IN-05, IN-AG: Howey Politics reports that former state Sen. Mike Delph, who got crushed by Democrat J.D. Ford in his bid for re-election last year, is weighing a challenge to Rep. Susan Brooks. While Brooks is an unambiguous conservative, she's decidedly establishment-flavored, though she may have fallen out of favor with party honchos, too, since she was booted from a key leadership role after the midterms.
Delph, a hardcore extremist, had considered bids for Senate in 2012, 2016, and 2018 but declined all three times, so he may be more talk than action. Democrats would very much like it, though, if they had the opportunity to pursue Indiana's 5th as an open seat, since it's a well-educated and relatively affluent suburban district that could flip under the right circumstances.
They may get their chance, though, no matter what Delph decides: Howey also says that Brooks is being urged to run against state Attorney General Curtis Hill, whom fellow Republicans have called on to resign after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct last year. Hill has refused, but while he avoided criminal charges, he now faces disciplinary proceedings that could lead to the loss of his law license—and thereby his job.
Notably, nominations for attorney general are handled at party conventions in Indiana rather than via primary, and Brooks did not fare well the last time she threw herself on the mercy of such insiders. In 2016, after Trump tapped Gov. Mike Pence as his running-mate, a 22-member committee of the state GOP chose Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb as his replacement in the race for governor by a 14-8 vote. A convention, though, would feature over a thousand delegates, and if the party remains arrayed against Hill, then Brooks ought to do better under such a scenario.