INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -
State candidates are increasing their public appearances with just a few
weeks left before voters hit the polls next month.
Auditor Suzanne
Crouch, Secretary of State Connie Lawson and Treasurer candidate Kelly
Mitchell running at the top of the Republican Party ticket are departing on
a statewide “Experience and Transparency” bus tour Tuesday and Wednesday to
promote early voting.
They will join
other party leaders at the Republican Party’s annual fall fundraiser in
downtown Indianapolis Wednesday night.
For the Democratic
Party, Secretary of State candidate Beth White and Auditor Mike Claytor
spent the weekend campaigning together in southern Indiana.
The 2014 cycle has
not attracted nearly the attention of the campaigns two years ago, which saw
grueling, expensive battles for a U.S. Senate seat and the governor’s
office. This time, three statewide offices, all 100 state House seats and 25
state Senate seats are up for grabs.
The Republicans are
trying to maintain control of the offices of auditor, treasurer and
secretary of state, as well as supermajorities in the House and Senate.
Democrats have
found some traction thanks to a series of scandals in the Statehouse.
Claytor has been touring the state with his “Cost of Corruption” tour,
arguing that scandals have shaken the public trust in state leaders.
Former Schools
Superintendent Tony Bennett was fined $5,000 this past July for campaigning
with state resources in his failed 2012 re-election bid. House Speaker Pro
Tem Eric Turner, R-Cicero, announced he would resign his seat if re-elected
in November following reports on his efforts to protect his lucrative family
nursing home business. A former Indiana Department of Transportation
official, Troy Woodruff, was cleared of wrongdoing this past summer,
following close to four years of investigations into questions about his
family’s land sales to his state department.
Lawson and Mitchell
began to air ads in recent days, joining Crouch and White who went on air
last week. A spokeswoman for Claytor said he plans to begin airing ads soon.