Jennifer McCormick chooses conservative Democrat Terry Goodin as her pick for lieutenant governor

Former state lawmaker Terry Goodin is Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jennifer McCormick’s pick for running mate.

And McCormick choosing the conservative Democrat is rankling some in the party.

Goodin most recently worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He’s a former school superintendent and 10-term state lawmaker.

At the Statehouse, he voted to ban gay marriage in 2011 and was a regular vote against abortion access. Now, he said his gay marriage vote was wrong and that the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of abortion rights was an “all-out assault.”

“We must do everything we can to restore the rights of women to make decisions about their own body,” Goodin said.

McCormick, a former Republican, waved aside concerns about discontent among Democrats.

“We are a huge tent,” McCormick said. “And in that big tent comes a lot of ideas and a lot of opinions and a lot of big hearts and a lot of big personalities. And just like a family, we will come together.”

​Goodin will have competition for the nomination at the Indiana Democratic Party convention in July. Two others — Bob Kern and Clif Marsiglio — have also filed to run for lieutenant governor.
 

READ MORE: Pastor Micah Beckwith is Indiana GOP nominee for lieutenant governor, beating Mike Braun's pick
 

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Correction: The original version of this story stated that Goodin works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but Goodin recently left that job.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.