Thoughts on Racheal Bleicher vs Hunter Smith?

For those in District 24 (parts of Carmel, Westfield, Zionsville, and Sheridan), what’s the thinking about this race? We’ve been living with a Republican super majority for years, and Hunter just seems to be a willing follower of the party machine. I couldn’t tell you anything he’s done in his first term, aside from saying he was against redistricting before ultimately voting for it. (Which, again, was simply going along with the party’s wishes.)

Racheal seems to offer a real alternative, but is she trying to thread a needle? She’s quick to talk about her past as a Republican while explaining what moved her to the Democratic side. Does this give her credibility with conservative-leaning independents while still appealing to the base D voters? Or does her R past hurt her with the base while the D next to her name on the ballot works against her for Central Indiana independents?

It seems to be a bit of a tightrope she has to walk, and I’m curious if people think she’ll be able to pull out a win or if there are too many people in this area who will reflexively vote for the Republican even though he has no accomplishments to run on from his first term.