This briefing reflects reporting and candidate positions available as of September 21, 2026. Candidates, endorsements and polling can change before Election Day on November 3, 2026.
Why This Race Matters
Indiana’s 2026 secretary of state election is unusual for several reasons. Republican incumbent Diego Morales lost his party’s nomination, leaving an open general-election contest. Former Republican Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard has also qualified under the new Lincoln Party label, while Libertarian Lauri Shillings is seeking to preserve and potentially expand her party’s ballot status. The winner will oversee an office with responsibilities extending well beyond elections, including business registrations, securities regulation and auto-dealer licensing.
The Race
Indiana voters will choose a new secretary of state on November 3. The four principal candidates are Republican Max Engling, Democrat Beau Bayh, Libertarian Lauri A. Shillings and Lincoln Party candidate Greg Ballard. The official Indiana candidate list confirms all four on the general-election ballot.
The Republican and Democratic nominees were selected at party conventions rather than through May primaries, as required for Indiana’s statewide constitutional offices. Engling won the Republican nomination on June 20 after incumbent Diego Morales finished third. Engling received 867 votes, or about 53%, on the second ballot. Bayh had earlier defeated Blythe Potter at the Democratic convention with 1,385 delegate votes, or 61%.
Republicans have controlled the secretary of state’s office since 1994, giving the GOP a long institutional advantage. But the 2026 election differs from a conventional two-party contest because Ballard is a former two-term Republican mayor of Indianapolis with statewide name recognition, while Shillings represents Indiana’s established Libertarian Party.
There is not yet a reliable public statewide poll of the current four-candidate field. A 2025 survey sometimes cited in discussion of this race tested Bayh, Ballard and Morales, not Engling, so it cannot accurately describe the current contest.
The Candidates
Max Engling, Republican
Engling, 39, has worked in Republican politics and government, including as an adviser to U.S. Senator Jim Banks and previously as a congressional staff member. He entered the Republican nomination contest relatively late but defeated Morales and Knox County Clerk David Shelton at the state convention.
His campaign emphasizes election security, citizenship verification, business-fraud prevention and reducing regulatory burdens. Engling proposes a public portal for reporting possible election problems and supports stronger requirements intended to ensure that only eligible U.S. citizens vote.
He also supports screening state business filings for potentially fraudulent shell companies and says the secretary of state’s business services should reduce unnecessary regulation.
Beau Bayh, Democrat
Bayh is an attorney, former Marine Corps infantry officer and the son of former Indiana governor and U.S. senator Evan Bayh. He has not previously held elected office.
Bayh has made management of the secretary of state’s office a central campaign issue. He proposes an independent audit of the office and argues that the next secretary should address concerns about spending, contracts and hiring practices during Morales’ tenure.
On elections, Bayh says Indiana should maintain election security while reducing barriers for eligible voters. He opposes Indiana’s prohibition on using public-university student identification cards as voter identification and supports allowing statewide ballot referendums, including on issues such as redistricting.
Greg Ballard, Lincoln Party
Ballard served two terms as Republican mayor of Indianapolis from 2008 through 2015 and is a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. He left the Republican label for this campaign and is running under the newly created Lincoln Party.
His campaign focuses heavily on election administration and political competition. Ballard proposes state-funded voter guides customized to each voter’s precinct, additional training for county election officials and changes to Indiana’s recount process. He also says the secretary of state should remain neutral in races the office administers.
Ballard qualified through petition signatures. Indiana election officials verified 40,361 signatures, above the 36,943 required. His candidacy also has implications beyond this race: if he receives at least 2% of the statewide vote, the Lincoln Party would gain easier ballot access for future elections.
Lauri A. Shillings, Libertarian
Shillings is a business owner and creative director at the University of Indianapolis. She represents the Libertarian Party, which already has an established organization and ballot-access structure in Indiana.
During the August candidate forum, Shillings opposed additional federal citizenship-document requirements that she believes could create barriers for eligible voters, particularly people who have changed their names. She joined Bayh and Ballard in supporting an audit of the secretary of state’s office.
Her vote share also matters to the Libertarian Party’s future status. Indiana’s ballot-access rules are tied to performance in secretary of state elections, giving the party an institutional reason to emphasize this particular race.
Top Issues
Election Security and Voting Access
The clearest policy divide concerns how Indiana should balance access to voting with additional safeguards.
Engling emphasizes citizenship verification and supports stronger identification measures. During the August candidate forum, he defended the principle that election officials should strictly follow statutory requirements.
Bayh, Ballard and Shillings have generally argued that Indiana’s elections are already secure and that additional restrictions should be evaluated for their effect on eligible voters. Shillings specifically criticized documentation requirements that could create difficulties for people whose current names do not match older records.
Management and Ethics
Morales’ tenure has made internal management unusually prominent in the campaign. Reporting during the Republican nomination fight examined state spending, travel, contracts and hiring decisions.
Bayh, Ballard and Shillings have supported auditing the office. Engling has not endorsed the same audit proposal, arguing that defeating Morales at the Republican convention already represented a change in leadership.
Voter Participation
Indiana has struggled with comparatively low voter participation, but the candidates disagree over how aggressively the secretary of state’s office should address it.
Ballard proposes mailing a personalized voter guide to every registered voter and creating a related digital service. The proposal could cost more than $2.5 million per election cycle. Both Engling and Bayh have questioned whether that expense is justified.
