Make wishtv.com your home page

GOP Governor’s Debate: Definition of an outsider

GOP Governor’s Debate: Definition of an outsider

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Five Republican candidates hoping for the job of Indiana governor debated live for 90 minutes Wednesday night from the historic Madam Walker Legacy Center on WISH-TV.

The five invited candidates were Mike Braun, Brad Chambers, Suzanne Crouch, Eric Doden, and Curtis Hill.

News 8 asked the candidates: How can anyone in the GOP primary for governor claim to be an outsider?

Crouch says she doesn’t know how anyone on the stage could claim to be an outsider. She’s proud of her public service.

Doden says he’s not focused on being an outsider but focused instead on having leadership and a bold vision. “Great leaders have character and they will not tell people things that are not true.”

Braun says outsiders should be defined by what they’ve done with most of their lives. He says candidates should instead be judged on how they’re going to “shake things up.” He says he’s endorsed by “another outsider,” former President Donald Trump.

Hill criticizes Braun for defining himself as an “outsider.” He notes that he ran the Indiana attorney general’s office and made executive decisions, unlike Braun.

Chambers, who is a former Indiana secretary of commerce, says he’s never been on a ballot, and Braun has been on a ballot five times. Chambers says someone needs to be the chief executive officer of the state, like former Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels, with a clear view. Chambers says long-term thinking, as in the LEAP Project which he helped champion, is a positive with the Lilly jobs and economic impact it will provide.