INDIANAPOLIS -- After Indiana Republicans recently went through a contested lieutenant governor race, the Indiana Democratic Party is setting up for a contested attorney general race at their convention in mid-July, with two candidates presenting themselves as what they say is a necessary alternative to the Republican currently holding the office.
Two candidates, Destiny Wells and Beth White, have been actively running to be the Democratic candidate for Indiana's Attorney General. One of the two candidates is expected to face Todd Rokita, the Republican incumbent, in November's general election.
Rokita was first elected as Indiana's Attorney General in 2020. According to previous reports, Rokita announced he would seek reelection in February 2023.
Destiny Wells
In November 2023, Wells was the first Democratic candidate who announced that she would run for attorney general.
At the time, Wells, who is an attorney and combat veteran, said that she was running for the position to get Indiana "back to serving Hoosiers" and put Indiana residents first.
During her initial campaign announcement, Wells said she would focus on protecting medical privacy, supporting workers' rights and prioritizing the needs of Hoosiers. Wells also stressed that she would "return the office to its highest ethical standards" and not focus on national political talking points.
Before her run for attorney general, Wells ran as the Democratic candidate for Indiana Secretary of State in 2022. Republican Diego Morales was elected in November 2022 with 54.14% of the vote.
Wells sees her recent campaign experience as a plus, telling FOX59/CBS4 that this gives her the best information and the best network going into the 2024 election.
"We already built the plane in ‘22," she said. "We are up in the air and we are already pretty far ahead. We are going to take that momentum to Todd in the fall.”
Wells sees this race as an opportunity to relitigate and attack what Rokita has done as the state's attorney general. Wells stressed that she wants to "get back to business," getting out of Indiana doctor's offices and classrooms and getting back to being the "people's attorney."
“(Rokita) is using that office now more for activism than what it is supposed to be," she said. "I tell people that the best attorney general is one where you walk in the office, you don’t know if they are a Democrat or a Republican, you just know that they are a great attorney serving the people.”
Wells said she believes that a contested race at the Democratic convention in mid-July will be exciting on the convention floor. Wells stressed she is focused on the party moving forward to the future and feels that she will have the support of the delegates.
A Democratic win is important to Wells, stating that she believes if a Democrat is not in office, Hoosiers will not see an improvement.
“At the end of the day, as the attorney general, I have clients like the governor," Wells said. "We want the most ethical attorney in that office, making sure they are representing government, representing the people, accordingly.”
Beth White
In January, White, a former deputy prosecutor in the Marion County Prosecutor's Office and the Marion County Clerk, announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the attorney general's race.
When she announced her campaign, White highlighted her experience, stating that her entire career has been about fighting for Indiana residents, something that she said she would do if she is elected as the state's attorney general.
"This is a serious job, there is serious work to do, and I’m ready to do it," she said at the time. "As a mom, wife and daughter, I know what it means to fight to protect my family. It’s time for the attorney general to get back to the business of serving Hoosier families.”
As a candidate, White has focused on protecting Indiana residents from abuse, neglect and fraud, as well as stopping human trafficking and child predators, going after organizations that defraud and abuse seniors and expand the office's consumer protection efforts.
White recently told FOX59/CBS4 that her experience, particularly her 35 years of being a lawyer, helps her stand out in comparison to her Democratic opponent. White said experience is the most important thing an attorney general can have.
“What I believe the Democrats need to do is field the strongest possible candidate who has the strongest possible chance to beat (Rokita) in the fall. I think that’s me," White said. "Destiny (Wells) did file first, but I don’t think this is a race to the clerk’s office. I think what this is instead is a really robust exchange of ideas.”
Like Wells, White also believes that the Democratic attorney general candidate needs to focus "like a laser beam" on Rokita, highlighting her belief that he has not been serving the people. White said she believes that Hoosiers are tired of it and believes the office as a whole has lost its way.
Ultimately, White said she was surprised that Rokita did not have opposition within his party for the Republican convention later this month.
“Our attorney general is doing ideological fights," White said. "He’s signing onto lawsuits about things like the border, things like our former President Trump and things that he’s doing. It really is not the right approach.
“He’s a lightning rod, and one thing I will say about Todd Rokita when I was clerk and he was secretary of state, we worked together to run elections in Marion County," White continued. "... I know Todd Rokita, I’ve known him for 20 years. I think his decisions in that office have been unfortunate, and I think he needs to be held accountable for that.”
Ultimately, White said she was running for the position because she wanted to be the state's attorney general.
“I’m in this race because the issues in the attorney general’s office really resonate with me — fighting for victims, working hard for victims of fraud, consumer protection, being the lawyer for the state of Indiana," White said.