GOP elected officials rush to support secretary of state nominee

High-ranking Republican politicians are pouring money into Max Engling’s secretary of state candidacy as the race comes down to the wire.

U.S. Sen. Todd Young’s leadership PAC sent $50,000 to Engling for a total of $105,000.

Attorney General Todd Rokita transferred $75,000 from his campaign committee for a total of $100,000.

U.S. Rep. Mark Messmer gave $50,000 and Gov. Mike Braun earlier sent at least $500,000 from related campaign accounts.

The state GOP has given $2.7 million in donations and in-kind support to Engling.

Others who have chipped in at least $5,000 include House Speaker Todd Huston, Sen. Chris Garten and U.S. Rep. Jefferson Shreve.

But U.S. Sen. Jim Banks — who hired Engling as a staffer and endorsed his candidacy in the GOP state convention — hasn’t written any direct checks to the Republican nominee.

Instead, he is described as busy working behind-the-scenes — making calls to large donors and connecting the Engling campaign to outside cash.

“Senator Jim Banks has played a huge role in helping to rally national GOP donors to step up in a big way in the Secretary of State’s race and help Max Engling compete with the millions pouring into Indiana from Daddy Bayh’s donors and DC special interests,” Tim Edson, a Republican consultant who is working with outside groups engaged in the race, said in a text to the Capital Chronicle.

The biggest group to jump in is the Restoration of America PAC, which sunk $1 million into ads in the race, according to multiple sources. One in heavy rotation over the weekend calls Democrat nominee Beau Bayh a “nepo baby carpetbagger.”

The buy ended Monday and hasn’t yet been renewed.

The PAC is heavily funded by billionaire Republican donors Richard and Liz Uihlein of Illinois and has direct ties to Banks.

The ad notes Bayh’s attendance at a private prep school, his “liberal indoctrination” at Harvard University and being a senator’s son. It leaves out his Marine Corps service.

“It’s unfortunate that Max Engling has to resort to out-of-state billionaires to lie about me and lie about my family, but that’s not inconsistent with what he’s done throughout this entire campaign,” Bayh told the Capital Chronicle.

Banks has remained relatively quiet during the campaign, and he will not be part of the Indiana Republican Party’s statewide campaign tour from Oct. 28 to Nov. 2. The tour will focus on Engling’s race and the comptroller and treasurer contests. Special guests include Braun, Young, Rokita, U.S. Reps. Rudy Yakym, Jim Baird, Victoria Spartz, Shreve, Messmer, and Erin Houchin.

Banks did appear at the Hamilton County Republican Party Fall dinner Monday night alongside Engling.

And he posted his support on Oct. 1 – “Max is serious about doing the actual job. Beau is serious about using the SOS office to immediately run for Governor like his daddy did. (Greg) Ballard is serious about his anti-Trump and anti-GOP hatred. Vote for Max.”