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Donald Rainwater

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Donald Rainwater
Image of Donald Rainwater
Elections and appointments
Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

Warren Central High School

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Navy

Years of service

1982 - 1990

Personal
Birthplace
Indianapolis, Ind.
Religion
Christian: Baptist
Profession
Project manager
Contact

Donald Rainwater (Libertarian Party) ran for election for Governor of Indiana. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Rainwater completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Rainwater ran for governor on a joint ticket with lieutenant gubernatorial candidate William Henry (L).

Biography

Donald Rainwater was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1982 to 1990. He graduated from Warren Central High School. His career experience includes working as an IT project manager and software engineer.[1]

Elections

2024

See also: Indiana gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2024

General election

General election for Governor of Indiana

Mike Braun defeated Jennifer McCormick, Donald Rainwater, and Christopher Stried in the general election for Governor of Indiana on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Mike Braun
Mike Braun (R)
 
54.4
 
1,566,081
Image of Jennifer McCormick
Jennifer McCormick (D)
 
41.1
 
1,183,741
Image of Donald Rainwater
Donald Rainwater (L) Candidate Connection
 
4.5
 
129,781
Image of Christopher Stried
Christopher Stried (Independent) (Write-in) Candidate Connection
 
0.0
 
52

Total votes: 2,879,655
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Indiana

Jennifer McCormick advanced from the Democratic primary for Governor of Indiana on May 7, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jennifer McCormick
Jennifer McCormick
 
100.0
 
180,577

Total votes: 180,577
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Indiana

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Indiana on May 7, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Mike Braun
Mike Braun
 
39.5
 
237,125
Image of Suzanne Crouch
Suzanne Crouch
 
21.7
 
130,219
Image of Brad Chambers
Brad Chambers
 
17.5
 
104,723
Image of Eric Doden
Eric Doden
 
11.8
 
71,031
Image of Jamie Reitenour
Jamie Reitenour Candidate Connection
 
4.8
 
28,774
Image of Curtis Hill
Curtis Hill
 
4.6
 
27,750

Total votes: 599,622
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Governor of Indiana

Donald Rainwater defeated Rhonda Greene in the Libertarian convention for Governor of Indiana on March 2, 2024.


Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Campaign finance

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Rainwater in this election.

2020

See also: Indiana gubernatorial election, 2020

Indiana gubernatorial election, 2020 (June 2 Republican primary)

Indiana gubernatorial election, 2020 (June 2 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for Governor of Indiana

Incumbent Eric Holcomb defeated Woody Myers and Donald Rainwater in the general election for Governor of Indiana on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Eric Holcomb
Eric Holcomb (R)
 
56.5
 
1,706,727
Image of Woody Myers
Woody Myers (D)
 
32.1
 
968,094
Image of Donald Rainwater
Donald Rainwater (L)
 
11.4
 
345,567

Total votes: 3,020,388
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Indiana

Woody Myers advanced from the Democratic primary for Governor of Indiana on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Woody Myers
Woody Myers
 
100.0
 
408,230

Total votes: 408,230
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Indiana

Incumbent Eric Holcomb advanced from the Republican primary for Governor of Indiana on June 2, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Eric Holcomb
Eric Holcomb
 
100.0
 
524,496

Total votes: 524,496
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Governor of Indiana

Donald Rainwater advanced from the Libertarian convention for Governor of Indiana on March 7, 2020.

Candidate
Image of Donald Rainwater
Donald Rainwater (L)

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates


2018

See also: Indiana House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Indiana House of Representatives District 24

Incumbent Donna Schaibley defeated Naomi Bechtold and Donald Rainwater in the general election for Indiana House of Representatives District 24 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Donna Schaibley
Donna Schaibley (R)
 
55.6
 
20,618
Image of Naomi Bechtold
Naomi Bechtold (D) Candidate Connection
 
41.6
 
15,428
Image of Donald Rainwater
Donald Rainwater (L)
 
2.8
 
1,026

Total votes: 37,072
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 24

Naomi Bechtold advanced from the Democratic primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 24 on May 8, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Naomi Bechtold
Naomi Bechtold Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
2,241

Total votes: 2,241
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 24

Incumbent Donna Schaibley advanced from the Republican primary for Indiana House of Representatives District 24 on May 8, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Donna Schaibley
Donna Schaibley
 
100.0
 
7,380

Total votes: 7,380
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Indiana State Senate elections, 2016

Elections for the Indiana State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on May 3, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was February 5, 2016.

