Colwell: McCormick a promising candidate for Indiana governor. Except for one thing ...

Jennifer McCormick, now an announced candidate for governor, has been victorious in one statewide race, upsetting a favored incumbent. Her expertise is in education, sure to be an issue in Indiana in 2024. Nobody yet challenges her for her party’s nomination.

Sounds promising for success for governor?

Except for one important fact in Indiana politics.

McCormick is running as a Democrat in a state where Republicans are in two-decade control of the governor’s office. No Democrat has won any office elected statewide since 2012. Republicans hold supermajorities in the state legislature and have solid control of the congressional delegation.

But could the political pendulum swing back to Democrats, who held the governor’s office for 16 years before the current Republican domination?

McCormick is endorsed by St. Joseph County Democratic Chair Diana Hess and has support from other prominent party figures for the nomination, whether winning it be full of promise or of hopelessness.

In an ironic twist, McCormick played a part in the long Democratic losing streak. As the Republican nominee for state school superintendent back in 2016, she defeated the Democratic incumbent, Glenda Ritz, who had strong support from teachers and was favored to win.

Teachers, who didn’t support McCormick back then, now are likely to support her for governor. Teachers rallied at the Statehouse against what they considered a “war on public education” by the Republican supermajorities.

McCormick battles in that war on the side of traditional public schools, calling it “beyond ridiculous” that “public education, which services 90% of our kids, was the most underfunded system of all the schools.”

She and other critics of the Republican legislative approach contend that all-out promotion of charter schools and more vouchers for private schools hurts public school systems. Local critics say it led to such things as the closing of Clay High School.

The main reason McCormick won in 2016 wasn’t that she had amazing campaign skill; it was Donald Trump sweeping to victory in Indiana, helping to pull in Republican candidates throughout the state. Ritz and former Sen. Joe Donnelly, the last two Democrats to hold statewide elective office, went down to defeat.

Victory, in what was the last time the superintendent was elected rather than appointed, didn’t turn out to be sweet for McCormick.

She and Republican leaders soon differed on education approaches. They took powers away from the superintendent and then made the post appointive.

McCormick switched to the Democratic Party in 2021.

Why?

McCormick, a long-time educator — teacher, elementary school principal and assistant superintendent of Yorktown Community Schools — says she went into the state superintendent post with an approach of “trying to help kids” in a bipartisan way, not pushing political philosophy and party control as paramount. She found that wasn’t what was expected by Republican leaders.

Hess began encouraging McCormick to run for governor after she spoke at a fundraising dinner of St. Joseph County Democrats last year.

Back on Dyngus Day, before McCormick formally announced, Hess introduced her at an event as “our likely nominee.”

Likely? Absolutely, if nobody else gets in the race.

Last year there was speculation about Donnelly, now ambassador to the Vatican, coming back to run for governor. The nomination would be his if he wanted it. But he hasn’t come back, with the nomination seemingly less valuable after the terrible showing of Indiana Democrats in the election last November.

Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott, losing Democratic nominee for senator last November, is mentioned. But he was embittered by lack of Democratic organization support at the state and national levels..

Someone still could challenge McCormick for the nomination. But time is short to start raising funds and support.

Republicans running for governor are Sen. Mike Braun, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and Fort Wayne businessman Eric Doden, each confident that the winner of the Republican nomination will be governor.

Jack Colwell is a columnist for The Tribune. Write to him in care of The Tribune or by email at jcolwell@comcast.net.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Jennifer McCormick runs for governor; GOP has long controlled office.