State Treasurer
Daniel Elliott is the 56th Indiana State Treasurer and is running unopposed for the Republican nomination at the June 20, 2026 convention in Fort Wayne. No Democrat has filed. Unless something changes between now and November, Elliott will win a second term without a contested race.
That is the entire electoral story. The more interesting question is what the man actually does with the office.
Elliott came to state government from an unusual direction. He spent 25 years in information technology -- software engineer, then software architect, then co-founder of Intelli-Leap, a software consulting and cybersecurity firm he ran with his wife. His public service before the Treasurer's office was local: Morgan County Council member, president of the Morgan County Redevelopment Commission, and chair of the Morgan County Republican Party. He holds a bachelor's in computer science and business from Utah Valley University. He is the first Latter-day Saint elected to statewide office in Indiana.
He won the 2022 Republican convention by just three votes, defeating Lana Keesling (now Indiana GOP chairwoman), Elise Nieshalla (now the State Comptroller), and Pete Seat. He then won the general election with 60.9% against Democrat Jessica McClellan.
What the Treasurer Actually Controls
The Treasurer is Indiana's chief investment officer. The office manages approximately $16 billion in state assets on a daily basis. That is not a ceremonial number. The Treasurer serves as sole trustee of the Indiana State Police Pension Trust, chairs the Indiana Education Savings Authority (which manages Indiana529 plans with $7.5 billion in assets and 440,000 accounts), chairs the Indiana Bond Bank (which provides municipal financing), chairs the Statewide 9-1-1 Board, and sits on 14 additional state boards including the Indiana Finance Authority and the Indiana Public Retirement System.
Elliott's office claims $1.24 billion in General Fund investment earnings since January 2023 -- more than the prior ten years combined -- and over $500 million in the most recent fiscal year alone.
The Treasurer has also used the office's investment authority to make political statements. Elliott invested $110 million in State of Israel bonds by 2024, arguing they outperform U.S. Treasury notes while also serving as a political statement against the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement — an international campaign pressuring Israel over its treatment of Palestinians. He and Comptroller Nieshalla jointly championed divestment from Chinese entities and ESG-focused funds, consistent with anti-ESG legislation passed by the Indiana General Assembly in 2023.
Auditor of State
Indiana's Auditor of State has been doing business as the "State Comptroller" since July 1, 2023, when House Enrolled Act 1001-2023 (the state budget bill) changed the title. The reasoning was straightforward: the Auditor of State does not audit anything. State and local government audits are performed by the State Board of Accounts; individual tax audits by the Department of Revenue. The office's actual function is accounting, payroll, and disbursement -- which is what "comptroller" means.
The Indiana Constitution still refers to the position as Auditor of State. No constitutional amendment has been passed. The ballot may still use the constitutional title.
Elise Nieshalla (R, Incumbent)
Elise Nieshalla was appointed State Comptroller by Governor Eric Holcomb on December 1, 2023, after Tera Klutz resigned to take a private-sector position. Nieshalla is filling the remainder of Klutz's term through January 2027 and is seeking a full four-year term at the June 2026 Republican convention. She was the first candidate from any party to announce for the office.
Her background is in real estate investment and county government. She spent 22 years in real estate -- acquisitions, financing, property management. She served on the Boone County Council starting in 2016, rising to council president in 2021, and simultaneously led the Indiana County Councils Association. She was named 2018 Indiana County Councilor of the Year. She holds a bachelor's from Oral Roberts University and a master's from Indiana University, where she also taught as adjunct faculty in the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
Nieshalla is not new to statewide convention politics. She ran for State Treasurer at the 2022 Republican convention -- the same race Elliott won by three votes. Her appointment to the comptroller position a year later gave her the statewide office she had narrowly missed through the electoral process.
What the Comptroller Actually Controls
The Comptroller's office manages four operational areas: accounts payable (paying state vendors), accounting and reporting (the statewide accounting system and annual comprehensive financial report), local government distributions (routing property tax revenue to counties, cities, towns, and schools), and payroll for more than 33,000 state employees. The office also collects debts owed to the state, examines and settles claims against the state, and operates the Indiana Transparency Portal.
Nieshalla has used the office to advance the same anti-ESG and anti-China agenda as Treasurer Elliott. She directed the Indiana Deferred Compensation Committee to eliminate two funds -- one with Chinese entity exposure, one prioritizing ESG criteria -- and has called on the SEC to delist China-based companies from U.S. exchanges. She has also begun exploring AI-based tools for detecting waste, fraud, and abuse in state financial data.
John Schick (L, Libertarian Nominee)
John Schick is a management consultant from Chesterton in Porter County who works in data and analytics. He was nominated at the Libertarian Party of Indiana convention on March 22, 2026, at the Grand Wayne Convention Center in Fort Wayne.
This is his fourth time on the ballot for this office. He ran as the Libertarian nominee for Auditor of State in 2014 (4.4%, 58,332 votes), 2018 (3.5%, 77,101 votes), and 2022 (3.5%, 64,496 votes). He also ran for Indiana House District 3 in 2010. In 2022, he reported $0 in contributions and $0 in expenditures.
Schick's core argument is structural: the office responsible for overseeing state finances should not belong to the same party that controls state spending. "Policymakers and the auditor tend to be playing on the same team," he has said. "People should consider that it's probably best not to have the auditor on the same political party." It is a reasonable point about institutional design. It will not change the outcome.