Indiana Primary Election Shift Could Impact State Party Conventions And Curtis Hill

Moving Indiana’s primary election to June 2 could have a ripple effect on this year’s Democratic and Republican state party conventions, slated for mid-June.

The governor, secretary of state and state party chairs announced the primary date shift Friday.

Convention delegates choose their parties’ nominees for lieutenant governor and attorney general. Incumbent AG Curtis Hill faces a contentious fight for the GOP nomination against former Indiana Department of Revenue Commissioner Adam Krupp and attorney John Westercamp. That comes amid an ongoing disciplinary proceeding over allegations Hill groped four women.

Indiana Republican Party Chair Kyle Hupfer says he can’t guarantee that race will get a full convention vote.

“As anybody who’s lived the last five days, anyone who would stand up here and make any guarantees about anything over the course of the next several months would not be a sane individual," Hupfer says. "So, I’m not going to make any guarantees today.”

Hupfer and Democratic Party Chair John Zody both say all options are on the table for how and when the conventions will happen.

Democrats also have a convention fight over their nomination for attorney general between Sen. Karen Tallian (D-Ogden Dunes) and former Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapful.

Indiana law requires party conventions to choose the nominees for attorney general. But the state parties essentially determine what counts as a convention. And several state laws have been suspended during the ongoing health emergency.

Contact Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

This is a rapidly evolving story, and we are working hard to bring you the most up-to-date information. However, we recommend checking the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Indiana State Department of Health for the most recent numbers of COVID-19 cases.