Chambers endorsed for governor by group encouraging all Hoosiers to vote in Republican primary

ReCenter Indiana PAC announced Wednesday it wants voters of every political party to vote for former Indiana Commerce Secretary Brad Chambers in the Republican gubernatorial contest.

"We don't all see eye to eye with Chambers on everything. But all of us are deeply troubled by other Republican candidates' pandering to a narrow, intolerant, divisive fringe. And if we want to bring our state's politics back toward the middle, where polls tell us most Hoosiers are, the place to start is in the GOP primary," said Linda Heitzman, a Democratic member of the ReCenter PAC board.

The PAC specifically praised Chambers' past work securing major deals to bring Indiana high-wage jobs in growth industries of the future, likening the first-time candidate to Republican former President Ronald Reagan and former Gov. Mitch Daniels.

"We weren’t sure we would be endorsing anyone. But we decided we need to make the same decision we were asking our fellow primary voters to make — to choose the candidate who best aligns with our anti-extremist values," said Adrianne Slash, a Republican ReCenter PAC board member.

It's not known how many Hoosier Democrats might cross over and vote in the Republican primary since the Democratic gubernatorial nomination already has been claimed by the sole candidate running, former state schools chief Jennifer McCormick.

The GOP front-runner, U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, doesn't seem especially worried. He promptly took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to accuse Chambers of being a Democrat and to sarcastically congratulate him on the ReCenter Indiana endorsement.

In response, Chambers' Senior Strategist Marty Obst claimed on X that Braun actually was a Democrat for years until it became politically convenient for Braun to identify as a Republican.

"Brad Chambers has been a Republican his entire life. But at this point we shouldn't expect Mike Braun to be honest with Hoosiers," Obst said.

Top Hoosier Democrats are discouraging party supporters from participating in the Republican primary because it creates confusion and may prevent voters hoping to run for office themselves someday from being eligible to automatically identify as a Democratic candidate.

Early voting for the party primary elections runs through May 6 at 11 locations in Lake County, 7 sites in Porter County, and 4 LaPorte County polling places.