By Niki Kelly | Editor-in-Chief
“Putting all of those things together, being able to build the coalition to get priorities accomplished is something that none of the other candidates can say. They don’t have that experience.” — GOP secretary of state nominee Max Engling
Our third profile in the secretary of state’s race introduces you to Max Engling and how the unexpected Republican nominee rose to the spot. Look for our final installment later this week.
Hoosiers around the state gathered for more No Kings protests, this time focusing on early voting.
Trillions in data center investment is outpacing even the railroad expansion boom of the past.
Plus, a commentary making the case against a key constitutional change.
Secretary of State candidate Max Engling speaks with a delegate at the Indiana Republican Convention in Fort Wayne on Saturday, June 20, 2026. (Photo by Tom Davies/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
Engling aims for quick jump from unknown staffer to statewide Indiana office
By Tom Davies
Max Engling was a twenty-something Republican staffer for an obscure congressional committee when Kevin McCarthy first encountered him more than a decade ago.
McCarthy soon hired Engling for his office while working his way through Republican leadership positions to become speaker of the House.
Engling now has a huge chance as he’s leading the Republican ballot as the party’s secretary of state candidate with the charge of keeping Beau Bayh — and Indiana’s best-known Democratic name — from winning a statewide office for his party for the first time since 2012.
COMMENTARY
Currently, Indiana law requires that all offenses are bailable, except murder or treason, and further provides judges with discretion to balance individual liberty with public safety. (Getty Images)
Public Question 1: What Indiana's ballot doesn't tell you
By McKenzie Conrad
Early voting is now open in Indiana, and with that comes a powerful question on every Hoosier's ballot about one of the most fundamental protections in our justice system: the presumption of innocence and right to remain free while awaiting trial: Public Question 1.
Indiana lawmakers have proposed an amendment to Article 1, Section 17 of the Indiana Constitution, which defines the right to bail for people accused of crimes other than murder and treason. That doesn't mean everyone gets to go home while awaiting trial, but it does mean they have a constitutional right to seek release on bail.
NATIONAL NEWS
Work continues on the new QTS data center in Eagle Mountain, Utah, on April 17, 2026. Today’s data center buildout has become the largest industrial boom since the railroad era of the 19th century, with $10 trillion in investment and almost twice the economic impact. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
Data centers are now the largest financial bet in US history
By Rob Henderson
The sheer size of investment in data centers is drawing concern as it surpasses all other historical booms and crowds out other more job-creating ventures.
Until now, no industry had driven the U.S. economy with such force since the railroad expansion of the late 1800s, when titans battled one another to lay the transcontinental tracks that would connect America from coast to coast.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Thanks for reading Fast Break. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.