Former Indiana Attorney General, Curtis Hill, is running for governor in the 2024 Republican primary. Hill initiated his campaign in July 2023, saying he would bring the transparency, efficiency, effectiveness and leadership he brought as Attorney General as governor in his announcement.
According to his campaign website, Hill’s key issues include putting Indiana first, restoring justice, restoring faith in Indiana’s institutions, supporting law enforcement, investing in students, standing up against “radical gender theory,” revitalizing the state economy, nourishing Indiana agriculture, supporting small businesses, defending the second amendment and restricting abortion access.
If elected, Hill plans to audit the state government to find unnecessary expenditures, so lawmakers can make budget cuts according to his website. He also plans to prioritize working with law enforcement agencies on recruitment, removing “gender ideology” and critical race theory from classrooms and to support legislation that restricts access to abortion, though he doesn’t list any specific policy. Hill doesn’t define “gender ideology” or “radical gender theory” on his website.
As Attorney General, Hill said he prohibited the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles from allowing residents to choose any gender besides male or female on their driver's licenses.
Hill has also developed a six-point economic plan as a part of his campaign to streamline and propel Indiana’s economic growth. The plan’s six points notably includes reducing Indiana’s gas tax back to 2017 levels. In 2017, the Indiana gas tax was 28 cents per gallon according to an article from the Indianapolis Star. In July 2023, the gas tax rose to 34 cents a gallon.
He plans to reduce the Automatic Taxpayer Refund to the original reserve of 10% rather than the current 12.5%, cutting state’s corporate income tax to 3.5% from 4.9%, implementing a zero-based budget for the state that would require state agencies and departments to justify each taxpayer dollar they want to spend, eliminate the young earner income tax for young professionals and entrepreneurs aged 18-35 and eliminate the state income tax on retirement benefits income for those over 65.
As part of his plan to restore justice, Hill plans to advocate for law enforcement and fight to provide training, funding, resources and protection to police officers across the state. Hill also plans to authorize law enforcement to retroactively target criminal organizations and build collaboration between municipal, county and state police departments.
To combat illegal immigration, Hill said on his website he would not hesitate to deploy the Indiana National Guard to defend the border. Hill also said he would continue to block illegal immigrants from receiving financial assistance and state welfare benefits.
Hill plans to hire more investigators, fund new resources for law enforcement and implement a statewide initiative to shut down sex and labor trafficking. He also plans to support legislation that blocks children from accessing explicit content and increase penalties for fentanyl dealers.
He wants to defund needle exchange programs and create multi-jurisdictional drug enforcement teams to stop the flow of illegal drugs on major interstate highways.
Along with serving as Attorney General from 2017-2021, Hill previously served as Elkhart County prosecutor, where he currently lives, according to his campaign annoucement. During his time as Attorney General, Hill said he stood alongside former President Donald Trump to advocate for the National Child ID Act, which would have given attorney generals resources to provide identification kits for missing children according to his website.
The Indiana Supreme Court suspended Hill’s law license for 30 days in 2020 due to allegations that he groped four women, including a state lawmaker. Hill denied the allegations and the court found substantial evidence that Hill committed acts of misdemeanor battery.
He lost his bid for reelection in the primary to Todd Rokita following the allegations. Gov. Eric Holcomb and several other state Republican leaders called for Hill’s resignation after the allegations went public.
Hill also lost a congressional bid in 2022 to replace U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski, who died in a car crash during her term.
Hill’s campaign team could not be reached for comment.