Incumbent Luke Kenley defeated Donald Rainwater and Paula Gilliam in the Indiana State Senate District 20 general election.[2][3]

Indiana State Senate, District 20 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Libertarian Donald Rainwater 4.77% 3,392
     Democratic Paula Gilliam 26.79% 19,043
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Luke Kenley Incumbent 68.44% 48,651
Total Votes 71,086
Source: Indiana Election Divsion


Paula Gilliam ran unopposed in the Indiana State Senate District 20 Democratic primary.[4][5]

Indiana State Senate, District 20 Democratic Primary, 2016
Party Candidate
    Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Paula Gilliam  (unopposed)


Incumbent Luke Kenley defeated Scott Willis in the Indiana State Senate District 20 Republican primary.[4][5]

Indiana State Senate, District 20 Republican Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Luke Kenley Incumbent 60.75% 19,851
     Republican Scott Willis 39.25% 12,826
Total Votes 32,677
Source: Indiana Election Division

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Donald Rainwater completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Rainwater's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Donald Rainwater is a lifelong Hoosier. He graduated from Warren High School in Indianapolis in 1981. He then attended Bob Jones University for one semester, before enlisting in the United States Navy in August 1982. Donald was honorably discharged from the Navy after eight years of service to our country as a Yeoman Second Class.

Donald has held positions as a computer applications instructor, manager of a residential property, and manager of a retail store. He has spent the past 20 years as a software engineer, with the past 7 years in management positions. Donald is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a certified Scrum Master (CSM).

Donald and his wife have a blended family that includes six children and three grandchildren.
  • Reduce your overall tax burden by eliminating state individual income tax and the personal property tax on your primary residence;
  • Reduce regulations and licensing that stifles the growth of small business;
  • Reform criminal justice and invigorate our economy through decriminalization and legalization of all forms of cannabis in Indiana.
Taxation, Government Accountability and Spending, Educational Freedom.
To oversee the Executive branch of state government and safeguard the individual rights of the citizens of the state.
That means that the governor is ultimately responsible for everything that the Executive branch does and the governor must be engaged in oversight of the Executive branch on a daily basis.
A spirit of collaboration and shared commitment to safeguard the rights of the citizens of the state.
Reducing corruption, fraud, waste, and abuse in state and local government.
Only until the governor is able to reconvene the legislature.
I believe that government belongs to We, The People, and we must do a better job in demanding accountability from our state government.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Note: Rainwater submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on October 1, 2024.

2020

Donald Rainwater did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign website

Rainwater’s campaign website stated the following:

