6/18/26 - Statehouse Happenings: Republicans Get Nasty as Convention Nears

6/18/26 - Braun rips IURC, Bayh blasts Republican corruption, Delegates diss on convention strategy

Today’s episode of The Rob Kendall Show opens with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approving a $71 million rate increase for AES Indiana customers. Rob says Governor Braun owns the decision because he appointed three members of the five-member board, including IURC president Andy Zay, who voted for the increase. Rob argues Braun campaigned on affordability but then put an institutional insider in charge of utility regulation. Rob says Braun does not get to complain about the rate hike after appointing the people who approved it. He argues the governor could have asked every appointee whether they would support rate increases, and if he did not, that is on him. Rob also says the utility companies already operate as government-protected monopolies, so approving higher rates while profits are strong is another example of regular people paying more because of state-backed insiders. The show also ties the AES increase to the broader issue of data centers and rising electricity demand. Rob argues lawmakers helped create the problem by funding the IEDC’s incentives for data centers, then allowing utilities to pass the costs on to ratepayers. He says he is not anti-data center, but opposes poor and middle-class Hoosiers being forced to subsidize major corporations through higher taxes, higher bills, and state-backed giveaways. Another major segment breaks down Rob’s interviews with pledged Republican delegates in the Secretary of State race. After talking with supporters of Diego Morales, Max Engling, Jamie Ritenour, and David Shelton, Rob says the clear theme is that Shelton appears to be many delegates’ second choice. He argues that matters because no candidate is likely to win on the first ballot, so the race will depend on where supporters go after their preferred candidate drops out. The episode closes with Rob laying out the possible convention math. He says Max Engling may lead on the first ballot, but if he does not build a large enough lead, Shelton could become the compromise candidate as other camps look for an acceptable alternative. Rob says the big questions are whether Shelton stays viable early, whether Diego Morales finishes ahead of him, and whether delegates stick around through later rounds of voting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

6/18/26 - Statehouse Happenings: Republicans Get Nasty as Convention Nears

The Indiana Republican Convention is Saturday in Fort Wayne. The race to be the party's Secretary of State nominee is getting nasty. Attack ads are coming at the candidates from all directions. Who will prove victorious in what promises to be a wild day? Rob Kendall, Jim Merritt, and Abdul-Hakim Shabazz discuss on Statehouse Happenings. You can find more information at RobKendallShow.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

6/17/26 - Ballard says he'll get signatures, how to avoid a school referendum, social security chaos

Today’s episode of The Rob Kendall Show opens with Brownsburg schools avoiding a referendum while more than 100 school referendums are expected across Indiana this fall. Rob argues that referendums should not be necessary if tax caps are real, and says Brownsburg proved schools can avoid raising taxes through hard work, cuts, creativity, and cooperation with other local government entities. He contrasts that with other districts that are putting tax hikes on the ballot rather than doing the harder work of budgeting. Rob says Brownsburg’s example matters because it is statistically one of the top school systems in Indiana and still found a way to avoid asking taxpayers for more money. He argues school administrators and boards often use referendums because they are lazy or uncreative, not because there is truly no other option. Rob also says Governor Braun and Micah Beckwith should be held to their past claim that they would help defeat referendums created by Senate Bill 1. The show also covers the Indianapolis City-County Council advancing major vehicle tax increases to qualify for state road funding. Rob explains that the state offered Indianapolis $50 million in road money if the city brought matching funds, but says the city did not have to raise taxes to do it. He argues Democrats initially framed the deal as if the state forced a tax hike, but after Republicans clarified the money could come from cuts, the council moved forward with tax increases anyway. Another major topic is Governor Braun creating another high-paid advisory role, this time for outgoing Commerce Secretary David Adams to oversee Braun’s $1 billion life sciences initiative. Rob compares it to the Adam Krupp situation and says Braun keeps moving people into vague “advisor” jobs without clear public accountability. He also criticizes the decision to give Adams a $75,000 performance bonus shortly before he leaves the commerce role. The episode closes with Rob blasting the IEDC and the broader Republican economic development system. He says the same organization Braun once treated as troubled enough to audit is still handing out money, bonuses, and powerful jobs to connected people. Rob argues the IEDC remains a symbol of how Indiana Republicans talk about reform while continuing the same insider-driven system of corporate giveaways, land acquisition, and taxpayer-funded economic development deals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

