Photo credit: Danny Lopez for Indiana
Always something brewing in Indiana politics.
In the 39th State District, longtime Republican incumbent Jerry Torr won't run for re-election to the Statehouse. The Democrat candidate is Matt McNally, who got 48% of the vote when he ran against Torr two years ago.
The Republican candidate is Vice President of Community Affairs and Corporate Relations for the Indiana Pacers organization, Danny Lopez, basically a spokesman and a tenderfoot in politics. What's interesting is that Lopez opposes transgender boys in female sports. The Pacers, a professional male basketball team, want good relationships with the LGBTQ+ community and are between the ol' rock and hard place. They issued a non-endorsement endorsement of Lopez.
A Lopez ad features a Hoosier sweetheart right out of the pages of Booth Tarkington. Call her Katie. "I play volleyball for my school. I love being on the team with my girlfriends. If Matt McNally has his way, me and my friends will be taking turns on the bench."
Don't cry, Katie. In Indiana, transgender boys haven't been able to play in K-12 girls' sports for at least 12 years. Two years ago, the legislature banned such activity and over-rode Governor Eric Holcombs' veto. Before then, the Indiana High School Athletic Association had enforced a trans-youth policy for a decade. Not that it took much work: Only two transgender students had applied to play on teams, reported IndyStar.
Lopez is beating a dead mare. But a lot of people like to watch. In less than three months, Republicans have spent more than $65 million on ads attacking transgender-friendly policies, reports The New York Times. Asked last week in a Fox Town Hall what to do about transgender athletes in women's sports, Trump said it was "such an easy question": "You just ban it."
McNally's own TV ads attack Lopez for his "radical' opposition to "reproductive rights." This would play like a charm in New York. But welcome to the Hoosier State, where then-President Donald Trump beat now-President Joe Biden 57% to 41% in 2020. Trump need not break into a cold sweat about Indiana this year, either.
The 39th District is in Carmel, just north of Indianapolis (population 103,000): White (80%), affluent (78% home ownership rate, median household income $133,000), educated (74% college degree-holders), slightly female (52%). It might normally back reproductive rights like abortion, but McNally's Doomsday ads will backfire. Well, probably: There is no good political polling in this part of Indiana. And Trump took Hamilton County, where Carmel is, 52% to 45% in 2020. Don't touch that dial. -- Leon Taylor, Seymour, Indiana tayloralmaty@gmail.com
References
Caitlin Doombos. Trump pledges to end transgender athletes playing women's sports . New York Post. October 16, 2024.
Gregg Doyel. Indiana state rep candidate Danny Lopez's ad could hurt Pacers, Fever . IndyStar. October 15, 2024.
Shane Goldmacher. Trump and Republicans Bet Big on Anti-Trans Ads Across the Country - The New York Times . October 8, 2024.
Leslie Bonilla Mun~iz. Checking out the key Indiana House races up for grabs this year – Inside INdiana Business . October 23, 2024.
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