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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana schools Superintendent Glenda Ritz took several swipes at Republican Gov. Mike Pence on Thursday as she launched her bid to possibly unseat her frequent Statehouse rival.
Ritz's entry into the Democratic gubernatorial primary sets up a potentially divisive three-way race in an election that the party perceives a chance to end a 12-year Republican hold on the office. This spring, Pence drew criticism over the religious objections law he signed and his efforts to shift authority over education policy away from Ritz.
Ritz stressed the role education plays in economic development during her seven-minute speech outside Ben Davis High School on the west side of Indianapolis, where some supporters wore "Glenda is great" T-shirts.
"Today in Indiana, out-of-touch Republican leadership at the Statehouse embrace policies that tear Hoosiers apart instead of bringing us together," Ritz said.
The 60-year-old Ritz was a little-known suburban Indianapolis school librarian before upsetting Republican state superintendent Tony Bennett in 2012. Her campaign was largely run on social media and driven by teachers' anger over education changes pushed by Bennett under former Gov. Mitch Daniels.
She is the only Democrat among Indiana's elected state officeholders and has clashed frequently with Pence and Republican lawmakers over control of education policy — including the state's A-F grading system for schools, the use of private school vouchers and the state takeover of poorly performing schools.
Ritz said she decided to enter the governor's race after this year's legislative session, during which Republicans pushed through measures shifting some authority from her office to the GOP-controlled State Board of Education, although lawmakers backed off a proposal to remove her as the board's chairwoman midway through her term.
Republicans have criticized Ritz's management of the Department of Education and blamed her for troubles with this spring's ISTEP standardized exam, which was to have its testing time roughly double to 12 hours before she took steps just days before testing started to shorten the exam by three hours.
State Republican Chairman Jeff Cardwell defended Pence, who is set to formally announce his bid for a second term on June 18, as "a strong conservative voice whose principles and policies have continued to move Indiana forward."
"Glenda Ritz does not have a successful track record of leading those in her own department, let alone managing contracts or implementing effective policies," Cardwell said.
Ritz's stances on many issues aren't known, but on Thursday she called the backlash over the religious objections law a "disaster" caused by Republicans.
"We must respect the personal and civil rights of all of Indiana's citizens and bring forward legislation that respects the rights of all Hoosiers," she said.
Pence will enter the campaign with huge advantages in fundraising and organization, but his approval ratings tumbled after the national backlash over the religious objections law, which critics viewed as anti-gay and drew opposition from many Indiana business leaders before lawmakers revised the language. Pence doesn't yet face any competition for the Republican nomination, but two wealthy GOP businessmen have talked about launching or supporting challenges to him.
Other Democrats who've entered the governor's race are former Indiana House Speaker John Gregg, who narrowly lost to Pence in the 2012 election, and state Sen. Karen Tallian of Portage.
Gregg, who campaigned as a moderate before his narrow loss to Pence in 2012, already has collected endorsements from some labor unions and said in announcing his 2016 run in April that Pence's focus on social issues has given the state "a bad name."
Tallian entered the governor's race last month by saying she wanted to be "the voice for progressive Indiana," but she has little campaign organization and lacks name recognition outside her northwestern Indiana district.
Ritz can still seek a second term as schools chief because the superintendent candidate will be picked after the primary during the party's 2016 state convention. But she said her focus is on the governor's race.
Ritz said she was "frustrated" by Pence's effort to draw increased state support for the private school voucher program and charter schools.
"We need a leader that understands the connection between education and the economy rather than simply having a partisan agenda to create more schools," she said.
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