McCormick’s closing message: It’s our future

With the 2024 election just days away, gubernatorial candidates in Indiana are making their final pitches to voters as to why they should lead the state for the next four years.

Jennifer McCormick is the Democratic nominee for governor, running against Libertarian Donald Rainwater and Republican Mike Braun.

McCormick was elected the state superintendent of public instruction in 2016 as a Republican. During her term, the elected position was replaced with the appointed secretary of education. McCormick left office in 2020 and subsequently became a Democrat.

The former public school teacher and superintendent is running for the governor’s seat alongside lieutenant governor nominee Terry Goodin.

She recently sat down for a video interview with the Banner Graphic as the election approaches.

Banner Graphic: What have you been hearing from Hoosiers as you've traveled around the state?

Jennifer McCormick: You know there's a lot of urgency to get out and vote, and there's a lot of excitement. And really, the common issues I'm hearing are very shared with Republicans and Democrats and independents. It's about health care, it's about our freedoms, it's about, you know, education and wages, those are the biggies that I'm hearing about.

We've really led this whole campaign by common sense and finding balance and trying to find those common grounds where we can agree so we can get some things done. And I really think that's why it's been so well received because people are wanting just normal.

BG: In response to that, what is the message that you've been trying to give to the citizens, and especially those of us in small towns and rural areas?

JM: That they deserve better. You know, I'm from rural Indiana as well. I feel like sometimes we've been forgotten, and many of our counties in the most rural of areas are struggling with population and with attracting good-paying jobs and access to child care and health care.

So for me, it's about making sure that we are taking care of all of Indiana, that we have a 92-county approach, that we can regionalize things and make sure that Hoosiers get what we deserve.

BG: Among the issues that come to the forefront often in Putnam County are mental health and addiction. What plans you can share on these matters?

JM: We've already been meeting with folks to say, OK, what are the resources we have on hand? What's needed? What are some of the barriers to making sure that not just adults but kids get the access that we need and we deserve?

You know, we've really kicked that can down the road. We've made some strides. So I'm all about giving credit where credit's due, but it's not enough. And it's not fast enough.

We're going to have to target those resources and make sure that we have a really good handle on data. But then talk to those providers and those organizations who have a lot of great ideas, bring them to the table to find solutions.

It's past time. It's it's impacting all of Indiana.

BG: You were once the elected superintendent of public instruction as a Republican. What really prompted that change to becoming a Democrat?

JM: For me, it was about values. I mean, it's really that simple.

I went in in 2016 with being fiscally conservative, having taught for multiple decades, telling kids that character mattered. Also always focused on individuals and families and communities, and saying that we're always going to be better together and stronger together.

And when I got into office, I just didn't see it. I saw a lot of fiscal waste. I saw that people were not that were operating for the sake of power versus taking care of people. And it's just not me.

So I stay true to who I am and my values, and I switch parties.

BG: If you're to get into office, you're going to have to be working with quite a few Republicans in power in the Statehouse. What do you really bring to that?

JM: It’s all about common sense and it's about balance. You know, we have some of the highest property tax increases that we've had in some time, and that's about 20 years of one-party rule. So those things happen, the increases in our utilities, some of the nation's highest health care costs and the list goes on. We're 47th in the nation in our quality of life.

When you look at that and you start asking questions, it's about 20 years of one-party rule. So I think one of the reasons why we have such great bipartisan support is because people know a balance is better. Or a balance would help hold the people accountable to, say, why do we continue to increase our property taxes? Why are we continuing to allow our IURC to raise our utilities in double digits? You know? Why is it that we can't afford homes right now, and why is it that we have a huge surplus, but our roads are in horrible conditions?

So there are a lot of questions that need to be asked. But that's about really, it's truly about bringing back a balance to the Statehouse,

BG: We talked a little bit about your background in education. How do you plan to hope to handle our education system differently than it has been the last 20 years?

JM: You brought up the magic word, it's a system.

When I was state superintendent, I was responsible for K-12, which was over half of the state budget. So we're expensive, but, you know, it's an investment into not just people as individuals, but our economy. Because if we're well educated and we're healthy, we're more successful. But also, too, if we're well educated and healthy, we have a better workforce and a better consumer.

So we need to make sure that we are keeping our eye on educational attainment. But that is about a system, and that system isn't just K-12. It's about child care that plays so much into our economy and so much into school readiness. It's about universal pre-K.

On that other end, we've got to promote to kids, whether they're going into the military, whether they're going into a skilled trade, or whether they're going into a two-year, four-year, four-year-plus program, whatever it may be their choice post high school, they've got to have the transferable skills to be able to do it.

Education is the key to so much of what we do. We're expensive, we're a huge investment, but there's a lot of room for growth.

BG: We're just a few days from the election. What is your closing message to Hoosiers?

JM: Do your homework. Be informed. Go inform others. But then go vote.

You know, your vote is your voice, and our voice is that vote. Far too often, Indiana is 50 out of 50 and voter turnout because too many Hoosiers have said, what's the point?

The point is, it's our future. You've got to vote for the kids and the kids in the generation behind them who aren't able to exercise the right to vote because they're not old enough.

For me, it's about our voice, and I'm just encouraging people to go vote, make an educated decision and consider mccormickforgov.com to bring back that common sense and that balance.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5, with polls open from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. in Indiana.