Far-right 'Liberty' ladies lose in GOP primary

House District 31 candidates demonstrated their target-practice skills. Pixabay .

MUNCIE — Three female GOP legislative candidates backed by far-right “Liberty” groups saw their campaigns to represent East Central Indiana in the Statehouse end on Primary Election Day.

Former Jay County school teacher Brittany Bridges Kloer had included photos of herself on the campaign trail at target practice: an axe-throwing venue in Redkey and a firing range in Union City.

One of her ads pledged that Kloer was “On Target” with the no-compromise National Association for Gun Rights, a more conservative alternative to the National Rifle Association. The “O” in “On Target” was a bullseye.

Another one of her endorsers, the Liberty Defense PAC — a “fully conservative” group that takes a “no-compromise view on the issues of the Sanctity of Life, the 2nd Amendment, and Religious Freedom” — promoted Kloer as one of its “fierce” patriots battling for “liberty over tyranny.”

But in the Republican primary on May 3, Kloer got outgunned by the more mainstream state Rep. J.D. Prescott, R-Union City, 58% to 42%, in House District 33 (including Portland, Winchester, Albany, Selma and Modoc).

On April 12, Prescott had posted a photograph of himself firing a weapon in a more serious-looking and crouched position than the upright shooting stance assumed by Kloer on March 6.

A real estate agent and ex-farmer, Prescott declared that he was the only candidate endorsed by the NRA (Kloer actually earned an “Aq” rating from the NRA, which is the highest rating that a candidate without a voting record can receive from the group).

Prescott became a newsmaker in the last session of the Indiana General Assembly with his bill to insert politics into what are now nonpartisan school board elections. The Indiana State School Boards Association helped defeat the legislation.

Meanwhile, in the GOP primary in House District 54, centered around New Castle, the Liberty Defense PAC-endorsed candidate, Melissa Meltzer, finished fourth out of eight candidates, with 11% of the vote. The incumbent Republican, Tom Saunders, is retiring.

The operator of a Christian counseling private practice, one of Meltzer’s updated Facebook profile pictures was of a massive elephant with huge tusks. When she announced her campaign, she appeared in a newspaper photograph alongside Rep. Curt Nisly, R-Milford.

Nisly is a controversial conservative firebrand who has been outspoken on issues like abortion, gun rights, religious freedom and the Republican governor’s handling of the pandemic. A Liberty Defense PAC hero, Nisly was trounced in the May primary by the establishment-backed Rep. Craig Snow, R-Warsaw, after redistricting put the two in the same territory.

A “RINO Hunter” (Republican in Name Only), Meltzer’s latest Facebook cover photo showed her being “On Target,” like Kloer, with the National Gun Rights Association.

Elsewhere, in Muncie, registered nurse Susan Dillon won the approval of another Liberty organization, Hoosiers For Medical Liberty, in her race against retired Muncie educator Dale Basham for the GOP nomination in House District 34. Running to the right of Basham, Dillon lost 61% to 39%. Basham will face Sue Errington, D-Muncie, in November.

Hoosiers for Medical Liberty is an organization whose agenda includes opposition to vaccine mandates and a willingness to lock horns with the GOP establishment on issues including bodily autonomy and medical liberty.

The May 3 primary turned out to be a bad day overall for Liberty-backed candidates across the state.

A post-election headline in The Indianapolis Star read, “Far right fails to overthrow establishment GOP in Indiana Statehouse races.”

Under the headline, “The ‘Liberty Defense’ GOP insurgency was a dud,” Howey Politics Indiana published a similar report.

BSU prof: Activists vs. professionals

The Liberty campaign “highlights the conflict between activists and more professional wings of the party, and this has been going on for a while now in both parties in fits and starts — some years see more challenges than others,” Chad Kinsella, an associate professor of political science at Ball State University, told me.

“As more seats in both Indiana and nationally are won in the primaries, the intra-party conflict becomes more prominent,” he went on. “Typically, the fight is usually an outsider-versus-establishment fight, or someone who has a cause that they feel the current ‘in’ person is not addressing with appropriate zeal.”