6/16/26 - Kleinhelter loses certification, English explains charges, Gentry rips assessment system

Today’s episode of The Rob Kendall Show focuses on Greg Ballard’s effort to get on the ballot as an independent candidate for Indiana Secretary of State. Rob explains that Ballard needs 36,943 verified signatures by the end of June, and Abdul reported he had turned in just over 35,000 so far. Rob walks through how county officials verify signatures before they go to the state, and says Ballard likely needs to submit well above the minimum to survive challenges. Rob says Ballard is what makes the Secretary of State race truly interesting because he gives voters an option outside the normal Republican-versus-Democrat fight. If Ballard makes the ballot and reaches 10% of the vote, his party could gain primary ballot access for the next four years, creating a real third-party threat in Indiana. Rob argues that could especially disrupt Republicans by giving disaffected conservatives and independents somewhere else to go. The show also criticizes Indiana’s ballot access system as deliberately stacked against regular people. Rob says requiring nearly 37,000 verified signatures, or forcing candidates into expensive party convention systems, keeps normal Hoosiers from running unless they have major money or kiss the ring of one of the two major parties. He argues that Ballard’s struggle shows how hard Republicans and Democrats have made it for independents to participate. Another major segment covers Dubois County Sheriff Tom Kleinhelter giving up his law enforcement certification while remaining sheriff. Rob explains the background: a State Board of Accounts audit flagged questionable commissary fund spending, State Police built a probable cause affidavit, but charges tied to the underlying spending were never filed after Mike Braun became governor. Rob says the case looked like it was being swept under the rug until former State Police Superintendent Doug Carter discussed it publicly and Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears later filed charges over Kleinhelter allegedly lying to investigators. The episode closes with Rob arguing the Kleinhelter case shows two tiers of justice in Indiana: one for regular people and one for the politically connected. He says Kleinhelter may keep the elected title of sheriff, but losing law enforcement certification is still a major embarrassment and proves the state needs to reform how sheriff misconduct and commissary funds are handled. Rob also criticizes the lack of transparency around why the original case was not prosecuted and why the investigator who worked on it was punished. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

6/15/26 - Diego Morales has melt down, Max Engling takes fire, USA makes peace with Iran

Today’s episode of The Rob Kendall Show focuses on a chaotic new moment in the Indiana Secretary of State race, starting with Diego Morales’ meltdown at a Fifth Congressional District event. Rob plays audio of Morales grabbing the microphone after the other candidates had spoken and angrily responding to criticism, including once again bringing up the India trip even though Rob says no one had mentioned it. Rob argues the clip shows Morales is rattled, unhinged, and still unable to clearly answer who paid for his trip to India. Rob revisits the India controversy, reminding listeners that Morales went overseas on what was presented as an economic development trip despite the Secretary of State having no economic development authority. He also highlights Raju Chinthala’s involvement, the taxpayer contract with Morales’ office, and questions about visa access and venture capital connections. Rob says the question still matters because Morales’ office claimed official business, and the public deserves to know who funded the trip. The show also criticizes Republicans who now act concerned about Morales after years of enabling him. Rob points to lawmakers, Jim Banks, Todd Rokita, and others who supported or funded Morales’ office while ignoring repeated concerns. He argues the party does not really want Morales investigated or held accountable; it simply wants him replaced quietly so the money, donors, and broader Republican brand are not damaged. Another major topic is a website making allegations about Max Engling, including old misdemeanor claims and alleged accounts on adult hookup sites. Rob says he does not like Engling or what he represents politically, but he is not willing to condemn someone over unclear misdemeanor allegations from nearly 20 years ago or consensual adult behavior from his early twenties. He says there are plenty of legitimate reasons to criticize Engling, especially his ties to Jim Banks, without relying on innuendo. The episode closes with Diego sending a mass text to delegates attacking Engling and comparing him to “Republican Hunter Biden.” Rob says that kind of attack shows how ugly the convention race has become and how much damage Republicans have done to themselves by ignoring Morales for years. He argues the party created this mess by refusing to deal with Morales when the warning signs were obvious, and now every faction is trying to survive the fallout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]