GOP Sen. Mike Braun will run for Indiana governor

Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) filed paperwork on Wednesday morning to run for Indiana governor, leaving his Senate seat open in 2024.

A filing from Indiana’s Secretary of State office noted the paperwork was filed on Wednesday morning, putting to rest speculation over whether Braun would either choose to run for a second term in the Senate or to replace term-limited Gov. Eric Holcomb (R).

“Mike Braun has filed his paperwork to run for governor and will be making an official announcement of his candidacy very soon,” Josh Kelley, chief of staff and senior political advisor to Braun, said in a statement.

Politico was the first to report the news of Braun’s filing to run for the office.

The decision comes several weeks after Braun and a handful of other Republicans voted for Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), the chair of the Senate GOP campaign arm this past midterm cycle, to be their leader in the upper chamber, though that vote failed and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was reelected.

Former Gov. Mike Pence aide Eric Doden has already officially announced a gubernatorial run, while multiple Indiana House Republicans — Reps. Victoria Spartz and Jim Banks — are reportedly considering running for Senate. 

“Congressman Banks is seriously considering running for the U.S. Senate and is strongly positioned to win a statewide primary and general election in Indiana. He will spend the holidays discussing with his wife, family and friends around the state how he can best serve Indiana,” a Banks spokesperson said in a statement.

An open Senate seat in Indiana is likely not to jumble Republicans’ Senate math going into 2024, given that more Democrats are up for reelection than Republicans and the state leans red. 

Emily Brooks contributed to this report