Biography
Max Engling is the Republican nominee for Indiana Secretary of State. He won the nomination at the June 20 convention over incumbent Diego Morales, after about 12 years working in Congress, most recently for U.S. Sen. Jim Banks.[1][2][3][5]
Engling earned a bachelor's degree from Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis in 2010 and a graduate degree from the U.S. Naval War College in 2020.[3]
He spent 12 years on Capitol Hill, working as a Republican staffer for a U.S. House committee (House Administration, according to his campaign), as an aide to then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and as an aide to Sen. Banks.[4][2] In early 2025 he became Banks's central Indiana regional director and adviser.[5] He lost the 2024 Republican primary for Indiana's 5th Congressional District.[3]
Engling, 39, won the nomination at the state party convention in Fort Wayne on June 20, 2026, defeating Morales and Knox County Clerk David Shelton.[5][3]
- 1.Indiana Secretary of State election, 2026 · Ballotpedia · 2026-10-19 Reference
- 2.Indiana secretary of state hopefuls clash over voting rules, office audit · Indiana Capital Chronicle via Indiana Public Media · 2026-08-27 News report
- 3.Max Engling · Ballotpedia Reference
- 4.Ballotpedia candidate profiles and survey summaries, Indiana Secretary of State 2026 · Ballotpedia Candidate Connection · 2026 Candidate's own words
- 5.Republican nominee for Indiana secretary of state · Indiana Capital Chronicle · 2026-06-20 News report
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.