Indiana Secretary of State Race: Republican Primary Loser Shelton Crosses Party Lines to Back Democrat Bayh's Audit Plan
An unusual cross-party move has emerged as Indiana's secretary of state race heads into its final stretch: David Shelton, who lost the Republican primary in June, says that if Democratic candidate Beau Bayh is elected, he is willing to help Bayh conduct an independent audit of the secretary of state's office; he also supports an independent candidate's lawsuit asking the State Election Commission to hold a hearing on a campaign finance complaint.
Bayh advocates an audit of the office led by incumbent Secretary of State Diego Morales, whose tenure has drawn allegations of misuse of public funds and fraud. Bayh says the audit should be independent, transparent and fact-based, and that bringing in a Republican shows protecting taxpayers is not a partisan issue. Shelton argues that the inspector general's internal investigation is not enough and that only an independent audit can determine whether any conduct should be prosecuted. Republican nominee Max Engling, who defeated Shelton in the June primary, criticized Bayh's plan as hypocritical, saying Bayh has not sought oversight from anyone with relevant experience. Shelton previously filed a campaign finance complaint against Engling, alleging he accepted a $60,000 contribution from the organization Hoosier Leadership for America, above the $5,000 corporate contribution limit; Engling's campaign called the complaint baseless and said the money was returned before the complaint was filed. Independent candidate Greg Ballard sued the election commission last week to compel it to meet and consider the complaint; Shelton has filed a brief in support, and a hearing is set for October 23.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 印第安纳州议会大厦穹顶 / Dome of the Indiana Statehouse — Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
