According to the Indianapolis Star, Republican Diego Morales voted in one Indiana county while claiming a property tax credit for living in another during a failed run for Congress four years ago. Morales is running against Democrat Destiny Wells for Indiana’s Secretary of State position on a platform of “election integrity.”
Morales was already looking like a highly dubious choice for the job. He has been fired twice for poor performance from low-level posts in the Indiana Secretary of State’s office, both times when it was headed by a Republican. He’s also been accused of sexual assault by two different Republican women. Eyebrows have been raised about his claim to be a “veteran” based on his serving three and a half months of an eight-year commitment to the National Guard.
Morales has backed away from his claim that the 2020 Presidential election was a “scam,” but has hung out with the likes of Steve Bannon, according to Wells’s website. Finally, he’s ducked debates or other joint appearances with Wells and his other opponent, a Libertarian.
Destiny Wells, by contrast, is a lawyer who has successfully worked at city, state and federal levels, including as a former deputy attorney general for Indiana. A 19-year Army veteran who served a tour in Afghanistan, she is now an Army reserve lieutenant colonel in military intelligence.
She is deeply concerned about the attitude of Morales and his ilk towards elections, stating, “I see Diego as a threat as I would as an intelligence officer. I identify this movement as a threat to democracy. Once we open the can of worms here in Indiana of possibly subverting elections or very intentionally suppressing the vote, that’s hard to undo.”
A recent poll placed Wells two points ahead of Morales—a statistical tie, but remarkable for this red state. Two days ago Wells announced she had outraised Morales for the third consecutive quarter. Plainly, there is a lack of enthusiasm for Morales among Republicans. Any Hoosiers who can contribute some time to get out the vote in the next few days could really make a difference in this race.