McCormick spoke at dinner in Hartford City

HARTFORD CITY — Protecting reproductive rights.

Making healthcare affordable.

Supporting education.

Raising wages.

Improving quality of life.

Democrat candidate for governor Jennifer McCormick discussed all of those issues during her visit Saturday to the Roosevelt Truman Dinner at the Elks Lodge in Hartford City. In doing so, she pushed another belief — that if voters who care about those issues go to the polls in November, she will be successful in her bid to lead the state.

“Our issues are right aligned with 80% of the Hoosiers,” said McCormick. “They want healthcare, they want education, they want jobs …

“This is our moment. It is our time. It’s our fight. And if we fight, we win.”

Kiley Adolph, who is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in District 3, also spoke at the event. Candidates John Bartlett for state representative in District 33 and Dana Turner for county recorder were also in attendance. (Turner currently serves as the Blackford County treasurer.)

During her speech, McCormick — she is running against Republican Mike Braun and Libertarian Donald Rainwater — said it’s been too long since Indiana has had a governor who would:

•Fight for women’s reproductive rights and freedoms

•Advocate for affordable health care for everyone

•Prioritize education and believe in teachers

•Push to raise wages

•Support unions

“We’re not asking for much. We’re not,” said the New Castle native, referencing that Indiana ranks 47th in the nation for annual wage growth. “We’re asking for health care we can afford and have access to it. We’re also asking for quality education, including child care and university pre-K.”

McCormick, whose running mate is former state representative Terry Goodin, added that the state ranks 47th for quality of life.

“I wouldn’t be in Indiana if I didn’t love Indiana,” she said. “But we have a lot of room to grow. And everybody who has chosen to be here and stay here and come here, we all deserve better than that.”

In introducing McCormick, event host Mark Townsend quoted vice presidential candidate Tim Walz from this week’s Democratic National Convention: “Never underestimate a public school teacher.”

A former educator who started as a special needs teacher, became a middle school principal and served as superintendent of Yorktown Schools, McCormick spent a chunk of her time discussing education. She referenced that there are currently 3,300 unfilled teaching positions in Indiana, up from 1,800 a year ago.

She said that gap has developed because of the attitude the Republican-controlled statehouse has taken toward teachers and education. She said the General Assembly has pushed the narrative that teachers are “horrible people” and “groomers” who teach history inaccurately and don’t know how to teach reading.

“Teachers are tired of it,” said McCormick, who was elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2016 when she ran as a Republican.

She said educators are leaving teaching because they can make the same or more money elsewhere for less work and less hassle.

“And our economy is based upon our education,” she added. “We can’t attract good-paying jobs if we don’t have an educated and healthy workforce. …

“It’s not hard. It’s hard work. It’s a reflection of leadership.

“And no more, no more, are we going to be a state that says, ‘You know what, someone did it for our generation, but we’re not going to do it for someone else’s.’”

McCormick said her polling numbers look good and Republicans know it. But she acknowledged that there is a lot of work left to be done if a Democrat is to win the governorship for the first time since Frank O’Bannon defeated David McIntosh in 2000.

She encouraged those in attendance to continue the momentum she felt from last week’s Democratic National Convention. She encouraged them to check her website and Adolph’s and to look at candidates like Bartlett and Turner. She pushed them to talk to their family and friends, to ask them to research candidates, to encourage them to vote and then make sure they follow through and do so.

“Because if we vote, we win,” she said.

Adolph, who is running against Republican Marlin Stutzman and Libertarian Jarrad Lancaster, said her run for office is about people and asking two key questions:

•How can I help?

•What do you need?

She told attendees they need to be willing to fight for their families, friends and neighbors to have access to good jobs, high wages, housing and affordable health care. Her campaign, she said, is fighting for those things and for prioritizing education, restoring a woman’s right to choose and building a future where people can love who they love.

She called for a focus on “people and progress, not extremism and exclusion” and advocated for “common-sense solutions to get the job done.”

“Now more than ever we need problem solvers, we need doers of good deeds, we need hard workers, we need women, we need people who understand the kitchen-table issues,” said Adolph. “And we need them in places of distinction to listen to us, to advocate for us, to problem-solve for us, to represent us.”