INDIANAPOLIS -- Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Indiana gubernatorial candidate Mike Braun's preferred choice for lieutenant governor, State Rep. Julie McGuire, ahead of November's general election.
Trump initially announced his endorsement on Truth Social shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday before Braun, the Republican nominee for Indiana’s governor, later shared the announcement on X.
Braun thanked Trump for the endorsement, saying the trio will "deliver for Hoosiers."
"Thank you, President Trump, for joining me in endorsing Julie McGuire to be our next Lt. Governor! The Trump/Braun/McGuire team will put America First and deliver for Hoosiers!", Braun posted on X.
On May 8, Braun confirmed that State Rep. Julie McGuire, R-District 93, was his preferred choice to be his lieutenant governor following his victory in the primary. McGuire currently serves Perry Township and portions of Franklin Township in Marion County in the Indiana House of Representatives. McGuire was elected to the Indiana General Assembly in November 2022.
“I’m excited to be a partner with Mike Braun and work on moving some conservative values for our state,” McGuire said following Braun's endorsement in May.
Trump's announcement is likely to have an influence on which way elected Republican delegates will vote to formally nominate the lieutenant governor. The vote will occur during the 2024 Indiana Republican Convention taking place in Indianapolis on June 15.
McGuire will square off against Micah Beckwith, a pastor based out of Hamilton County who filed to run as a candidate for lieutenant governor in February. After filing, Beckwith disrupted the decades-old tradition where delegates chose a lieutenant governor candidate that was preferred by the gubernatorial nominee.
Trump's latest announcement follows the former president's endorsement of Braun late last year.
Braun's opponents in the upcoming election are Democrat Jennifer McCormick and Libertarian Donald Rainwater after winning the vote as the Republican candidate for governor during the primary.