Destiny Wells on Todd Rokita and his boxing gloves: ‘Let’s go.’

The Democrat needs to get through her party’s convention first. But AG candidate says after GOP’s far-right moment Saturday, now’s the time to go hard at party that ‘out-righted Donald Trump'

As Destiny Wells rummaged Saturday afternoon through backyard coolers with fidgety lids, each marked for water, Cokes, beer, whatever, her host offered to do the digging a cold bottled water.

“No, I need a drink,” Wells said.

On the drive between her campaign stops Saturday in Michigan City and Lafayette, delegates at the Republican State Convention nominated Micah Beckwith, a far-right conservative pastor from Noblesville, to be Mike Braun’s running mate over the senator’s choice, first-term state Rep. Julie McGuire.

Wells, looking for the Democratic nomination for Indiana attorney general, had been tracking the convention via social media, which also delivered word of Republicans selecting Attorney General Todd Rokita, who accepted the nomination in for re-election while wearing a store-bought set of boxing gloves.

“Can you believe this day?” Wells said, settling on a hard lemonade to address the moment.

Destiny Wells. (Photo: Dave Bangert)

Two years ago in the same backyard in southern Lafayette, Wells, an attorney, lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve and a combat veteran, had talked about what it would take for a Democratic candidate to win a statewide race. She was campaigning then for secretary of state against Republican Diego Morales, looking to uncap the first Democratic win since Glenda Ritz won in 2012 at Superintendent of Public Instruction, a position that no longer exists as an elected office. In 2022, Morales – arguably a compromised candidate nominated anyway by Republicans – beat Wells handily.

On Saturday, Wells was contemplating not only the prospect of facing Rokita – an attorney general who has made a habit of making conservative talking point issues an essential function of his office – but getting through a contested July 13 nomination contest at the Democratic State Convention. There, Beth White, a former Marion County clerk who also ran an unsuccessful secretary of state campaign in 2014, has her name in for the attorney general nomination, too.

“I've had a little bit of conflict in my party, and it's been referenced in the press: She's pushed too much for changes, she's too aggressive,” Wells said. (For reference: IndyStar columnist James Briggs broke down some of that, including the question about why Democrats already aren’t settled and ramping up for November, in this piece last week: “Indiana Democrats need Destiny Wells more than she needs them.”)

“That's because I firmly believe that we define what the party is. The party should not define us,” Wells said. “We have an opportunity, and that opportunity’s now. Let’s. Go.”

Here are excerpts from that conversation.

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Question: So, Todd Rokita goes on stage at the convention with these boxing gloves.

Destiny Wells: What was that about?

Question: You posted that he “wants to box … a woman. Surprise, not at all.” Could you take him if you got in ring? I mean, you’re in military condition, right?

Destiny Wells: We were keeping up with the play-by-play with the convention on Twitter. That came up and it was, What should I even say? I told my friend who was with me, I could reference that I’m Army Combatives Level 1 certified. Or should I mention my hours in jujitsu? I don’t know, I mean, because it’s just incredibly awkward. What do you say when your political opponent comes out on stage with boxing gloves? I did love the person who tweeted, Oh, that must be what his team does to keep his fingers off Twitter.

Question: But the question stands: Could you take him?

Destiny Wells: Let me reference this: When I had to get certified in Army Combatives, I had to do three bouts, and the person against me had on boxing gloves. They could just punch at will, and I had to subdue them within two minutes. And all three who I was up against were bigger than Todd Rokita, one owned a dojo and the other one reacted very poorly to me shooting in on him unexpectedly. So, I'll channel young Lt. Scott. Let's go.

Question: You also posted that you were getting requests for yard signs from Todd Rokita’s family. Is that for real and a true thing?

Destiny Wells: Absolutely. It was in the Region, in Lake County.

Question: He’s from Munster.

Destiny Wells: The monster from Munster. And the monster’s “cuzzies” aren’t fans.

Question: Maybe that should be in your first mailer.

Destiny Wells: Here’s the thing, to be serious, is that people are not going to want to hear about Destiny vs. Todd and all the vitriol. I really do believe people are ready to hear issues. So, when Todd does stuff that’s silly, I’ll poke fun at him. But I’m not going to drop to his level.

Question: His M.O. is making those kinds of statements, though.

