Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Indiana Sen. Mike Braun is leaning toward running for governor in 2024, a move that would open up a GOP-held seat in what\u2019s become a reliably red state, according to a person familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n
The loquacious first-term senator said on Thursday that he’s not making an official statement at this point.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019d you hear that? I\u2019ll make my mind up here down the road, probably before the end of the year. I\u2019ve been talking about it though since I\u2019ve got here,\u201d Braun said in a brief interview. \u201cI\u2019ll make a formal announcement somewhere probably late November, early December.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indy Politics reported <\/a>on Thursday that Braun is informing Republicans in the state about his plans to run for governor and that he will announce after the midterm election, a move typical of lawmakers who are eyeing new offices. Braun\u2019s office declined further comment.<\/p>\n Braun defeated former Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), a key pick-up in the 2018 elections that allowed Republicans some breathing room in the chamber during the last two years of Donald Trump\u2019s presidency. In winning the GOP nomination, the Indiana businessman dispatched former Reps. Todd Rokita and Luke Messer, memorably portraying each as cardboard cutouts in a TV ad<\/a>.<\/p>\n As a longtime executive \u2014 he was the founder and CEO of a distributing company \u2014 Republicans believe Braun\u2019s long been planning a potential run for the state\u2019s executive office. As a GOP senator, Braun\u2019s assembled a reliably conservative voting record and talked about his party’s need to make plans to confront issues like health care and energy.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2018, Mike Braun won a very competitive primary, he’s been a rock-ribbed conservative, and as a former CEO, serving as the next governor of Indiana fits him better than sitting in Washington,\u201d said one Republican who knows Braun, speaking on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n Should Braun make the leap, it would almost certainly invite a crowded GOP primary for his Senate seat in 2024. Braun’s term expires then, meaning he’ll have to choose between the governor’s race and his own reelection campaign.<\/p>\n