Max Engling, the Republican candidate for Indiana Secretary of State, is campaigning across the state, emphasizing his decade-plus of experience in Washington D.C. and his commitment to election integrity. Engling, who now lives near Cicero in Hamilton County, is aiming for a statewide office after his bid for a congressional seat fell short in 2024.
His current candidacy marks a significant opportunity for political redemption. Engling is leading the Republican ballot with the goal of preventing Beau Bayh, a Democrat with a well-known family name in Indiana politics, from winning a statewide office.
Engling moved back to Indiana with his young family in 2023, following a dozen years working in Washington. His career there began in 2011 on the staff of the House Committee on Administration, which handles federal election legislation and oversees internal House operations. He credits this time with providing him a strong background in election and voting policies, which are key functions of the secretary of state’s office.
More than a decade ago, Engling was a Republican staffer when he first encountered Kevin McCarthy, then a rising figure in Republican leadership. McCarthy soon hired Engling for his own office and later promoted him to a role overseeing funding for all 435 congressional offices and orientation programs for newly elected House members. McCarthy praised Engling's work ethic, stating he received many accolades based on Engling’s management and interaction with colleagues.
McCarthy, who became House Speaker in 2023, promoted Engling to member services director. Despite McCarthy’s desire for him to stay, Engling was already planning his return to Indiana. McCarthy acknowledged that Engling considered Indiana home and wanted to bring his family back, expressing his encouragement.
Engling, his wife Kelcey, and their four children moved to suburban Indianapolis in the summer of 2023. He soon entered the congressional race for the district where he had lived and married, after U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz announced she would not seek re-election. However, Spartz re-entered the race in early 2024, diminishing Engling's chances. He finished third in the Republican primary, receiving approximately 10% of the vote.
After his congressional campaign, Engling worked for several months at Beck’s Hybrid agricultural company. He then re-entered the political arena in early 2025 as central Indiana regional director for newly elected Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, a role that connected him with community leaders and Republican activists.
The opportunity for his current candidacy arose amid concerns over the reelection prospects of the incumbent Republican Secretary of State, Diego Morales. Engling said he was approached by Republicans to consider entering the race. He held off until Senator Banks withdrew his endorsement of Morales about a month before the state Republican convention. Banks then endorsed Engling, calling him “a key member of my team” and “a strong conservative,” and advocated for him at the convention where Engling secured the nomination.
In an interview at a Noblesville coffee shop, Engling asserted that he would be more vigilant than Bayh in enforcing voting laws. He cited examples from Los Angeles and New Jersey regarding election processes and ineligible voters, emphasizing the importance of strengthening Indiana's election integrity to avoid similar issues. He also highlighted his time in Washington as providing him with the necessary experience to navigate proposals through the General Assembly, claiming this experience sets him apart from other candidates.
Bayh, for his part, refutes arguments concerning his positions on election integrity, stressing his support for Indiana’s law requiring state-issued identification for voting. Bayh criticized Engling, suggesting it was “pretty hypocritical coming from him trying to make this race about national issues when he’s been in charge, working for the people of California and representing their interests in Congress.”
Bayh’s campaign has also aired television ads claiming Engling became a millionaire while working for Congress and traded tech stocks. These claims are based on Engling’s 2024 congressional candidate financial disclosure, which showed a net worth between $1.2 million and $2.7 million, including a Virginia home he and his wife sold for $1 million. The disclosure also indicated Engling owned stock in four individual companies, including shares in Nvidia.
Engling has called the insider trading claims “unequivocally false,” stating, “the four stocks I own are worth less than $50,000 total, and I have never sold them.”
Engling spent most of his teenage years on a small farm near Congerville, Illinois, where he was mostly homeschooled. In 2006, at age 19, he moved with his parents and seven siblings to Cicero in Hamilton County after his father took a new job in Indianapolis. Engling stated he worked in construction, restaurants, and other jobs to pay for college, graduating from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis in 2010. He said he was inspired by the tea party movement and decided to move to Washington to serve at the federal level, driven by strong conservative policy principles.
