Four Republicans now plan to face off for 2024 GOP nomination
By STU CLAMPITT
news@readthereporter.com
On Monday morning, former Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill officially announced his run for governor. The Reporter reached out to talk with Hill about why he is running and what sets him apart from the other candidates who have announced: U.S. Senator Mike Braun, Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch, and Ft. Wayne businessman Eric Doden.
“I have been evaluating for quite some time the status of our country and the status of our state,” Hill told The Reporter. “I think that we’re a horribly divided nation. I think that the solutions that we’re looking for have to come from the people. They have to come directly from the states. So I think it’s important and imperative that our state leadership be possessed of the type of energy and strength to lead Indiana as a role model for America – of what America ought to be. And I believe that the people I talk to across the state of Indiana are ready for proven conservative leadership. Not just folks who say, ‘I’m a conservative. I believe this. I believe that.’ Anybody can say these things. I think we need people who can demonstrate by deed, either through voting records or positions that they’ve taken and things that they’ve done, identify how they would do in the future. I think that the challenges that we face as a state and a nation are certainly strong now, but I think we’re really in for some very difficult seasons. And that being said, I think it’s an opportunity to put my brand of leadership to work for the state that I love.”
Hill told The Reporter he plans to be a bold governor who does necessarily act along party lines and who will work to move Indiana as a whole into a leadership role in the nation.
“One of the things that sets me apart is that I’m willing to stand and fight against the status quo,” Hill said. “I’ve not been a typical party member or someone that can be accused of being amongst the establishment ranks or amongst the in-crowd. I always have succeeded by hard work and moving in a direction that demonstrates the effectiveness of that work. I don’t think we need a governor that kowtows or that plays the usual political sidestep games. I think in these times, we need transparency. We need bold leadership. We need someone that can direct the state and provide a national presence for our state.”
Hill said he thinks Indiana is a fantastic place for people to raise a family and build a career, but there are things happening in our country, in our state, that threaten that type of hometown feeling. He specifically mentioned the loss of objective truth and the weaponization of justice on both a national and state level.
“What we’re in a position to do, is to not make this business as usual,” Hill said. “People, particularly in the Republican Party, talk about wanting to see change, wanting to get away from the same old, same old. Yet time and time again, many within the party don’t do their homework and turn to the same policies or people to do the same old stuff and wonder why they’re disappointed in the outcome. And I’m not talking about the need to be radical. I’m talking about the need to step up and stand up against ideologies that are absolutely shot wrong and not worry about stepping at anybody’s tootsies. This is a country that’s about free speech, and we need to get back to free speech and all that it entails. We have to embrace our freedoms, and that comes from the top. So this race is about genuine conservative values. That can be determined based upon what people have done before, as opposed to simply walking into a room and reciting a bunch of Republican bullet points.”
Hill told The Reporter that if he were not going to run for governor, he would look for a candidate like himself to vote for.
“When it comes down to it, a person has to look you in the eyeballs and believe that you have what it takes to get the job done. And in my past, I was a prosecutor for a number of years. In my estimation, one of the most effective backgrounds for almost anything is being an elected prosecutor, where you have to make life-and-death decisions based on evidence, and then you have to support and defend those decisions. And I’ve taken that thought process and moved it into the AG’s office, where we revamped how things were done there. And when we look at state government, layered with bureaucracy, the difficulty that we sometimes have with having a supermajority that is sometimes more concerned about not making each other look bad than doing the people’s business. It requires having a leadership, a person in leadership in the governor’s office that can provide the people with the type of transparency, with the type of empowerment that will allow the state to flourish. So if I weren’t running, I would be looking for a person like me to serve in this capacity, because what I think that most people want is the same thing that I want. I want good, effective, solid leadership that I can trust.”
Coming later than other candidates to this race, Hill calls his campaign a grassroots effort that is not based on the amount of money in his campaign account, but rather about his accountability to Hoosiers.
“It’s not always the person who has the biggest purse,” Hill said. “And I’m hopeful that it’s really about the people who are able to connect with the people. This is a grassroots effort. I see this much in the same way as I see David and Goliath in terms of going against the giants, but with faith in God and five sweet stones. So from a timing standpoint, quite frankly, we’re right on time. There have been people who have been engaged in this endeavor, engaged in the governor’s race, that really haven’t excited anyone. There’s not a whole lot of excitement for this particular race. And that’s a shame, because it’s a big, big job. It’s not a piece of cake. It’s not something that you just go and do because you happen to be in line for it or expecting to do it. It requires a great deal of steadiness and grit to take on an executive level position where you have real responsibility. And from a timing standpoint, I think people are looking for someone to be enthusiastic about, someone to serve in a leadership role. And I think our timing is absolutely spot on. Absolutely.”