Indiana Democrats should give progressives something to get excited about

The Indiana Democratic Party has nowhere to go but up.

Republicans hold supermajorities in the Indiana General Assembly. In the 2020 gubernatorial election, Democrat Woody Myers received just 32% of the vote, sending him away with a whimper louder than his entire campaign.

That brings us to 2024. The Indiana Democratic Party seems to believe the best way to win a statewide election is to run two former Republicans whose views have not changed substantially since their time in the GOP. Jennifer McCormick was one thing, but her preferred running mate, Terry Goodin, has not shown the slightest inclination toward Democratic values.

We progressives in Indiana have held our noses for a lot, supposedly in the name of winning, but this is a bridge too far. If Terry Goodin is a Democrat, what does being a Democrat even mean anymore?

Despite the Indiana Democratic Party's lurch to the right, it has not delivered electoral victories. Maybe the party should go in a different direction and give its base someone to get excited about supporting … if not for governor, then at least for lieutenant governor. Given the state of the party today, what do they have to lose?

Daniel Dougan lives in Indianapolis.