IN-06: Businessman Greg Pence, who has been chairing the Senate fundraising committee for departing Rep. Luke Messer, tells Howey Politics that he won't decide before October on a bid for this safely red eastern Indiana seat. However, while Pence says he's focused on Messer's Senate campaign, he also acknowledges he's been meeting with county GOP chairs. Pence is close to his little brother Mike Pence, and if he gets in the race for this seat (which includes much of the turf Mike Pence represented in the House until he became governor in 2013), he should have absolutely no problem raising money.
GOP state Sen. Mike Crider and businessman Jonathan Lamb both announced that he would run weeks ago for this open seat, which includes the eastern Indianapolis suburbs, Muncie, and several communities along the Ohio and Kentucky borders. However, while state Sen. Jean Leising has acknowledged that she's interested, she tells Howey that she'll wait to see what Pence does. If Pence runs, it may take a very well-connected candidate to beat him… so why not turn to another Indiana GOP political family?
Howey reports that David Willkie, a former political director for ex-Sen. Richard Lugar, is "preparing a bid," though Willkie has not said anything publicly yet. Willkie is the grandson of Wendell Willkie, who lost the 1940 presidential election to Franklin Roosevelt and went on to work with the president and Eleanor Roosevelt. In addition to his work with Lugar in Congress and on the campaign trail, David Willkie had a business career that included a stint as a business-industry expert for 60 Minutes.
Willkie may have the resources to stand up to the Pences, but it doesn’t sound like the other prospective candidates could. A few weeks ago, Roll Call's Simone Pathé wrote that while GOP insiders expect Lamb to be able to self-fund $100,000, they doubt he has much of a fundraising network in the district. These unnamed insiders also doubt that Crider, Leising, or Henry County Council President Nate LaMar, another possible candidate, could raise much either; Willkie was not mentioned in the article.