Trump endorsement aside … what Indiana would get with Micah Beckwith as Lt. Gov.
Beckwith makes his pitch in Lafayette, as pastor’s outsider/conservative campaign to be Mike Braun’s running mate heads to a GOP convention vote Saturday. And then, Donald Trump weighed in …
Two weeks removed from Mike Braun’s stop for lunch in Lafayette, a day into a statewide tour designed to put state Rep. Julie McGuire before Republican delegates as his pick for lieutenant governor, Micah Beckwith was in town doing the same for himself on the final day of his own campaign of diners, living rooms and community centers ahead of Saturday’s GOP state convention showdown.
In play Thursday at the Sacred Grounds coffeehouse on Wabash Avenue was the tail end of Beckwith’s yearlong pitch to have Republicans skip past a handpicked lieutenant governor, offering himself as a backstop at the Statehouse for conservative principles and for what he referred to often as truth – “not my truth, not your truth, but God’s truth.”
The crowd Thursday included roughly 25 people, about 15 of whom raised their hands when Beckwith asked who in the corner of the coffeehouse were party delegates and would be among those casting votes for either the pastor from Noblesville or for McGuire. Some of the faces were the same as those who came to listen to Braun endorse McGuire during a May 31 stop at the American Legion Post 11.
On Thursday, though, about half of those who raised their hands were sporting campaign buttons designed by the Hoosier Liberty PAC: “I’m a delegate, not a rubber stamp!!”
“It’s going to be interesting at the convention,” Mike Morris, a Republican delegate from Lafayette, said. “There’s a choice to make, and for me and many of my colleagues it’s a clear choice for Micah.”
After an hour of stump speech – mainly calling out “establishment” Republicans, railing on Gov. Eric Holcomb’s handling of the COVID-era lockdown and dragging what he called the indoctrination of “government schools,” LGBTQ pride festivals and diversity initiatives of big-city corporations – Beckwith said he believed he had 100% of the vote he needed from 1,800 delegates. That was up from the 75% he said he had two weeks ago, when Braun was starting to hit the road with McGuire.
“But nobody can be sure, right?” Beckwith said. “It all depends on who shows up and whether what I’m hearing from people is what they’re going to do. The only people you can trust are the ones who look you in the face and say they aren’t voting for you. … But I see a lot of establishment Republicans at these events and I get the sense they’re trying to convince themselves about Julie. If they can defend their reasons, I can appreciate that. If they can’t, I’ve been clear about who I’ll be as lieutenant governor.”
Hours later, though, former President Donald Trump got involved with a surprise endorsement in the race, backing McGuire with his “complete and total endorsement.”
Beckwith said he took it in stride – and even as a sign that his campaign had opposition in the party on the run.
"I will still support President Trump. But do you think he knows Julie (McGuire)?” Beckwith said. “I am just over the moon right now on how well it's going, because Donald Trump just jumped into this race. That tells you, holy smokes, we’re really making an impact. They had to reach out to Donald Trump.”
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