Indiana’s law banning transgender youth from girls school sports has emerged as a potential wedge issue in the race for secretary of state — despite the office having no role in the topic.

Republican nominee Max Engling and his campaign jumped on comments from Lincoln Party candidate Greg Ballard saying he regarded the law adopted in 2022 as “unnecessary.” Engling characterizes the former Republican Indianapolis mayor’s position as out of touch with conservatives.

Ballard calls Engling’s reaction a distracting “purity test,” while Democratic candidate Beau Bayh says he supports the current law and that the dustup is over a “nonissue.”