INDIANA -Republicans in South Carolina, Arizona, Kansas, and Nevada have all decided to not have Republican presidential primaries for the upcoming 2020 Presidential election, but what about Indiana?

“I’m not familiar enough with how the other states are structured or how their election laws are set up, but in Indiana, it’s not really an option. Our primary system is set up statutorily in Indiana code, so there’s really not a mechanism to not have a Presidential primary,” Hupfer said.

He says in other states it’s a party function, but in Indiana it’s a governmental function and the governments from across the state will bare that expense. Hupfer says that in order to get on the ballot, you have to obtain 500 signatures that are verified from each Congressional district.

“It takes quite a bit of work. We tend to be a state that, unless somebody is a serious candidate, they don’t come here and jump through those hoops,” Hupfer said.

Hupfer anticipates that President Trump and Vice President Pence being the only serious team running on the Republican side this year.

“If a town, for instance, doesn’t have any opposition from one party or the other, they have the option to not hold that primary and the folks just go into the General Election. At the local level, there is some optionality, but at statewide, it’s a full, statewide ballot in presidential years,” Hupfer said.

 

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