Hill wins GOP nod for attorney general, McCormick for schools chief

4:02 PM UPDATE --  After close votes forced three ballots, Curtis Hill emerged as the Republican nominee for Indiana Attorney General.

Hill, the Elkhart County prosecutor, led all three ballots, finally grabbing the official nomination on the last vote beating former Attorney General Steve Carter 908 to 602. That margin gave him the majority of the votes and secured the nomination.

“Thank you very much for your support,” Hill told the state convention. “I look forward to energizing this party.”

Hill also beat out State Sen. Randy Head and Assistant Attorney General Abby Kuzma. Because a majority of the votes was required to win the nomination, the state convention delegates had to vote three times before Hill finally won. Kuzma was dropped off after receiving the fewest votes on the first ballot. Head was then knocked out after the second vote.

Hill will face Democrat Lorenzo Arrendondo in November as both men look to replace current Attorney General Greg Zoeller, a Republican.

3:21 PM UPDATE --  The Republican race for Attorney General will go to a third and final ballot after no candidate came away with a majority.

With 451 votes of more than 1,500 ballots, Sen. Randy Head was dropped from the ballot, leaving Curtis Hill and Steve Carter to face off in the final ballot.

Hill, the prosecutor from Elkhart County, has received the most votes on both ballots but hasn’t been able to get a majority of the votes. On the second ballot he received 620 votes to Carter’s 489.

Abby Kuzma, the fourth candidate in the race, received just 76 votes on the first ballot.

The eventual nominee will go on to face Democrat Lorenzo Arrendondo in November.

EARLIER -- Jennifer McCormick will be the Republican nominee for State Superintendent after a resounding win over challenger Dawn Wooten.

GOP state delegates also ended the attorney general dreams of Assistant Attorney General Abby Kuzma. None of the four candidates reached a full majority of votes. When that happens, party rules stipulate the candidate receiving the lowest number of votes must be dropped from the ballot.

Delegates will vote again with their only options now down to Steve Carter, Randy Head and Curtis Hill. If the second ballot doesn’t produce a majority winner, the lowest vote getter will again be dropped and another vote will be taken.

McCormick, current superintendent of Yorktown Community Schools, will face incumbent Democrat Glenda Ritz in November. After a single round of voting, McCormick garnered 1,030 votes to Wooten's 574.

McCormick, who touted her experience as a K-12 educator and leader, said the current Indiana Department of Education administration is hurting Indiana schools.

“There is no leadership and no vision,” McCormick said.

As a former principal and now a superintendent, McCormick said she has the ability to bring the focus back on teachers and students and end the “political squabbling.”

Despite having a history of voting in Democratic primaries, which her opponent called her out on, McCormick received wide support from the 1,700 delegates at the State GOP convention.

This story will be updated.

Zach Osowski is the statehouse reporter for The Evansville Courier & Press.

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