Editors note: This is part of a series of stories covering the 2024 elections. Read the rest of the stories here.
Destiny Scott Wells is running to become the Democratic nominee for Indiana’s attorney general, in hopes of becoming the first Democrat to serve in the position in since 2001.
“I am running for Attorney General because Hoosiers deserve an Attorney General who will put them first,” Wells said in a November 2023 press release.
Wells, a Martinsville, Indiana native, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Indiana University in 2006 and a juris doctor from the University of Texas in 2011.
Wells served in the military for more than 20 years, enlisting in the Army National Guard at 19, according to her campaign website.
She held a variety of law, intelligence and contracting positions in the military and was deployed in Afghanistan from October 2016 to November 2017. She currently serves as U.S. Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel.
“In the military I found what many of us are looking for: a steady paycheck, health care, a path toward retirement, and the ability to serve my country and community,” Wells said on her campaign website. “And as a military intelligence officer, I have seen first-hand the state of democracy across the world.”
Wells has also served in local, state and federal government litigation positions, most recently as Indiana deputy attorney general from 2018-19 and associate corporation counsel for the City of Indianapolis in 2020.
She has served as deputy chair for coalitions and expansions for the Indiana Democratic Party since 2021.
Wells ran for Indiana Secretary of State in 2022 but lost to Republican Diego Morales, who received 54.1% of the vote. She received 40.2% of the vote.
“We still finished plus five on the general ballot in front of the other Democrats,” Wells said in an interview. “That was a great sign that we had something special.”
According to the press release, Wells’ campaign is running on three priorities: protecting medical privacy, supporting workers’ rights and getting back to serving Hoosiers.
Wells said protecting medical rights is what mobilized her to run for Attorney General in the first place.
“We’ve seen the office now manipulated in that it is pressuring hospital corporations, pressuring the medical community to give up information — private information — about our health records,” she said. “It's such a far overreach into the doctor’s room.”
Wells referenced House Bill 1426, which requires a hospital to ensure a woman who has given birth in a hospital, is eligible and is not at harm has the option to receive a reversible birth control implant after giving birth. The implant prevents pregnancy and can be removed at any time.
“What we need is an attorney general who is going to safeguard Hoosiers from these atrocious bills,” Wells said.
The bill has been subject to criticism recently, after intrauterine devices, IUDs, were written out of the bill after an anti-abortion group’s lobbying.
To protect workers’ rights, her second priority, Wells would start with expanding Indiana’s labor divisions.
“If you look to other states, they have very expansive labor divisions, workers’ rights divisions,” she said. “Indiana has none of that in their Attorney General’s office.”
Wells said the office has not been reimagined since Indiana’s Right-to-Work law was passed in 2012. The law says an individual cannot be required to join or remain a member of a labor organization or pay dues, fees or assessments as a condition of employment.
“People are understanding as workers that they have more rights,” she said. “Even the barista in Starbucks should have more rights.”
Wells said Indiana is not meeting its obligation to workers as a state. The state’s union membership rate was 8% in 2023, which is 2% below the national average rate.
“This is a conversation that demands more attention and demands more resources from the Indiana Attorney General’s office,” she said.
Wells’ third priority is getting back to serving Hoosiers, according to a press release. She said Attorney General Todd Rokita is serving national talking points, rather than Indiana.
“We are everywhere but here in Indiana,” she said. “[Rokita] is trying to pursue a national agenda of undercutting executive authority.”
She said Rokita’s platform has expanded to areas it should not be, citing his involvement with Montana's Keystone XL pipeline, California’s climate policy and the United States’ southern border.
She also referred to Rokita’s “Eyes on Education” initiative, which has received local and national attention. The initiative allows students, parents and teachers to submit and view instances of “objectionable” materials or policies.
“It is one of a kind in this nation,” Wells said. “We are the test kitchen, unfortunately, because Todd makes it that way.”
The initiative was launched earlier this month and includes material from several school districts across the state.
“We need to get back to the business of serving Hoosiers,” Wells said.
