Less than a month after Micah Beckwith came out of nowhere to win the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor of Indiana, he is still a major news item and a hot topic of discussion in both major parties.
"I'm not trying to usurp our nominee for governor [Sen. Mike Braun], but I know the role of the lieutenant governor," Beckwith, a former congressional candidate, told Newsmax.
"I want to be a big team player and, and push Republican principles down the line. But that's what I've been saying all along, and it resonated."
A Christian pastor and small-business owner, Beckwith sought the nomination for lieutenant governor at the GOP state convention in June and faced state Rep. Julie McGuire.
Beckwith was known for a stint on the Hamilton East Public Library Board of Trustees, during which he championed a policy of relocated books from the juvenile section that contained profanity, violence, sex, and drug and alcohol use.
The press in Indiana repeatedly characterized Beckwith as "a self-described Christian nationalist."
Asked whether Beckwith used the highly provocative term to describe himself, a spokesman for the candidate told us: "He says it this way: 'A Christian, yes, who loves the Lord. A nationalist, yes, who loves our country.' But if the description means he wants a theocracy, that is 100% false."
Backed by Braun, outgoing Gov. Eric Holcomb, just about every elected Republican in the Hoosier State, and Donald Trump, McGuire seemed a certainty to win the nomination.
"We had a great team of volunteers, and they loved the message," Beckwith told us. "The base was fired up when we walked into that convention.
"I think the establishment still thought they were going to smoke us. But it was very clear during the convention speeches who that convention center was rooting for it.
"So I think people at that moment were like, 'Oh, what, what, what's going on here?' It's kind of like the 2016 elections when Hillary Clinton's campaign about 9 o'clock at night started thinking, 'What's going on here?'"
Beckwith said he wants to stand up to those who favor vaccine mandates and critical race theory. He also believes that anyone can run for office, and that candidates do not need to be from the "political elite."
Although many more delegates to the state convention were elected, he explained, roughly 1,700 showed up for the June party conclave. The night before the vote, Beckwith was shaking hands and greeting people until about 1 a.m. When the delegates voted, Beckwith defeated McGuire by 891-828.
Since the nomination, Beckwith says people have been treating him well. Over the weekend, he addressed the Indiana Federation of Republican Women and got a hero's welcome.
"People are excited," he said. "The base is super excited.
"I think there's a lot of people in Indiana and in the Republican Party who have been ostracized for many years, and they feel like the party kind of left them. We're getting messages from people such as, 'Hey, I think I have hope again in the Republican Party. I may be able to come home.'"
Despite widespread reports of people who are upset at Beckwith's victory, he responds that many may not really know who he is personally.
"I think when people get to know me, they are not going to believe a narrative [of] the left wing," he told us. "The [liberal] media hates me.
"I've been an advocate for parental rights and schools. I've been an advocate against the government shutdowns. I've been an advocate to remove pornographic material from the libraries. I've been an advocate for a lot of really good conservative values.
"So the left-wing media in Indiana hates my guts. And so there is a narrative out there that I'm this Christian nationalist book banner. But when people get to know me, they're like, 'Man, you're not anything like what I thought you were, and you're, you're very much reasonable.'"
Beckwith actually enjoys talking with people who disagree with him and holding debates in a reasonable way. In so doing, he encourages people not to listen to the media.
Mary Barnes, a senior at Southern Methodist University and intern at Newsmax, contributed to his article.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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