2028 Indiana gubernatorial election (Blackford)

The **2028 Indiana gubernatorial election** was held on November 7, 2028, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of Indiana, being held concurrently with the 2028 United States presidential election, as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate and state and local elections. Incumbent Republican governor Mike Braun was re-elected to a second term, narrowly defeating Indiana Attorney General and Democratic nominee Destiny Wells. This was the seventh consecutive Republican victory for the seat, continuing a streak dating back to 2004.

The results of the race were the subject of massive controversy, with reports of electoral fraud being undertaken in several locations by the Republican Party. Wells refused to concede the race initially, and opponents of Braun protested the election results in Indianapolis. Though the protests were mostly peaceful, Braun ordered the Indiana National Guard to crush the protests by force, and the resulting massacre left 51 protesters dead and at least a thousand protesters injured. Wells was arrested on November 20 by the Indiana State Police and removed from office by the Republican-dominated Indiana General Assembly on charges of "undermining public order and promoting revolutionary rhetoric". She was later labeled a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, and was held in state prisons without ever formally being charged with any crime until she was formally pardoned by Governor Todd Young the day he assumed office in 2033.

A select committee was formed in the United States House of Representatives to investigate the causes of the Indianapolis massacre, and ultimately recommended murder charges for Braun and several other prominent Republican public officials in the state in late 2031. The recommendation of murder charges against Braun led to his impeachment in the Indiana House of Representatives, which voted 55 for-43 against to impeach the governor, and Braun resigned on January 26, 2032, shortly before the impeachment vote would've reached the Indiana Senate. Braun would be acquitted by the Indiana Senate, and never received any formal criminal charges.

## Background & race summary

Since taking office in 2025, Braun had been plagued by low approval ratings and consistently ranked as one of the nation's least popular governors in polling. Despite this, it was initially assumed that he would not be seriously vulnerable in 2028 owing to the state's strong Republican partisan lean and him having a considerable lead in hypothetical opinion polling in late 2027. However, this would change in April of 2028 when the Republican-dominated Indiana General Assembly passed Senate Bill 129, also known as the **Restoration of Confidence and Faith in Teaching Act** (or **RCFTA**). The act proved to be highly controversial and faced strong opposition from both moderate Republicans and Democrats, as well as numerous education unions and civil rights advocacy groups, though Braun was a key proponent of the bill and signed it on April 3, 2028.

After the bill was signed, a massive strike was launched by school staff in a bid to force the state to repeal the bill, forcing dozens of school districts across the state to close indefinitely. By May, polling showed that nearly 70% of Hoosiers supported the strikers and believed the RCFTA should be repealed, something which Braun and his allies in the General Assembly refused to negotiate on. On the other hand, Attorney General Wells, the only Democratic statewide official in Indiana, had been perhaps the most vocal opponent of the bill within the state government, and sought to block it from coming into effect. She had already announced her bid for governor prior to the bill's introduction and had won the Democratic nomination, becoming considered a serious contender to oust Braun.

**WIP**