Ballot Access and Political Competition
Ballard has made Indiana’s rules for independent candidates a central issue. His campaign spent heavily to collect enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, arguing that the requirement makes independent candidacies unnecessarily difficult.
Engling has countered that the Lincoln Party has not developed a clear governing platform or transparent process for selecting future candidates. Shillings has raised a similar concern about the new party’s lack of a defined platform.
Business Services
The secretary of state is also responsible for Indiana’s business-registration system. All four candidates have supported greater transparency concerning the people who actually own businesses registered with the state rather than relying only on registered-agent information.
Most of the candidates have also called for improvements to the state’s business-services systems. Engling emphasizes fraud prevention and reducing regulatory burdens.
Evidence Check
Max Engling
Claim: Engling says stronger citizenship safeguards are needed to protect election integrity.
Check: Indiana already requires voters to meet citizenship requirements, and noncitizen voting is illegal. The policy disagreement concerns whether additional documentation requirements provide meaningful additional security or create unnecessary obstacles for eligible citizens.
Claim: Engling presents himself as a change from the Morales administration.
Check: Engling did defeat Morales at the Republican convention after senior Republicans withdrew their support from the incumbent. He nevertheless represents the same party that has controlled the office since 1994.
Beau Bayh
Claim: Bayh says the secretary of state’s office needs an audit because of questionable spending and management.
Check: News organizations documented controversies involving travel, contracts and hiring under Morales. That supports calls for scrutiny, but allegations about previous management do not establish misconduct by the office as a whole or by future Republican leadership.
Claim: Bayh says Indiana needs to increase voter participation.
Check: Indiana has repeatedly ranked relatively low among states in voter turnout. Determining which policies would meaningfully increase turnout, however, remains contested.
Greg Ballard
Claim: Ballard argues Indiana’s ballot-access system disadvantages independent candidates.
Check: His campaign was required to obtain at least 36,943 valid signatures to qualify. Election officials ultimately verified 40,361. Candidates from parties meeting Indiana’s statutory vote thresholds can qualify through party nomination processes instead.
Claim: Ballard says his candidacy could make future elections more competitive.
Check: Receiving at least 2% would give the Lincoln Party easier ballot access for four years. Whether that produces more competitive elections depends on whether credible candidates subsequently use that access and attract substantial voter support.
Lauri Shillings
Claim: Shillings says additional citizenship-document rules could disenfranchise eligible voters.
Check: Name changes and documentation discrepancies can create administrative complications for eligible citizens. Supporters of stricter requirements argue that standardized documentation is a reasonable method of confirming eligibility. The practical scale of either effect is disputed.
Claim: Shillings’ campaign could affect Libertarian ballot access.
Check: Indiana explicitly links political-party ballot status to performance in secretary of state elections. Her vote share therefore has consequences for the Libertarian Party beyond determining who wins the office.
Supporter Voices
Published reporting contains substantially more statements from candidates, political officials and organized groups than interviews with ordinary Indiana voters. The voices below should therefore be understood primarily as institutional or political supporters rather than a representative sample of the electorate.
U.S. Senator Jim Banks endorsed Engling after withdrawing his earlier support for Morales, describing Engling as a conservative who would keep elections secure and support Indiana businesses.
Bayh has received support from organized labor groups, VoteVets and Democratic organizations around Indiana. His supporters generally emphasize his military background, calls for an office audit and focus on voting access.
Ballard has attracted several supporters with Republican backgrounds, including former Lieutenant Governor John Mutz and former officials from Republican administrations. Supporters describe his campaign as an opportunity to create an alternative political path outside the two major parties.
The Libertarian Party of Indiana is actively supporting Shillings, emphasizing not only her candidacy but the importance of maintaining the party’s ballot status and representation on election boards.
How This Race Is Being Framed
Engling frames the election primarily around conservative election administration, citizenship requirements and continuity with Republican state government while separating himself from Morales’ controversies.
Bayh frames it as an accountability election, arguing that the office needs new management, an audit and a less partisan approach to election administration.
Ballard presents the race as a challenge to the two-party structure itself. For him, winning the office is only part of the goal; establishing the Lincoln Party as a continuing ballot option is another.
Shillings combines traditional Libertarian concerns about government power and voting restrictions with the practical objective of preserving her party’s place in Indiana elections.
The result therefore carries several meanings at once: who administers Indiana elections, whether Democrats can break a three-decade Republican hold on the office, whether a former Republican mayor can establish a viable new political label, and whether Libertarians can maintain or improve their ballot status.
Related Links
- Indiana Election Division: Candidate Information
- Indiana Capital Chronicle: Candidate Forum
- Engling Wins Republican Nomination
- Bayh Wins Democratic Nomination
- The Lincoln Party and Ballot Access
- Indiana: What the Secretary of State Does
Discussion Questions
- Which responsibilities of the secretary of state matter most to voters?
- How should election officials balance election security with ease of voting?
- Should Indiana require additional proof of citizenship to register or vote?
- Should a secretary of state publicly support candidates in elections the office administers?
- Would an independent audit improve public confidence in the office?
- Should Indiana make it easier for independent and minor-party candidates to qualify for the ballot?
- Would adding more viable political parties improve political competition?
- Is mailing every voter a personalized election guide a worthwhile use of public money?
- How much should controversies involving an outgoing officeholder affect voters’ assessment of a new nominee from the same party?
- Should increasing voter turnout be a major responsibility of the secretary of state?