As the public becomes increasingly polarized, outsiders/activist will run on grounds that the office holder is not “ideologically pure enough, either liberal or conservative, and that, in fact,  they could do much better,” Kinsella said via email. “Sometimes these messages resonate with primary voters, particularly if they perceive that those in power are not responsive enough to the increasingly polarized needs of the party faithful.”

‘We are coming back stronger’

After the election, Hoosiers for Medical Liberty acknowledged that “Liberty took a hit” but questioned the GOP establishment’s that success. The establishment had to spend millions against Liberty candidates, some of whom won. The establishment also “enraged constituents” and freed Nisly from the constraints of the Legislature. “More Political Pain is in their future,” the group promised.

Similarly, Liberty Defense PAC vowed that “we are coming back stronger than before,” warning House Speaker Todd Huston: “Huston, you still have a problem.”

In a post-election statement that accused the media and politicians of lying, the PAC looked ahead to the launch of a new Liberty social media site; 15 Liberty candidates already making plans to run for the House in 2024; a Liberty Defense Academy that is in the works; a huge influx of people ready to join the movement; creation of a team of researchers and bill watchers for the Liberty News Network, and other initiatives.

Another Liberty-supported candidate from East Central Indiana, Andy Lyons, was heavily defeated by Rep. Ann Vermillion, R-Marion, in House District 31, which also includes Hartford City and Eaton.

Lyons is a retired Marion school teacher who founded the Tea Party Group of Grant County in 2009.

In the Wayne County region, Rep. Brad Barrett, R-Richmond, routed late-filing Liberty candidate Mark Pierce, who was approved by Indiana First Action — a group distrustful of the use of “black box voting machines” as opposed to paper ballots.

“We are aware of, and are analyzing, the questionable results from several races throughout the State including Curt Nisly’s results which do not appear to have fluctuated at any point throughout the count,” IFA reported after the election. “We will release our findings of these analyses soon.”

Susan Dillon responds

Retired nurse Susan Dillon ran to the right of Dale Basham for the Republican nomination for Democratic Rep. Sue Errington’s seat but sounded more moderate than other Liberty candidates.

For example, she didn’t “take the bait” during an interview with You Count Indiana, an IFA-related entity that doubts the safety and security of our election system.

Noting that Dillon was a rookie candidate, the interviewer said, “We need a lot of first-timers because we don’t like RINOs; we’re sick and tired of them.”

RINO, or Republican in Name Only, has been a favorite smear of Donald Trump’s to describe party moderates — especially those who aren’t loyal to him or who reject his “stolen election” stories.

Dillon sidestepped the RINO remark, launching into a canned response about her background before adding that she did not represent “just one political viewpoint” or one group of people but instead is someone who “listens to all positions” before deciding. From her comments, the interviewer concluded, “Wow, what a concept … So I’m glad to hear that you’re basically a Constitutionalist.”

Dillon told me that she answered many questionnaires in an effort to be as transparent as possible. One of those came from Hoosiers for Medical Liberty, a group with which her convictions aligned.

Dillon said she did not learn about the Liberty Defense PAC until after she had decided to seek election. Of Liberty Defense, she said:

“This group has identified something they see as an issue in our government and is taking steps to address it by using the system that is in place. Although I was not formally endorsed by this movement … I do respect the fact that they care enough to encourage common citizens to get involved and stand up for what they believe. This is how government is set up for the people. I see this as a positive thing.”

She went on: “I did not run my campaign in an attempt to overthrow the ‘GOP establishment.’ As with any campaign, there was misinformation spread about me, my motives, and my campaign in regard to this. However, I chose to run a positive campaign that highlighted my credentials as a candidate that would benefit our community.”

Brittany Bridges Kloer’s spokesman responds

When she ran against Prescott in the GOP primary two years ago, Kloer — now a career and technical education director who formerly taught agriculture at Jay School Corp. — appeared to be motivated by a desire to curb legislative interference in the classroom.

This time around, she signed on to the Liberty campaign to defeat the Republican super-majority in the Statehouse because it is not conservative enough. She was approved or endorsed by Hoosiers for Medical Liberty, Liberty Defense PAC and the National Association for Gun Rights.

