Gay rights group calls for gubernatorial primary vote boycott

LGBT+ pride flags. (Susan J. Demas/Michigan Advance)

An Indiana gay rights group on Wednesday called for primary election voters pulling Republican ballots to leave the race for governor blank in an electoral boycott.

Indiana Equality dubbed all six Hoosiers running for the GOP nomination “pro-discrimination candidates” in a news release.

“If any of these Republican candidates for Governor get elected, they will weaken Indiana’s economic future by rejecting the Hoosier Hospitality welcoming values of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Executive Director G. David Caudill said.

Indiana Primary Election Day is Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Early voting has begun.

The candidates are U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, former Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC) leader Eric Doden, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, former Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers, former Attorney General Curtis Hill and conservative activist Jamie Reitenour.

Equality Indiana, which bills itself as a nonprofit working for LGBT+ legal rights and against discrimination, criticized the candidates’ stances against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

“Each of them are extremists with anti-DEI positions, meaning they are self-proclaimed pro-discrimination candidates,” Caudill said.

Caudill recommended that “any” Hoosier — “especially LGBTQIA+ Hoosiers and allies” — pulling a Republican ballot for the primary boycott the gubernatorial question.

Still, the organization invited the candidates to meet and obtain “truthful information” on why diversity initiatives matter to LGBT+ residents.

And, Caudill said the group would “extend our nonpartisan hand out to” whichever candidate wins the Republican nomination — along with every state- and federal-level Hoosier nominee — with an invitation for dialogue.

“By understanding and supporting these initiatives, Indiana leaders will make Indiana a more welcoming state to its citizens, businesses, visitors, and workers, thus leading to a stronger, competitive economic future for ALL Hoosiers,” Caudill concluded.

It’s not the only election change Hoosier organizations have promoted in recent weeks.

Bipartisan group ReCenter Indiana put up billboard and social media advertisements encouraging Democrats to pull Republican primary election ballots and vote for a “more moderate” gubernatorial candidate. The move drew pushback from across the political spectrum.

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