Dear Friend,
Life or death. That’s how typical politicians see election season. Re-election is life, and defeat is death.
So, even if a sitting Representative wins a contested election, it has been a race for his life, politically speaking.
That’s why they especially hate having challengers in primary elections.
And there were a number of incumbents fighting for their Statehouse seats in the 2020 Primary.
The hot spot this year was in House District 79, where Republican candidate Taylor Isch took on the second highest ranking Republican in the Statehouse, Rep. Matt Lehman.
Lehman REFUSED to go on the record with whether or not he supported Rep. Nisly’s Protection of Life bill. But, his district had a good sign of where he stands since Lehman is on the Public Policy committee, where the bill is assigned.
For four years in a row, Matt Lehman sat on his hands in committee and refused to support the bill to end abortion while Rep. Ben Smaltz killed it.
On the other hand, Taylor Isch answered his Hoosiers for Life Candidate Survey at 100%. Isch pledged to support the Protection of Life bill and let pro-lifers know he supported protecting every unborn baby’s God given right to live.
Many in District 79 were angry with Lehman for decisions he made while in office, and they spoke up loud and clear!
Lehman was sweating bullets throughout the entire race--he even called in favors from Big Money Establishment. You see, Howey Politics reported the D79 race to be a toss-up, and this had the political class wringing their hands!
As far as the Establishment was concerned, all eyes were on District 79 and saving Matt Lehman.
After all, what would they do if their second ranking member lost his seat to a principled conservative who refused to back down on his stance for the pre-born and other issues where the machine politicians demand compromise?
Lehman went so far as to recruit Rep. Ben Smaltz, who killed Protection of Life legislation four years in a row, to make phone calls for him!
Other Representatives and Senators rallied around Lehman, hoping to rescue their leader from political defeat.
As you can see, Taylor Isch took on the entire Republican Establishment when he decided to run against Rep. Matt Lehman, and in the end, Isch only needed 470 more votes to win.
But Lehman wasn’t the only Representative to earn a primary challenger.
Rep. Ed Soliday in District 4 was challenged by Sara Blohm, and Mark Cox took on Rep. Steve Davisson in District 73. Both incumbents refused to support Protection of Life legislation, while the challengers pledged to support the bill.
And, Republican John Jacob, a supporter of Protection of Life legislation, defeated Rep. Dollyne Sherman (HD 93), who refuses to support protecting all babies at conception.
It’s safe to say the Establishment politicians in Indiana had their hands full this primary season working to defeat candidates who pledged to support the Protection of Life bill.
Indeed, the political class will be licking their wounds for quite a while after this election.
Some of them may even choose to retire to avoid facing another primary opponent.
You have done a great job making sure abortion is a major topic in Indiana politics. The conversation about ending legalized child killing once and for all is finally on the table, and politicians are being forced to take a stand one way or the other.
Our elected officials are having to answer for their behavior when it comes to an unborn child’s right to live. It is no longer acceptable to campaign as pro-life but stand against protecting babies once in office. And that’s all because of you.
Thank you for advocating for our pre-born neighbors and for reminding your elected officials of what’s really important.
For Life,
Amy Schlichter
Executive Director
Hoosiers for Life
P.S. A number of sitting Establishment politicians earned primary election challengers this year, and they hate having to fight for their seats. You have done a great job speaking up and letting elected officials know you expect them to support ending abortion in Indiana.
Please consider giving $10 or $5 toward our efforts to speak up for the pre-born!
Paid for by the supporters of Hoosiers for Life, a tax exempt non-profit organization under IRC 501(c)(4) which does not endorse, support, or oppose candidates for election.
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