Politics
Indiana secretary of state contest shows opening for Democrat Beau Bayh, poll finds
Democrat Beau Bayh leads Republican Max Engling by 8 percentage points in a new poll, but 11% of likely voters remain undecided. The survey also finds competitive races for state comptroller and treasurer.
Democrat Beau Bayh holds an 8-point lead over Republican Max Engling in Indiana’s open secretary of state race, according to a poll released Oct. 16. Eleven percent of likely voters said they were undecided, and the survey’s margin of sampling error was 3.4 percentage points, leaving the contest unsettled.
Bellwether Research surveyed more than 800 likely voters for Free Press Indiana from Oct. 8 to 11. The sample was drawn from Indiana’s voter file and included people who voted in at least one general election between 2018 and 2024, as well as people who registered after 2024.
The race features candidates with markedly different levels of public recognition. Nearly half of respondents had never heard of Engling, a former congressional staffer. By contrast, 27% said they had not heard of Bayh, whose family has a long history in Indiana politics.
Bayh’s favorability rating was 35%, compared with 12% for Engling. Their unfavorable ratings were close: 18% for Bayh and 17% for Engling.
The contest is unusual for a statewide Indiana race, where Republicans have dominated in recent years and Democrats have not won a statewide office since 2012. The Republican Party passed over incumbent Diego Morales at its nominating convention, setting up an open-seat race between candidates who are not widely known to voters.
Libertarian Lauri Shillings and independent Greg Ballard, a former Indianapolis mayor running under the Lincoln Party banner, also appear on the ballot. Both polled in the single digits, but their support could affect the outcome in a close contest.
The poll found another close contest in the state comptroller race, with Democrat Jessica Bailey running nearly even with Republican incumbent Elise Nieshalla. Republican incumbent Daniel Elliott led Democrat Coumba Kebe by 5 points in the state treasurer race.
The results offer a snapshot of a competitive statewide election, not a forecast. The undecided share and sampling margin leave room for the secretary of state race to shift before voters decide.