By STU CLAMPITT
news@readthereporter.com
A new billboard campaign advocating for Democrats to decide which Republican candidates win the May primary has two party leaders in Hamilton County in agreement.
Both Democratic Party Chair Jocelyn Vare and Republican Party Chair Mario Massillamany told The Reporter they stand against this brand of election manipulation.
The billboards, which are reportedly coming to the borders of Hamilton County in the near future, read, “Even Democrats can vote in the Republican Primary.” The billboards are paid for and authorized by ReCenter Indiana PAC.
The website ReCenterIndiana.org states, “Many races, including the governor, will likely be decided on May 7, not November 5. Participating in the Republican primary gives Democrats, Libertarians, and independents a say in selecting nominees who are likely to be elected.”
The website goes on to point out six “key races to watch” when organizers believe participation in the Republican primary by non-Republicans could affect the outcome. Three of those races will be decided in whole or in part by Hamilton County: Indiana House District 24, from which Donna Schaibley is retiring, House District 29, which is being vacated by Chuck Goodrich in his bid for Congress, and Indiana Governor.
The website lists all the candidates and provides links to some – but not all – of their campaign websites.
Vare told The Reporter she spoke with Massillamany and found they are in complete agreement in standing against the actions of this political action committee.
“I want Democratic voters to vote in the Democratic primary and Mario wants Republicans to vote in the Republican primary,” Vare said. “We were in alignment when we had a conversation about how we want people to vote genuinely, but even before that, we want people to vote.”
Massillamany told The Reporter he agreed.
“We want people to come out and vote,” Massillamany said, “My main push is that people should take advantage of the ability to participate in one of the greatest countries’ election processes and vote on May 7. We have so many important races that influence not only national, but also local levels. Republicans, Democrats, get out and vote. Democrats vote in theirs. Republicans vote in ours.”
Vare said she wants people to vote genuinely.
“We want people to come out and vote for this primary,” Vare said. “On top of that, vote genuinely, and not be influenced by tricky strategy or – I don’t even know what to call it.”
Massillamany called the tactics advocated for in these billboards deceitful.
“Hamilton County GOP is welcoming to everyone and we want everyone to become a Republican, but we want people to actually who identify with the Republican Party or believe that they identify with Republican values to vote in a Republican primary – not to try and somehow influence Republican primaries in some deceitful or nefarious way,” Massillamany said.
One consideration in voting in an opposing party’s primary is that it could block voters from later becoming candidates for their own party. In Indiana, in order to run for office as a member of either the Republican or Democratic parties, a person must have voted in a party’s primary election each of the last two times that person voted. Otherwise, the individual must obtain and file a certificate from the appropriate county chair of the party declaring the individual’s membership of that party.
“I know I know most people don’t have aspirations to run for office,” Vare said. “I also point out that coming out and voting genuinely helps in other ways. We see a desire for more political balance. This is a step to political balance in our county.”
Massillamany said he would like to see more people become Republicans, rather than just vote to influence the Republican primary.
“I take my job seriously,” Massillamany said. “While we are welcoming and want people to identify as Republicans and participate in the process as Republicans, we want to make sure that it’s truly people that identify with the Republican Party and Republican values that are participating in our Republican primary.”
In Hamilton County, if you call yourself a Republican or a Democrat, your party leadership encourages you to vote for your own party in the May 7 primary rather than being influenced by a PAC with no apparent ties to this community.
If you want to be more informed about the candidates on your ballot, The Reporter is currently publishing a full list of candidates and polling locations. We are also publishing short summaries of each candidate who chooses to fill out this form on our website, which candidates can fill out at readthereporter.com/2024-candidate-info.
That information is in today’s edition and will appear in every online edition of The Reporter up to and including our May 7 special election edition.