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    It's election day. Here are the races to watch in Indiana
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    It's election day. Here are the races to watch in Indiana

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    It's Election Day and there's plenty of intrigue in the Indiana races.

    While Republicans Donald Trump and Jim Banks are expected to lead Indiana in the presidential and U.S. Senate elections, there are plenty of other, more competitive races, from gubernatorial to school board races.

    The stakes couldn't be higher. Republicans dominate the state, control every statewide office and have a supermajority in both chambers of the Statehouse. Democrats hope to weaken the Republican stronghold, while Republicans want to prove that Indiana is still in trouble, even in the suburbs.

    Indiana Voter Guide: Who is running for Congress, Statehouse, Governor, AG and School Board?

    Polls will remain open until 6:00 p.m. in your local time zone. Afterwards, it's time to curl up with some popcorn and watch Hoosiers make their decision.

    Here's a rundown of the key races to keep an eye on as the first results come in tonight.

    Governor of Indiana

    Republicans have controlled the governor's office in Indiana for 20 years. For much of this election cycle, there was little reason to believe that would change this year.

    To be clear, the race will still be lost by Republican U.S. Senator Mike Braun. But in recent months, Democrat Jennifer McCormick's once-minority candidate has become such a formidable opponent that Republicans at the national level have poured in mega-dollars in support and state Republicans have even launched attacks on Libertarian candidate Donald Rainwater .

    The best indicator of how closely this race is being watched nationally right now: Both the Democratic and Republican governors' associations have each donated $2 million to their respective candidates.

    Braun's underperforming in the polls is one of the reasons that has caught the attention of national observers. But McCormick can't win without moderate Republicans' dissatisfaction with former President Donald Trump, who supported Braun and even came out in support of him just last week, or Micah Beckwith, Braun's controversial vice president, who has spoken out on women, immigration and has expressed on other issues, overlaps. Establishment Republicans shy away.

    Whoever wins the governor's office will still have to work with a Republican-dominated Legislature that can overcome the governor's veto.

    Indiana Attorney General

    Incumbent Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita is running for reelection against Democrat Destiny Wells, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve who has become a rising star in the Indiana Democratic Party.

    Rokita is the favorite in this race. He is ahead of Wells by 16 points, according to the only independent poll conducted in the race. Wells' campaign released a poll conducted by a Biden pollster that showed a much tighter race.

    At the same time, Rokita has also come under scrutiny in recent years, even receiving a reprimand from the Indiana Supreme Court. If Wells wins, it would be an upset and would end Democrats' 10-year losing streak across the state.

    Competitive Statehouse Districts

    Indiana Democrats are pinning their hopes on breaking the Republican supermajority in the Indiana Statehouse in just a few competitive House districts across the state. There are currently 70 Republicans in the House of Representatives, and if the Democrats flipped four seats, the Republicans would no longer have their two-thirds majority.

    • House District 24 (Hamilton and Boone counties): Incumbent Republican Rep. Donna Schaibley, R-Carmel, is not running for re-election. Democrat Josh Lowry and Republican Hunter Smith are competing for the seat.
    • House District 32 (Hamilton County): Incumbent state Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn, D-Fishers, is running against Republican Patricia Bratton. In 2022, Garcia Wilburn narrowly won the race by fewer than 250 votes against her then-challenger Fred Glynn.
    • House District 39 (Hamilton County): Rep. Jerry Torr, R-Carmel, is retiring after 30 years in office. The Republican Danny Lopez, a communications manager for the Pacers, and the Democrat Matt McNally, an Afghanistan war veteran, are vying to replace him. In 2022, freshman McNally lost to Torr by just 5 percentage points.
    • House District 69 (Jackson, Bartholomew, Jennings, Scott and Washington counties): State Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, has held the seat comfortably since 2012 but has endured a series of controversies and now faces a veteran opponent, Democrat Trish Whitcomb. That should be a familiar name: She is the daughter of former Republican Governor Edgar D. Whitcomb.
    • House District 62 (Brown, Monroe and Jackson counties): Rep. Dave Hall, R-Norman, is defending his seat against Democrat Thomas Horrocks, a member of the Army National Guard and former pastor. Hall retained his seat by just one percentage point in 2022.
    • House District 71 (Jeffersonville): Democratic state representative Rita Fleming narrowly defended her seat in 2022 against Republican Scott Hawkins, a teacher and Jefferson city councilman. She resigned from her mandate before the end of her term of office. Wendy Dant Chesser, legislative chairwoman of the Indiana Economic Development Association, was brought in to take over Fleming's term. She will run in the election alongside Hawkins and Libertarian Gregory Hertzsch.

    Competitive school board races

    Among the most contentious local elections in central Indiana were school board elections, particularly in Hamilton County, where the local Republican Party and other conservative groups participated in the nonpartisan elections.

    At stake is whether voters will choose to put conservative majorities on boards like Carmel Clay Schools and Noblesville Schools, especially in the wake of the parent rights movements that have swept suburban communities across the country. HSE, which already has a conservative majority on the board, could lean even further to the right depending on voters' decision on Tuesday.

    In Carmel, the Hamilton County GOP and a conservative PAC supported Dina Ferchmin and Robin Clark. Kristina Wheeler and Jon Shapiro compete on a contrasting lineup.

    In Noblesville, the Indiana Family Action PAC supported newcomers Brad Helvey, David Dawson and Alison Hanley. The Noblesville Teachers Forum endorsed the slate of incumbent Christi Crosser, incumbent Stephanie Lambert and newcomer Bret Richardson.

    Supporting the HSE are Greg Lannan, John Stewart and Terry Tolle from the conservative group Fishers One. They face three candidates who are not running as candidates: Latrica Schooley, Sarah Parks-Reese and Suzanne Thomas.

    IndyStar reporter Jake Allen contributed to this report.

    Contact IndyStar government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at [email protected] or follow her on X @kayla_dwyer17.

    Contact IndyStar senior government affairs reporter Hayleigh Colombo at [email protected] or follow her on X at @hayleighcolombo.

    Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at [email protected] or 317-779-4468. Follow her on X @CarloniBrittany.

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