Candidates focused on convention delegates in upended GOP secretary of state race

The newly scrambled race for the Republican Indiana secretary of state nomination is now focused on about 1,800 voters — the delegates to next month’s state party convention.

Those men and women are facing a wave of text messages, phone calls, e-mail blasts, candidate meetings and mailers as the four candidates try to secure support ahead of the secret balloting during the June 20 convention in Fort Wayne.

Current Secretary of State Diego Morales has kept up a busy schedule of local Republican events for several years, often positioning himself to hand out plates at the buffet line to greet party activists.

Challengers Knox County Clerk David Shelton and conservative activist Jamie Reitenour have been on the delegate trail for months, making their cases that they would be a better nominee than Morales.

But those campaigns were upended last week with the entry of Max Engling — a senior adviser and regional director to U.S. Sen. Jim Banks — the day before the candidate filing deadline.

All about the delegates

Shelton said his campaign work is now “all about delegate outreach” in connecting by phone calls and other means with those who won convention delegate races in the May 5 primary or have been appointed by county party chairs.

“These phone calls, they’re not a two- or three-minute phone call,” Shelton told the Indiana Capital Chronicle. “I’m spending 15 to 30 minutes on the phone with a single delegate, but you have to commit that time to the people, so they know who to vote for.”

A similar contest for delegate support is underway for the Democratic secretary of state nomination ahead of the party’s June 6 convention.

Beau Bayh goes into that convention with big advantages in fundraising and name ID as the son of former Sen. Evan Bayh over Blythe Potter, who is running as the more progressive candidate.

The Republican hopefuls are trying to win over delegates such as Melanie Nobbe of Decatur County, who said she was undecided about whom she’ll support.

Nobbe said she worried the Republican infighting could turn voters toward the Democratic candidate in November. But she also believes Banks switching his endorsement to Engling, whom she thinks is less qualified than Shelton or Morales, represents unfair influence in the race.

“Most conventions are really upbeat,” she said, “and I think it’s going to be very tense.”

Conventions have been wild cards

Engling, Morales and Shelton are all expected to attend Saturday’s Lincoln Day dinner in Lake County, making their pitch to many of the county’s roughly 100 delegates who’ll make up one of the largest convention delegations.

Lake County Republican Chair Randy Niemeyer said Morales and Shelton had visited the county numerous times, and Morales’ campaign has reached out “almost every day.” 

Niemeyer said he’s sticking with his endorsement of Shelton, whom he views as the most qualified candidate, even though he personally likes Engling.

Last week’s sudden shift of endorsements by top state Republicans such as Banks and Attorney General Todd Rokita from Morales and Engling could backfire, he said.

“One thing I know about delegates is they don’t necessarily like to be told what to do,” Niemeyer said.

That was borne out two years ago when Micah Beckwith defeated then-nominee Mike Braun’s pick as a lieutenant governor running mate — and four years ago Morales won the convention nomination over incumbent Secretary of State Holli Sullivan.

Some delegates won’t give much weight to big-name endorsements, increasing the need for candidates to make personal connections, said Pete Seat, who has worked on numerous Indiana campaigns and unsuccessfully sought the state treasurer nomination at the 2022 GOP convention.

“Delegates tend to side with people they know, despite any shortcomings that candidate may have, rather than going with people they don’t know who may be squeaky clean,” Seat said. “Sometimes it’s just feeling comfortable that you know the person or being able to brag to your friends at home that you know the person.”

Final weeks campaign rush

Shelton said his schedule this week included delegate meetings in Carroll, Hancock and LaPorte counties ahead of the Lake County dinner on Saturday.

A balance is needed in pursuing delegate support, Shelton said.

“There’s already been a certain level of voter fatigue with Diego and all his resources, with the mailers and multiple phone calls and text messages a week from his camp,” he said. “I’m running my campaign with a little bit of restraint. I don’t want to overdo it.”

Engling has some catching up to do and is on the circuit of delegate meetings, phone calls and Zoom sessions.

State Rep. Kyle Pierce of Anderson, who is helping Engling with delegate strategy, compared the convention race to running for mayor of a small city where about 900 votes will win.

The race now is “constantly go go go and try to engage those folks,” Pierce said.

Engling might be unknown to the general public, but many convention delegates have met him through his attendance at party events and work for Banks’ Senate office, Pierce said.

“It’s a big family,” Pierce said of regular convention delegates. “In that space, he actually has been pretty active, not as a candidate, but just as a very active member of our party. He just switched on over from Max, the kind of Republican helping everyone out, to Max the candidate.”

Even before Engling’s entry into the race, Morales was playing up his 2022 election success and calling himself “battle tested.”

His pitch included telling the crowd at a Wells County Republican in April that “I’ve been coming time and time and time again.”

The fast-moving nature of the race caught Morales off-guard this week when he sent out a mailer touting an endorsement from Banks. But delegates received it after Banks had switched horses.

A familiarity with Morales led Orange County Republican Chair Chad Hager to endorse him early on. Hager said he plans to stick with Morales as a convention delegate.

“I’m a man of my word,” he said.