Lieutenant Governor of Indiana
In 2023,Beckwith announced his candidacy for lieutenant governor of Indiana in the 2024 election. [8] Beckwith faced Julie McGuire for the nomination,and won with 891 votes against McGuire's 828. [9] He won the election on a ticket with U.S. senator Mike Braun,defeating the Democratic Party nominees Jennifer McCormick and Terry Goodin. [10]
During the gubernatorial campaign,Beckwith said that McCormick's campaign and its support of abortion rights and gender-affirming care represented "boldness for immorality" and the "Jezebel spirit",and additionally referred to pro-choice Hoosiers as "demonic". In response,the Indiana Democratic Party called the Braun-Beckwith ticket a "woman hating campaign". Beckwith later said that his comparison of the Indiana Democratic ticket to the Jezebel spirit had "nothing to do with being a woman or not." [11]
In November 2024,Beckwith addressed a story posted in Indiana University's student newspaper,the Indiana Daily Student ,in a post on X. The front-page story featured president-elect Donald Trump and critical remarks made about him by former members of his cabinet. He called the IDS story "WOKE propaganda" and wrote that "[t]his type of elitist leftist propaganda needs to stop or we will be happy to stop it for them." [12] In an email to local NBC News affiliate WTHR,Beckwith said he would ensure the IDS "receives no taxpayer support directly or indirectly",though the newspaper's co-editor in chief noted that it receives no taxpayer funds. [13] In a follow-up interview with the IDS,Beckwith stated he would protect the newspaper's free speech rights if he felt the stories run by the paper were "fair". [14]
In April 2025,Democrats in the Indiana Senate argued against Indiana Senate Bill 289,an anti-DEI measure,comparing it to the Three-fifths Compromise. Beckwith responded to the argument by defending the Three-fifths Compromise,calling it "a great move" and saying that the policy "helped to root out slavery". His comments were condemned by the Alliance of Baptists,the Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis,and the Indiana chapter of the National Action Network in a joint statement that called Beckwith's interpretation of the compromise "historical revisionism". [15] Beckwith defended his comments in an interview several days later,stating "I said exactly what needed to be said." Governor Mike Braun was critical of Beckwith's remarks,saying he "definitely wouldn't have used that characterization",and Indiana state representative Earl Harris Jr. called Beckwith's statements "a gross misunderstanding of history" and "purposeful whitewashing of [history] for political gain". [16]
