INDIANAPOLIS — Micah Beckwith is in the homestretch. His voice is tired, his schedule is still packed, but he's nearing the finish line of an unusual race he began nearly two years ago.
"It was about two years go when the seed was planted where I was like I had to run for lieutenant governor," Beckwith said.
That's not a race Hoosiers normally hear about. That's because this is the first time anyone remembers someone actually campaigning for the position.
"This was an office in Indiana that was being undervalued, I would say," Beckwith said. "I won't say underutilized because the lieutenant governors we've had in the past have done a good job of utilizing the office. But the people don't value it the way we're supposed to, which is 'hey, this office belongs to us.'"
"I think what you see here is really a clarification of the process because most of the time, I think people watching do assume it's just the governor candidate's decision," University of Indianapolis Political Science Professor Laura Merrified Wilson said. "And that's not actually the case. It's decided by delegates."
In Indiana, voters elect party delegates in the May primary. Those delegates nominate the lieutenant governor candidate at the party convention. Historically, that's been whoever the person running for governor prefers. But Beckwith says hopefully not this time.
"We've always seen it as an office that does the bidding of the governor, and that's not really how it was created," Beckwith said. "We should have a say in who's in there and what they're doing, and I think it would be healthier for the whole state if that was the case."
So this weekend, at the GOP state nominating convention, Beckwith will have to convince about 1,800 party delegates to choose him over gubernatorial candidate Mike Braun's preferred choice, State Rep. Julie McGuire. He knows it's an uphill battle.
"Oh for sure!" Beckwith said. "Yes, it's the establishment versus the people. But I wouldn't have it any other way."
Beckwith has been campaigning across the state for more than a year, telling delegates about his background growing up in an agricultural family. Today, he's a pastor, business owner and podcaster. He says it all puts him in a unique position to be able to lead.
Priority number one, Beckwith says, is the economy.
"People are, they're frustrated," Beckwith said. "We seem to be raising taxes, growing government even here in Indiana, and so there's a frustration. There's certainly a battle between the establishment and the grass roots."
Beckwith said he hopes to be able to bridge the gap between grass roots Republicans and what he called the establishment.
Even if he doesn't win the seat, Beckwith says he'll still consider his campaign a victory.
"I think for many years to come, hopefully what we've done is we've now set up Indiana to have competitive races in that nominating seat for lieutenant governor. But we've also spread the truth," Beckwith said.
Despite repeated attempts to reach Rep. McGuire through the Mike Braun campaign, 13News was told she wasn't available to be interviewed.
The Democratic candidate for governor, Jennifer McCormick, has not yet announced her preferred running mate.
The filing deadline for the Democratic lieutenant governor nomination is next month.