  • Taxation - Taxpayer Protection Pledge
As your Governor, I pledge to oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes in Indiana.
This is consistent with the Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) Taxpayer Protection Pledge. You can learn more about Americans for Tax Reform at www.atr.org.
  • Taxation - Personal Income Tax
As your Governor, I will work with members of the General Assembly to abolish the personal income tax in Indiana.
Nine states do not tax personal income: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.
  • Taxation - Residential Property Tax
As your Governor, I will work with members of the General Assembly to abolish the residential property tax on primary residences in Indiana.
This will eliminate the possibility of asset forfeiture, due to unpaid property taxes. It will also eliminate the annual increases in Hoosiers' mortgage payments, due to annual increases in assessed value for property tax assessment.
  • Taxation - Vehicle Excise and Registration
As your Governor, I will work with members of the General Assembly to reform vehicle registration to be required only when transfer of ownership occurs. You will register the vehicle one time, when you purchase the vehicle or otherwise transfer title.
This will eliminate the annual ritual of renewing your vehicle registration and paying the registration fees and excise taxes.
  • Taxation - Roll Back Gasoline Excise Tax
As your Governor, I will work with members of the General Assembly to roll back the 2017 legislation which now puts our gasoline excise tax at 30 cents per gallon. I believe that the indexing of the gasoline excise tax for inflation is contrary to the spirit of "no taxation without representation" and needs to be repealed as part of this roll back.
  • Individual Rights - Property Ownership
As your Governor, I will make the abolition of asset forfeiture in Indiana a priority. This will include criminal justice reform and property tax reform.
The government should not be able to take your property involuntarily, for any reason.
  • Individual Rights - Decriminalization and Legalization of Cannabis (Marijuana)
As your Governor, I will work with members of the Indiana General Assembly to decriminalize both medical and recreational cannabis.
Military veterans and others who suffer from psychological, emotional, and physical pain should not be denied a proven, viable alternative to highly-addictive narcotics. Medicinal cannabis has been proven to effectively aid cancer patients in managing the many side effects of chemotherapy and other treatments.
Anyone who has been convicted of a marijuana-related, non-violent drug offense should have their sentence commuted immediately and their conviction should be expunged.
If beer, wine, and liquor are legal for adult recreational consumption, so should all forms of cannabis.
  • Individual Rights - Constitutional Carry
As your Governor, I will work with members of the General Assembly to pass Constitutional Carry legislation in Indiana.
The right to bear arms shall not be infringed.
www.the2aproject.com
  • Individual Rights - Medical Freedoms
As your Governor, I will work with members of the General Assembly to ensure that Hoosier's medical freedoms are safeguarded and that individuals can make their own choices regarding medical treatments and health coverage. Hoosiers should not be forced by government mandate to purchase health insurance. Hoosiers should not be forced by government mandate to get a vaccine. Hoosiers should not be forced by government mandate to wear a mask.
I will also work to strengthen Hoosier's legal protections associated with living wills and medical power of attorney.
Hoosiers must be allowed to make their own health care decisions and the health care decisions for their minor children.
  • Individual Rights - Adulthood
As your Governor, I will work with members of the General Assembly to enact legislation that establishes the age of adulthood in Indiana at 18 years old.
As part of this legislation, we will establish a standard that resets the statutory age for purchase or consumption of alcohol and nicotine, as well as any other current or future minimum age requirement intended to imply an adult decision.
If a person is old enough to make the decision to serve in the United States military, then they are old enough to make all of the decisions pertaining to their health and wellness.
  • Individual Rights - Occupational Licensing
As your Governor, I will work with members of the General Assembly to bring about significant reform in the area of professional and occupational licensing.
Hoosiers cannot pursue their own occupational Happiness when government regulations for occupational licensing create artificial barriers to entry into a career field by requiring expensive educational requirements and licensing fees.
While I agree that doctors and lawyers are occupations which may lend themselves to very stringent licensing requirements, I also strongly believe that hairdressers, plumbers, electricians, auctioneers, real estate agents, and many others could and should be "licensed" or "certified" by their respective professional associations. I also believe that many of these occupations would be candidates for on-the-job training programs or high school programs.
  • Individual Rights - Abortion
Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on all sides, I personally identify as a Pro-life Libertarian. I have come to believe that abortion violates the Non-Aggression Principle (NAP), which is one of the cornerstones of Libertarianism.
I believe that abortion does not violate the Non-Aggression Principle in emergency situations where the mother's life is in jeopardy or when the mother has been sexually assaulted.
I do not believe that government should use tax dollars to fund any private organization.
  • Education Reform - Maximize School Choice
As Governor of the State of Indiana, I will work with members of the Indiana General Assembly to maximize parent's ability to choose the school option which is best for their child. I will work to ensure that Hoosier parents have school choice options, such as public school, private school, online school, charter school, and homeschool.
I will work to ensure that education funding is available for every child whose parents want it, regardless of their school choice, no strings attached. If parents wish to opt out of school funding, they will be able to do so, again, no strings attached.
  • Education Reform - ILEARN
As Governor of Indiana, I will support the decoupling of ILEARN scores from teacher performance evaluations. I wouldn't stop there. I would ask the General Assembly to pass legislation to abolish statewide standardized testing. I would seek legal council to determine if the state can cancel the current 3 year, $45 million contract.
Both ISTEP and ILEARN have been a boondoggle that has detracted from our children's educational experience at the cost of the Hoosier taxpayer.
  • Education Reform - Vocational Education
As your Governor, I will work with members of the General Assembly and the State Department of Education to simplify our state's high school graduation requirements in order to encourage the redevelopment of high school vocational education programs.
In Indiana, we do not need to enhance post-secondary vocational education opportunities in Indiana. We need to reestablish vocational educational opportunities in our K-12 public schools.
Too many of our Hoosier young people leave high school without any exposure to the hundreds of career-oriented vocational opportunities which are available and may be more desirable to them.
Let's provide vocational and technical educational opportunities to our young people while they are in high school BEFORE they lose hope and turn to criminal activity, not after they become incarcerated.
  • Education Reform - Localize Education Control
As your Governor, I will work with members of the General Assembly to reduce the size and scope of the State Department of Education.
We will work together with the State Department of Education to return the decision-making power to our local School Boards and School District administrators.
By reducing the size and scope of the State Department of Education, we will free up funding which can be redirected to our classrooms, instead of being spent on multiple levels of oversight. This will create a better situation for both our teachers and our students in Indiana's public schools.
  • Ballot Initiatives, Referendums, and Recalls
As your Governor, I will work with members of the General Assembly to enact legislation establishing ballot initiatives, referendums, and recalls in the State of Indiana. These three processes will go a long way toward reaffirming government in Indiana Of The People, By The People, and For The People.
For more information about ballot initiatives, referendums, and recalls, visit the National Conference of State Legislatures at www.ncsl.org.
  • The 10th Amendment
As your Governor, I will do everything within the purview of my office to ensure that the State of Indiana upholds the 10th Amendment to the US Constitution.
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."[6]
—Donald Rainwater's campaign website (2020)[7]

Campaign finance summary


Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


Donald Rainwater campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024Governor of IndianaLost general$118,047 $108,972
Grand total$118,047 $108,972
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

See also


External links

Footnotes