Destiny Wells: It’s a schtick. … When there's an actual legal question posited to him, he doesn't know how. I would say he's not very well versed in the law.

Question: How much, in this campaign, will voters care about that? Or will voters lock in on what he’s gone after – count them up: gender-affirming medical care, going after Dr. (Caitlin) Bernard on abortion care, the Southern border, “woke” public schools … or recently here, accusations against the West Lafayette Police Department for what he said was promoting “sanctuary city” policies. He promises to keep those issues out there. How do you make that clear about what a Destiny Wells AG office would be?

Destiny Wells: In our response to him winning (Saturday), we said that we wanted to restore integrity to the office. I want to get back to being the chief legal officer for the state. And that is being the people's attorney. Not the Republican Party's attorney, not the National Republican Party's attorney, not Donald Trump's attorney. The people's attorney. And that's been the thing we've really been leaning in on this year, because that's the feedback I got from voters, that, hey, we're just tired of the division. What are you going to do for us? Because we haven't felt like anybody has been doing anything for us in the Republican supermajority. And so that's how we're going about, and it's been very natural because that's what you should be doing and that is putting people first and getting out of this party vs. party contrast that everybody has felt hostage to for the last decade. It's been a little liberating, honestly.

Question: Two years later, you’re in a different race, but similar kind of thought pattern, right? Gov. Holcomb had just signed SB1 (the state’s new near-total ban on abortion) during your Secretary of State run. You’re still in this post-Dobbs decision landscape and how it played out in Indiana. What’s different in the landscape that you’re dealing with in a statewide race as a Democrat?

Destiny Wells: Indiana was quick to the trigger on that one. We were the first to call a special session and have it enacted in law, but for those trigger states. That would have been July. The election was November. The issue hadn't even started to sink in with folks as to what had just happened. I think a lot of people were in disbelief.

The flip side of that is because we were the first to the punch, we've had two years now for the issue to marinate and to develop in litigation, so that now we're actually seeing it play out in court. Monroe County just had a case last month that they heard where the doctor got on the stand and was able to testify and give expert testimony that this policy will result in women dying. I think, also, people have seen nationally that we are at the point of no return. This is our immediate future. So how do we fix that? It's just totally different in that regard.

And then there's all the other things right. Diego? OK, people in some of the urban markets knew who he was. A lot of people had no idea who he was. Todd Rokita has been in the political realm for Indiana for 25 years.

Question: So, does his persona and people knowing him help or hurt you?

Destiny Wells: It helps me. A lot of the battle was just making enough money to educate Hoosiers who Diego. We're already falling in on a lot of Hoosiers knowing who Rokita is and not liking him. That helps. It's also a presidential election. It's not the midterm. I know I campaigned as the Secretary of State candidate on Indiana, a purple state with a voter turnout problem. We're not red, we're not blue, we’re purple. Then what happens? We're the last in the nation in voter turnout, again. Our destiny – not to be cliché – is ours to grab. But you have to do it. Don't let them beat you into despondency.

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Question: How do you size up (Saturday’s) moment with Micah Beckwith and the GOP? How does that fit in with what you’re talking about here?

Destiny Wells: How many chances can we get? Here's another chance. They’re not even on the same page of music. They have so much infighting, they are breaking precedent with choosing their own lieutenant governor. The far right of the party just out-righted Donald Trump. What are you doing, Republican Party? You have lost the plot. So, it's just getting everybody together and saying, Look, I know maybe you're not a Democrat. But are you this? Are you a Micah Beckwith Republican? Are you a Todd Rokita Republican? Are you a Jim Banks Republican? Absolutely not. You don't have a home right now, and you need to start forging one for yourself.

Question: Do you think you give people that foothold to make the jump from being a moderate Republican?

Destiny Well: Absolutely.

Question: Is the drink helping today?

Destiny Wells: I mean, I don’t know. It’s 30 minutes later and Micah Beckwith is still the Republican LG candidate.

Question: He was in Lafayette Thursday. As he was telling people what he was going to do, he was very clear. He was going present himself as the rallying post for conservatives – as Ron DeSantis is in Florida, Micah Beckwith promised to be in Indiana – and, as he said, take the arrows from the media and critics so everyone else can do the work.

Destiny Wells: Well, here's the problem for Micah, is that there's a Democrat on the other side of the aisle willing to take the arrows with her own party to do the work.

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