In Indiana, 'Jesus, Sex and Politics' pastor joins GOP governor candidate as running mate
INDIANAPOLIS - Pastor Micah Beckwith broke a decades-old tradition on Saturday when Indiana’s Republican delegates nominated him for lieutenant governor over state Rep. Julie McGuire, gubernatorial candidate Mike Braun’s choice for the role. Beckwith now joins Braun, currently the state's junior U.S. senator, on the Republican ticket this November.
“I’m excited to work with [Braun]. He’s going to do great things for our state,” Beckwith said Saturday. “My job as lieutenant governor will be to do everything in my power to make him the most successful conservative governor in the entire United States.”
After a year of campaigning, Beckwith won the delegates' vote 891-828 at the state GOP convention despite a last-minute Trump endorsement for his opponent McGuire.
Who is Micah Beckwith?
Beckwith has served as a Noblesville pastor for over 15 years and teaches a constitutional literacy class at a Christian high school in Carmel, according to his campaign website. He also hosts a podcast, called “Jesus, Sex and Politics,” with another Noblesville pastor, Nathan Peternel. The self-labeled “politically incorrect” podcast discusses cultural topics “that scare you and that you're not allowed to talk about at the Thanksgiving dinner table,” its description reads.
He isn’t a stranger to politics. Beckwith serves as executive director of the Indiana Family Action PAC, co-founded Indiana Coalition Conservatives and previously held a position on the Hamilton County library board, where he led a book banning movement that made national news. He resigned from the board in January to focus on his campaign, he said.
When it happened: Bucking tradition, Indiana Republicans nominate Micah Beckwith for lieutenant governor
Beckwith also ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2020, losing in the 5th District to current Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz. However, he still received 13% of the vote, which placed him third of fifteen candidates as a political newcomer.
Beckwith has been campaigning for over a year, launching his bid for lieutenant governor in June 2023. Throughout his campaign, he pitched himself as a check on the governor, in his eyes a necessary role following current Gov. Eric Holcomb and Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What does the lieutenant governor do?
Indiana’s lieutenant governor presides over the state Senate and can cast the tie-breaking vote should the Senate arrive at an impasse on legislation.
The role also oversees several state agencies, including the State Department of Agriculture, the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, the Indiana Office of Tourism Development and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. Current Lt. Gov. Crouch also oversees projects like the Indiana Mental Health Roundtable and the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Task Force.
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What are Beckwith's goals should he become lieutenant governor?
The Republican nominee for lieutenant governor has made combating “aggressive woke culture” the focal point for his campaign. This shows primarily in Beckwith’s vision for education in the state, where he opposes students using pronouns that differ from their sex assigned at birth and supports increased parental involvement.
Beckwith wants to cap property taxes and end property taxes for seniors and veterans, as well as provide tax benefits for farmers. He’s also pro-gun rights legislation and pro-Congressional term limits.
Beckwith’s campaign priorities generally fall more in line with the agenda-setting, bill-signing responsibilities of the governor, not the lieutenant governor. That's a departure from the vision Braun had for McGuire should she have won the delegate vote, which he referred to as “being the COO” to Braun’s “CEO.”
"Micah worked his tail off. We did as well," Braun said Saturday. "But there's no doubt about this: I'm in charge. And Micah is going to be someone that works with me. And if he doesn't, I think that means that it will probably not be as fruitful in terms of what we can get done."
A key part of Beckwith’s campaign lay in bucking that lieutenant gubernatorial nomination tradition itself. He wanted to give delegates a choice in the matter, again leaning into the difference between governor and lieutenant governor.
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Who will Braun and Beckwith face in the election?
Braun will face Democrat Jennifer McCormick and Libertarian Donald Rainwater for governor on the November general election ballot.
The Democratic Party has not yet chosen a lieutenant gubernatorial candidate, but will likely pick whomever McCormick prefers for the role at the party's state convention in July.
Tonya Hudson is the Libertarian Party's pick for lieutenant governor.
Democratic Party leaders have already begun to paint the Braun-Beckwith ticket as extreme. Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Mike Schmuhl called Beckwith “dangerous for business, dangerous for women, dangerous for families, and dangerous for Indiana’s future” in a statement after the announcement.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jennifer McCormick issued a similar press release.
“Beckwith is, by far, the most extreme candidate ever nominated by either party for statewide office,” McCormick said in the press release. “I refuse to turn Indiana over to a Braun-Beckwith team. They are dangerous, divisive and extreme, and embody the fear and chaos that has taken our state on a dangerous path.”
Still, Hoosiers haven't elected a Democratic governor in 24 years, and no Democrat has won at the state level in Indiana since 2012.
Contact IndyStar politics Pulliam fellow Nadia Scharf at nscharf@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @nadiaascharf.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Micah Beckwith is the Indiana GOP lt. governor nominee. Who is he?
