Property Tax Disaster About to Get Worse

Let’s talk about the latest in the Terre Haute state Senate race. This thing is getting ridiculous. Quick recap. Greg Goode is the incumbent senator. He voted against redistricting. Trump supporters got mad and organized with groups like Turning Point USA to find a challenger. It took them a while. I actually know someone who was asked to run. The guy thought it was hysterical because he would’ve been kicked off the ballot anyway. He hadn’t voted in enough Republican primaries — and honestly, he barely votes at all. He told me, “Man, these guys must not be doing their research.” They were begging him to run. Eventually they landed on Brenda Wilson, a Vigo County Councilwoman. This Senate district includes Vigo, Clay, and Sullivan counties. So Brenda Wilson becomes the Trump-backed challenger. Then another woman enters the race: Alexandra Wilson. We don’t know exactly why she entered. But supporters of Brenda Wilson say it’s a tactic to confuse voters — two candidates with the same last name. Then attorney Jim Bopp, a prominent conservative lawyer who has argued before the Supreme Court, stepped in. He said Alexandra Wilson might not even be eligible to run because she may have been convicted of a felony. In Indiana, if you’ve been convicted of a felony, you can’t run for public office. Alexandra Wilson’s attorney responded: no, she was charged with a felony when she was younger but ultimately pled guilty to a misdemeanor. If that’s true, she’s eligible. This went before the State Election Board. The board split: * Both Democrats said it was a misdemeanor and she’s eligible. * Both Republicans said it amounted to a felony and she’s not eligible. Jim Bopp wasn’t satisfied with that. So now the case is in Clay County court. Alexandra Wilson’s attorneys asked for a change of judge, which they’re allowed to do. But before recusing himself, Judge David Thomas issued an order. He directed county clerks in Clay, Vigo and Sullivan counties to immediately stop mailing absentee ballots for Senate District 38. By law, absentee ballots are supposed to start going out Monday ahead of the May 5 primary. So now we have chaos. Complete chaos. You need time to mail ballots, receive them, fill them out, and send them back. But the judge said he wants to pause things until the case is resolved. He even said during the hearing, “Let’s just stop. We’re in a minefield. Let’s not walk forward.” The strange part is that this judge isn’t even the one who will hear the case. And he wasn’t sure if the injunction should be open-ended or have a deadline. Alexandra Wilson’s attorneys pointed out that the case could take weeks. You can’t stop absentee voting for weeks. But as of the Capital Chronicle’s report, ballots were still halted. They don’t know who the judge will be. They don’t know where the case will be heard. And people are supposed to start voting soon. Early in-person voting will start soon too. It’s a mess. Honestly, this should be simple. It should be easy to determine whether someone has been convicted of a felony. There should be court records. When someone pleads guilty, the judge reads the charges back to them and confirms they understand. So why is this taking so long? It shouldn’t be that complicated. I talked to someone yesterday who lives in the district. They’re pretty tuned in to local politics. I asked them whether Brenda Wilson actually has a chance. They said people are seeing through her. Why? Because she’s part of the Vigo County government, and Vigo County is a dumpster fire. Terre Haute is not exactly known as a model of governance. She can’t run on that record. There’s even drama right now about funding a warming center for homeless residents. The city wanted to fund it so people wouldn’t freeze during winter. But the county government hasn’t been paying its share. Even that has turned into a mess. This is the government Brenda Wilson helps oversee. I asked the person: does she have a chance? They said no. Because she doesn’t stand for anything. Her campaign message is basically: Trump supports me. And people are asking a simple question: What does that even mean? Indiana already supports about 95% of what Trump wants. So what exactly is she promising to do differently? Redistricting isn’t even an issue anymore. That battle is over. It won’t affect Trump again. Yet that’s the whole campaign. Someone even gave me a campaign mailer. Now, many of you know my family is from Terre Haute. I’ve got a lot of connections there. This mailer was paid for by Club for Growth Action, a third-party group supporting Brenda Wilson. And it really shows how unserious this campaign is. They included Trump’s endorsement message. The problem? Trump got her job title wrong. He wrote that Brenda Wilson is a “Vigo County Commissioner.” She’s not. She’s a county councilwoman. Trump doesn’t even know who these people are. I asked another candidate Trump's endorsed once: if you walked in front of Trump right now, would he know your name? Of course he wouldn’t. And that’s the absurdity of these campaigns. They’re not about policy. They’re not about records. They’re not about ideas. It’s just, "Trump likes me.” Even when Trump doesn’t know who you are. Look, I’m not endorsing Greg Goode. He’s made plenty of votes I disagree with. I’m not telling anyone who to vote for. But it’s ridiculous to think your life will improve because someone runs on nothing but a Trump endorsement. Especially when Trump himself couldn’t even get the candidate’s office right.