Ohio, in hopes of bolstering Indianapolis' case to attract a Major League Soccer team. (Some of our IndyStar colleagues were there to cover the action.)
MLS Commissioner Don Garber was very careful with his words at a press conference Wednesday, so Indianapolis officials who have been bullish on getting their own MLS team may just have to trust the process and read the tea leaves.
The signs are pointing in positive directions for Indy: City officials, including Mayor Joe Hogsett , were invited to this week's festivities. No other contending city is as far along in their efforts as Indianapolis is, our new city hall reporter Michael McDaniel found out .
THE CHECKBOOK: Medicaid woes affect budget
The state of Indiana closed out the 2024 fiscal year with more than $2.5 billion in reserves, a $375 million drop from where it started at the beginning of the year due to increased Medicaid spending.
State budget officials earlier this week reported that while revenues over the past year were up 1.5% all told over the prior year, expenses rose 19.4%. That's mostly due to higher than expected Medicaid costs. Along with changes to the state's attendant care program , officials said they continue to explore ways to curb Medicaid spending.
ELECTIONS 2024
Much of this week's news focused on the major change at the top of the 2024 Democratic ticket, but Nadia reported this week that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. officially qualified to make the presidential ballot in Indiana.
That makes Indiana one of nine states where his campaign has met the threshold to get on presidential ballots. Nadia has more details here , including who didn't meet the signature deadline.
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
Emails from December show that Zachary Myers , the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said he forwarded to the FBI a citizen-prepared file of allegations of campaign finance violations against Gabe Whitley , a former 7th Congressional District candidate. The FBI raided Whitley's home last week.
The tipster who forwarded the file to Myers? Abdul Hakim-Shabazz, an attorney, former Republican mayoral candidate and author of the IndyPolitics blog, which broke the news of the raid .
TLDR
WHAT WE'RE READING
Sabato's Crystal Ball: The national election predictor out of the University of Virginia on Thursday published a blog post stating it moved Indiana's Attorney General race (where Republican incumbent Todd Rokita faces Democrat Destiny Wells ) from "Leans Republican" to "Likely Republican" with just over 100 days to go until Election Day. This is Sabato's second shift for the AG race this year, which in January moved from "Safe Republican" to "Leans Republican."
Fox 59: Republican Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance made a stop at a fundraiser Fort Wayne yesterday that event organizers say raised nearly $1 million for the Trump-Vance presidential campaign.
The Indiana Citizen: Conservative lawyer James Bopp, Jr. withdrew from cases he was working on for the Indiana Attorney General's office and told the Indiana Citizen that he resigned as outside counsel for Todd Rokita 's office.
REPORTER NOTEBOOK
Hey, it's Hayleigh. It's been quite a week. Reporting on sexual harassment and assault can be heavy. Reading about it can be heavy too. Our story about Thomas Cook has understandably stirred up a lot of reactions and emotions among those who work in or adjacent to Indiana politics.
The story would not have happened without women coming forward and speaking to us about what they experienced. They showed bravery and a commitment to the truth. I really don't pretend to know how it feels to talk to a reporter about something so personal and vulnerable, but our responsibility was to create a comfortable and safe environment for them to share their truth. If you have a story to share about your experience with an elected official or powerful person in Indiana, please reach out. We're here to listen.
TAKE OF THE WEEK
IndyStar opinion contributor Michael Hicks argued in a column that Indiana leaders who want to run state and city governments like businesses are wrong, and that the approach has failed in Indiana. States like California and New York are "crushing" Indiana's economic growth, Hicks writes .
Here is a sampling of his thoughts : "It’s still fun to poke fun at Californians and New Yorkers, but it is delusional to believe Indiana possesses some economic magic they lack."
SEEN ON SOCIAL: Are Hoosier VPs normal?
Whelp. Nobody tell him about Mike Pence. Or Dan Quayle. (And about four others.)
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Checks and Balances is compiled and written by Brittany Carloni, Hayleigh Colombo, Kayla Dwyer and Kaitlin Lange on the IndyStar politics and government team. Send us tips or let us know what you think of the newsletter by emailing IndyStarPolitics@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana: Land of Veeps
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