Q&A: Eric Doden, GOP candidate for governor
Doden, a Fort Wayne businessman and former Indiana Economic Development Corp. president, introduces himself, sizes up a Republican field that includes Sen. Mike Braun, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch
In a corner of a downtown Lafayette coffeehouse a few weeks ago, Eric Doden was about 20 minutes into a conversation about his campaign, as one of three Republicans running for governor in 2024, when a customer two tables away came over to join in.
She was from Texas, in town with her son as he moved to Lafayette for a post-college job at Caterpillar. She said she couldn’t help but eavesdrop on Doden’s points and wanted to add some of her own, mainly falling in line in the name of amplifying what the Fort Wayne businessman was putting across.
She just had a few questions – Who are you? What did you say you were running for? Do you mean Indiana governor? – before offering an extended take on how she’d found the state, so far, that ended with her swapping her cell number for the promise of some of the white papers the former Indiana Economic Development Corp. president had published since announcing his campaign in 2021.
“You never know what’s going to happen out here,” Doden said, settling back in, as mom and son headed down Main Street to check on an apartment listing.
Out here, in this case, is on the road to communities across Indiana, as Doden makes a bid for an open governor’s seat against two other Republican challengers – U.S. Sen. Mike Braun and Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch. The 2024 GOP primary race features a trio well-financed candidates, with Doden arguably working as the least known of the three, at this point, and trying to make his name on a platform of putting $100 million a year toward rural downtown revitalization, regional development and a post-Roe push for zero-cost adoption.
Question: I guess the question to start with – one other people are asking – is, Who are you? And why now on this run for governor?
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