Donald Rainwater, who ran as a Libertarian in Indiana’s gubernatorial election this year, placed first with a majority of votes cast in a single Brown County precinct—a result later confirmed by local election officials as accurate.
According to the Brown County Democrat, unofficial results following the election showed Rainwater winning Brown County’s Jackson Township Precinct 2 decisively, earning more votes than both the Republican and Democratic nominees combined. The reason for his strong performance in this specific precinct remains unclear. Local media also reported that election officials initially questioned the results, but confirmed their accuracy after a retally.
| Gubernatorial Ticket | Party on Ballot | Vote Totals | Vote Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Braun and Micah Beckwith | Republican | 116 | 24.22% |
| Jennifer G. McCormick and Terry Goodin | Democratic | 110 | 20.88% |
| Donald Rainwater and Tonya Hudson | Libertarian | 262 | 54.7% |
| Write-in | N/A | 1 | 0.21% |
Beyond his unique showing in Jackson Township, Rainwater’s 2024 campaign performance also ranked as the second-strongest showing of any Libertarian gubernatorial candidate in Indiana history, both in terms of total vote count and overall margin. It’s second only to his previous gubernatorial campaign.
In his first run in 2020, Rainwater earned 345,567 votes, amounting to 11.4% of the total. As a result, he placed ahead of the Democratic nominee in several counties, including Fulton, Wells, and Carroll. However, Independent Political Report found no record of him—or any prior Libertarian gubernatorial nominee—outright winning an individual voting location in Indiana. This recent local showing may therefore represent the first instance of a Libertarian gubernatorial candidate winning an individual precinct in the state, and with a majority.
I looked at the local news articles and Google Maps and saw that the Fruitdale Volunteer Fire Department was the voting location and that the Bill Monroe Music Park and Campground was across the road! Great voters and music!
Congratulations to the Indiana Libertarian Party, Donald Rainwater and the voters of Jackson Township Precinct 2!
One whole write-in vote in an electorate of almost 500, huh.
I was gonna say “good for whoever that voter was”, but then I read the only registered write-in candidate’s Ballotpedia questionnaire and, even worse, skimmed his campaign website… It left me feeling in need of a boiling shower and eye bleach. His (purported) ersatz-Monica Lewinsky’s embarrassed face and defeated slouch sum it up perfectly. What a (wannabe) sleazebag.