Indiana Lt. Gov. Crouch joins Sen. Braun in governor's race

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch formally started her 2024 campaign for governor Monday and said she would not shy away from Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb's record despite discontent among many conservatives over his COVID-19 policies and other actions.

Crouch, who was Holcomb’s running mate in 2016 and 2020, is joining U.S. Sen. Mike Braun in what could become an expensive fight for the Republican nomination in hopes of extending the GOP’s 20-year hold on the governor’s office. Holcomb cannot seek reelection because of term limits.

Crouch announced her campaign in an online video message released just hours ahead of Braun’s campaign kickoff event. Braun filed paperwork on Nov. 30 with state election officials allowing him to raise money for the governor’s race, a move that will forego him seeking another Senate term in 2024.

Braun, 68, was a little-known wealthy businessman before fueling his successful 2018 Senate campaign with more than $11 million in personal loans. He presented himself as a political outsider, defeating Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly.

Crouch, 70, said her campaign to become Indiana’s first female governor would highlight her decade as a local government official in Evansville before joining the Legislature in 2005. She then served three years as state auditor and became lieutenant governor in early 2017.

“I think if you put me on a stage with the other announced candidates, the differences are obvious,” Crouch told The Associated Press ahead of her announcement. “But when you look at the resumes, there is no candidate that has the local, state, legislative and executive experience that I have.”

Crouch has already raised more than $2.5 million for her campaign, and Fort Wayne businessman Eric Doden, who was a state economic...