Former area legislator picked for Democrats’ lieutenant governor

A former legislator from our area and Jackson County school superintendent has been picked to be the state Democrats’ candidate for lieutenant governor.

Terry Goodin, who was born in Seymour and lives in Austin, was chosen yesterday by Democratic Governor candidate Jennifer McCormick as her running mate. He spoke at a press conference yesterday.

Goodin served as superintendent of the Crothersville schools for 24 years and raises beef cattle on his Scott County farm. He was elected to the state legislature in 2000 representing Indiana’s House District 66, a position he held for 20 years. In 2017, he was briefly chosen to be House Minority Leader after a resignation.

Goodin graduated from Eastern Kentucky University, receiving a bachelors in 1989 and masters in history and secondary education in 1990. He earned a doctorate from Indiana University in Bloomington.

In 2022, Goodin was selected by President Biden to serve as state director of USDA Department of Rural Development for Indiana.

McCormick cited Goodin’s legislative and educational experience as well as his passion for rural Indiana in her announcement. She said Goodin “understands that to govern effectively for all Hoosiers, we must restore civility, common sense, and bipartisanship to the Statehouse.”

Indiana Democrats will formally choose their candidate at the state party convention on July 13th.

Last weekend, Indiana Republicans chose pastor Micah Beckwith as their lieutenant governor candidate, overriding the hand-picked choice of Governor candidate and U.S. Sen. Mike Braun for his running mate.

Audio courtesy of Network Indiana.