Curtis Hill, the former Indiana attorney general, to run for governor

Former Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill, whose time in office was marred by groping allegations that he strongly denied, announced Monday on Twitter he will run for governor as a Republican.

Pitching himself as a "proven conservative and fresh voice," Hill, 62, joins an already competitive GOP primary race that includes Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, U.S. Sen. Mike Braun and Fort Wayne businessman Eric Doden.

In a statement to IndyStar, Hill said he's been building a "broad base of grassroots support" and is optimistic about his chances.

"As we talk to voters and elected leaders, we hear one constant message: Hoosiers are tired of the political games of Indianapolis and Washington, DC, and they are hungry for a strong conservative who leads with courage and conviction," he said.

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Though his tainted reputation and late arrival to an already expensive race present obvious challenges, he has statewide name recognition and a conservative track record that could allow him to make a real showing in the competition, especially since there are three other serious candidates dividing up votes.

"You gotta take him seriously," said Andy Downs, professor emeritus at Purdue University Fort Wayne.

Hill had served 14 years as Elkhart County prosecutor before running for attorney general in 2016 on a law-and-order platform opposed to federal government overreach. He built a socially conservative national profile while attorney general, making several visits to former President Donald Trump's White House and weighing in on controversial issues such as the NFL anthem protests and medical marijuana.

During that term, an IndyStar investigation in 2018 first unveiled that four women, including a state lawmaker and three legislative employees, accused Hill of inappropriate touching at a bar party on the final night of the legislative session. Hill denied the allegations.

While a federal judge dismissed the subsequent lawsuit and a special prosecutor declined to file criminal charges, the state Supreme Court later suspended Hill's law license for a month.

Many leaders from his own party called for his resignation, but Hill steadfastly refused to leave office before losing the nomination for a second term at the 2020 state party convention.

But rather than state party delegates, it'll be voters who will decide Hill's fate in the gubernatorial primary.

And it's unclear how much the allegations will matter to primary voters. Voters after all have continued to throw their support behind Trump, who is still leading polling by a wide margin despite a jury having found him liable for sexual abuse in the civil case of writer E. Jean Carroll.

Like others in the race, Hill's campaign is appealing to the most conservative primary voters, listing priorities on his website such as "removing radical gender ideology and critical race theory" from schools, defending Second Amendment rights, supporting law enforcement and restricting abortion. On the campaign trail, Hill said he's been sharing a vision of "safer streets, lower taxes, law and order, and a return to hometown values," but said his campaign would begin sharing a policy vision for Indiana in the coming weeks.

Hill also paints himself as aligned with Trump and in contrast to "old career politicians" and the "Indianapolis establishment" ― an establishment, including Gov. Eric Holcomb and the state party, that called for his resignation or replacement in the wake of the alleged groping scandal.

A spokesperson for the Indiana Republican Party said chair Kyle Hupfer was unavailable to comment Monday on Hill's candidacy.

In a statement, Indiana Democratic Party chair Mike Schmuhl pointed out the state GOP's silence so far.

"We call on the Indiana Republican Party to join us in denouncing Curtis Hill’s gubernatorial run," Schmuhl said. "He has proven that is unfit to serve, and wrong for Hoosiers."

Beyond the allegations, Hill's other key challenge is being fairly late to a fight where three candidates are extremely well-matched financially, said Greg Shufeldt, political science professor at the University of Indianapolis.

Braun, Crouch and Doden started 2023 with around $3 million cash on hand, each, and updated campaign finance reports are due next week.

"It would be unfair to view him as a fringe candidate, but at this point I would anticipate it would take a lot of luck and mishaps by other candidates for him to be Top 2," he said.

But then again the fact that there are already three firmly entrenched candidates may also work in Hill's favor. The more legitimate candidates voters have to choose from, the lower the percentage one needs to grab hold of the nomination, or at least make a serious showing. He once proved his ability to draw out voters when, in the 2016 general election in Indiana, he was the top vote-getter in any race by sheer numbers, even surpassing Trump.

"If Hill can find 26% of the electorate that's his, he could be a spoiler," Downs said.

It's possible Hill might draw some votes away from Braun, given that both fall into a pro-Trump, anti-establishment camp, Downs said. Hill can also tout his record speaking out against the Holcomb administration's masking and business shutdown mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"He's real," Downs said. "Anybody who says he's not, I would say they are really not paying attention to the current environment, or his resume."

Contact the reporter at kdwyer@indystar.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Curtis Hill, the former Indiana attorney general, to run for governor