Top Republicans pull support for endorsement of IN Secretary of State Diego Morales

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:00]A big political shake-up in the race for Indiana Secretary of State. This is all within the Republican Party. Senator Jim Banks and Attorney General Todd Rokita both announced they are pulling their support for incumbent Diego Morales. And Rokita is actually asking him to suspend his campaign altogether. Banks issued a statement endorsing a new candidate who just jumped into the race this week. In their statement, Rokita said in part, "I have asked Diego to suspend his campaign with so many self-inflicted wounds and issues, I now do not believe he can win in November." Their statement also said they thanked Morales for his service, but believe Republicans should unite behind the strongest nominee to defeat Democrats in the fall. So, who is this new candidate? Well, his name is Max Engling. He's a senior advisor to Senator Banks and lives in Hamilton County. So, he joins two other candidates challenging Secretary of State Morales for the GOP nomination to run in the November general election.

[00:00:52]Those other two are Jamie Reitnauer and Knox County Clerk David Shelton. Party delegates are going to vote at the state Republican convention next month. We've reached out to Diego Morales for comment. We'll let you know when we hear back.