“Furthermore, I am the ONLY candidate in this race who has a passing score from Hoosiers for Life and the ONLY candidate in this race who has publicly agreed to sign on to Curt Nisly’s bill to end abortion in Indiana,” she said on social media.

Kloer declined to share her thoughts for this story when I asked in an email:

“Can you tell me why you joined that (Liberty) movement and what your loss and the loss of most of the other Liberty candidates means going forward?

“Was your campaign a dud? Why didn't the Liberty wave carry you to victory? My first impression … of your latest  campaign is that you are a 'fierce' political gunslinger (firing range photo on Facebook and even axe-throwing for good measure, ha ha ) out to battle for liberty and freedom as defined by Liberty Defense.”

Kloer responded: “As you stated the election is over, I will pass on the interview. Your questions are leading and are worded in a hurtful way.”

Kloer had also campaigned as the pro-education, pro-agriculture, pro-town hall candidate in addition to her no-compromise stance on issues like medical liberty, abortion and gun rights.

As with other Liberty candidates, Kloer’s position as an outsider/activist taking on the GOP establishment was noticeable in campaign financing. During the pre-primary reporting period, Prescott reported more than $50,000 in cash on hand and contributions, compared to Kloer’s $4,410.

Prescott raised an additional tens of thousands of dollars in the weeks right before the election, including $25,000 from the House Republican Campaign Committee. His other contributors included farm, hardwood lumber, builders/contractors, bank, legal, real estate, firefighter, beverage and other PACs.

Kloer’s message resonated the least with voters in Delaware County, where she lost 74% to 26%, compared to losing only 51% to 49% in Prescott’s home county (Randolph) and also losing by fewer than 200 votes in her home base (Jay County).

After publication of this article, Kloer’s spokesman, Kristopher Bilbrey, sent me a statement, excerpted here:

The Liberty Defense PAC picked Brittany — they endorsed her, which we were pleased with. We talked (and continue to talk) frequently with those individuals and share a lot of the same beliefs. However, we must set straight your (or anyone else’s) belief that Brittany was focused on ANYTHING other than improving the lives of the citizens in District 33. That was/is/and will always be her only goal!

… her campaign for this office is and has been about trying to improve the communication between the State Representative and the citizens of District 33, which has been lacking under current Representative Prescott.

Moving forward she will absolutely continue that mission. Representative Prescott does not have a good track record of being open and transparent as a Representative …

He has really latched on to the idea of “submarine-style campaigning,” and he has allowed that to follow over into his actual service as an elected official … He has always tried to control the audience, the message and who gets it and how.

As far as other losses for the “liberty movement,” all that can be said is, the continued winnings of the “Establishment Republicans” haven’t done anything truly amazing for Hoosiers! We have an “Establishment Republican SuperMajority” that campaigns on the same promises every 2 & 4 years, and after they win and take office, nothing comes of their “campaign promises.”

We don’t look at the “movement’s” losses as complete flops … They certainly aren’t! A
look at the Finance Reports will show the “Establishment” more or less had to throw every dime they had into this election, and that is definitely a win! The “movement” is building and will, more than likely, be stronger next election.

In Brittany’s race she is closing the gap quickly on Mr. Prescott and in another 2 years even more people will be turned off by his inability to actually be a “Representative”.

Lastly, Brittany is “fierce”! She is a fierce defender of the United States and Indiana Constitutions! She wants Indiana to be the best it can be! We will not engage in conversation about how she is or isn’t seen with a “gun” given the fact that would never be asked of a male republican. Brittany is a citizen just as JD is and the rest of us. She loves the 2nd Amendment, just as she does the 4th, and the 5th, and the 1st... and all the rest!

And … no matter if it is “as a candidate”... or as “the most important role in American government and society... THE CITIZEN”, Brittany and those around her will continue to fight for the Constitutions of Indiana & America.

Previously, in Greater Muncie:

Basham, Dillon star in ‘The Voice’ competition

92 Ball State faculty take buyout