SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Indiana's Democratic nominee for governor, Jennifer McCormick, on Thursday chose as her running mate a former state lawmaker who spent much of his introductory speech apologizing for past votes against abortion and same-sex marriage and promising he's changed his mind. Terry Goodin, a member of the Indiana House from 2000 to 2020, was tabbed for the McCormick ticket in an online announcement from Indianapolis.
But his record will leave voters questioning his Democratic bona fides. McCormick, herself a former one-term Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction who switched parties in 2021, will square off in November against Republican gubernatorial nominee Mike Braun, who's leaving the U.S.
Senate after one term. Braun, too, has had his own intraparty troubles over a running mate. Incumbent Gov.
Eric Holcomb, a two-term Republican, is term-limited. In his remarks to reporters, Goodin took the issue head on, explaining he's dropped positions that ran counter to core Democratic values, including access to abortion, a top-of-mind issue for voters since the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision two years ago overturned the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing the procedure.
“My vote on women’s reproductive rights was pretty spotty at best, but I was always counseled by my female colleagues that if these bills go too far, Roe v. Wade would nullify them,” Goodin, 57, said. “The Dobbs decision has changed all that.
We are in a completely new universe.” .