Secretary of State candidate Diego Morales used campaign funds for $43,000 car

Clarification: After the story published a spokesperson for Diego Morales' campaign said the car was ordered in January but it was delayed due to supply chain issues.

Days before Hoosier Republicans chose Diego Morales as their secretary of state nominee, Morales' campaign spent $43,845 on a new car, a purchase that experts say raises some eyebrows for a candidate that already has some liabilities.

His campaign purchased a Toyota RAV4, a compact SUV, from a car dealership in Terre Haute on June 15, Morales' second quarter campaign finance report shows, as first reported by IndyPolitics.org. That was less than a week before Morales faced three other secretary of state candidates at the state GOP convention on June 18, which means at the time Morales had no guarantee he would be advancing to the general election.

At the Republican convention, Morales defeated both current Secretary of State Holli Sullivan and Knox County Clerk David Shelton in the second round of voting, claiming 52% of the ballots. Sullivan received 35% of the vote and Shelton received 13%.

Morales now faces Democrat Destiny Wells and Libertarian Jeff Maurer in the general election.

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Julia Vaughn, executive director of Common Cause Indiana, a government accountability group, said it's "unusual" for a candidate to spend that much money on a new vehicle.

"Certainly a state wide candidate, we've seen them use campaign money to support transportation costs, but typically it's a more measured approach — they lease a vehicle, enter into some sort of long term rental," Vaughn told IndyStar. "To buy a vehicle for $43,000 in June when you know you won't be using it for campaign purposes after the first Tuesday in November, is a very curious decision to make."

Vaughn added that it "looks like this vehicle could turn into a personal vehicle," but according to Morales' campaign, he plans to sell the car after the election, reverting those funds back to the campaign fund.

"He's running a successful campaign and knows you can't win a statewide race sitting in Indianapolis," Kegan Prentice, Morales' campaign manager, said in a statement. "A compact SUV is a necessary tool for his ongoing grassroots efforts crisscrossing all 92 counties talking face-to-face with people because every voter in Indiana matters."

Under Indiana election law, campaign money received by a candidate may not be used for primarily personal purposes, but what that means is gray under Indiana law. Plus, someone would have to file a written complaint in order for the Indiana Election Commission to investigate.

Lindsay Haake, a spokeswoman for Wells' campaign, criticized the spending.

"Diego's new car is yet another example of how he is unfit to even appear on the ballot," Haake said. "If he's recklessly spending campaign money on a brand new car, what will happen with taxpayer money if he somehow manages to win election?"

Already Morales is a controversial candidate, because he was was once fired from the very office he is seeking, documents show.

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Morales worked for then-Secretary of State Todd Rokita as a special assistant for just under eight months in 2009 before the administration drafted a work improvement plan for Morales, personnel file documents show. Just before the formal document was presented, Morales put in two weeks notice that he planned to resign and refused to sign the plan.

About a week later he was terminated for "incomplete event planning and management," "inefficient execution of assigned deliverables" and "lack of focus on strategy and planning." The office also cited his "lack of professionalism."

In 2011, after being rehired under then-Secretary of State Charlie White, Morales was again presented with a work improvement plan within one month of starting the job, due to "poor execution of required daily tasks" and "incomplete event planning and management." Once again, he refused to sign the form. He resigned one day later to pursue "new experiences."

Morales previously called the documents smear campaign tactics, but Democrats largely view Morales with his liabilities as the easiest statewide candidate to beat during the 2024 general election.

Gregory Shufeldt, a political science professor at University of Indianapolis, said the controversy surrounding Morales for his work history is what makes the price tag of the car stand out.

"Given his other controversies, this strikes me as a bad look to be continually tied in unnecessary controversy, especially I would say the lavishness of the price of the car when in general, even if a campaign needed transportation, most Hoosier families aren't buying cars for $43,000," Shufeldt told the IndyStar.

Other candidates have purchased vehicles over the course of their campaigns, including former Sen. Joe Donnelly, who lost his re-election bid in 2018. Peter Hanscum, Donnelly's former campaign manager, tweeted on July 17 that the campaign bought a "$10,000, more than a decade old used-RV," which he said was a contrast from Morales' campaign purchase.

Car prices have gone up since then, with average new car prices in the U.S. reaching a record high, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Morales' cash on hand has surpassed that of his opponents, in part because he has been running longer, but Wells has raised the most of the three candidates this year. So far this year, Morales raised $73,000 and had $289,000 cash on hand at the close of the second quarter, while Wells has raised $124,000 and had just under $60,000 cash on hand. Maurer has raised $8,600 this year, and had $5,000 cash on hand.

Call IndyStar reporter Kaitlin Lange at 317-432-9270 or email her at kaitlin.lange@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Diego Morales, Indiana Secretary of State candidate, buys $43,000 car