Indiana Senate race: Rokita had his own college indiscretion in same year as Messer's DUI

U.S. Senate candidate Todd Rokita has attacked his Republican primary opponent, Luke Messer, for not disclosing a pair of DUIs from the 1990s.

But Rokita has his own alcohol-related indiscretion, though it wasn't a DUI and he was not formally charged. 

In 1990, the same year as Messer received his first DUI after driving his car into a ditch, Rokita was arrested in Bloomington after a police officer pulled him over for speeding. 

"Upon stopping the vehicle, the officer did speak with the driver who seemed to be intoxicated and who also provided the officer with a false identification," according to records from the Bloomington Police Department. "Theodore Rokita, 20, was arrested for illegal consumption and possession of false I.D."

Rokita, who was a student at Wabash College at the time, was also issued a citation for speeding, records show.

Rokita declined multiple interview requests made through a campaign spokesman. 

His campaign acknowledged that Rokita was underage and had closed alcohol in the car, but said he passed a sobriety test and that the arresting charges of underage consumption and possession of a false ID were dismissed.

It’s unclear from the available records and the Rokita campaign’s response if the preliminary charges were dropped because of his participation in a diversion program or other reasons.

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His campaign spokesman, Nathan Brand, said there is no comparison to Messer's DUI convictions in 1990 and 1996. He called Rokita's arrest a distraction.

"This is another desperate attempt by Luke Messer to distract from being a repeatedly convicted DUI driver who failed to disclose his reckless drunken conduct when seeking to replace an elected official killed by a drunk driver," Brand said. "As a 20-year old, Todd Rokita was cited for speeding and everything else being alleged was dismissed. There is no comparison to Messer’s repeat convictions for reckless drunk driving, endangering himself and others."

Messer's campaign emphasized that it had no part in disclosing Rokita's arrest and said people shouldn't be judged for mistakes made in their 20s.

"It says a lot about Todd Rokita's character that he would throw stones at others when he's made the same type of mistakes in the past," Messer campaign manager Chasen Bullock said.

IndyStar reported last week that Messer did not disclose his drink driving history to many local Republican party officials who chose him in 2003 to replace state Rep. Roland Stine, a Shelbyville schoolteacher who was killed by a drunk driver.

Most local Republican leaders who IndyStar spoke with about the decision to replace Stine said they were unaware of Messer's convictions at the time. Some didn't know until last week and said Messer should have disclosed the DUIs, especially given the circumstances of Stine's death a few weeks earlier.

The Statehouse seat helped launch Messer's career as an elected official. He currently represents Indiana's 6th congressional district. 

Rokita, who represents Indiana's 4th congressional district, has attacked Messer repeatedly over the issue in recent days, including during a televised debate Monday in Fort Wayne.

"Luke Messer withholds his driving record when he is going to replace someone in office who was killed by a drunk driver," Rokita told a crowd at the Allen County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner. "The precinct committeemen, and we have a lot in the room, never would have allowed that. Luke Messer is not who he says he is."

Messer has said he never tried to hide his record and that he has apologized for his mistakes when his political opponents raised the issue during later congressional races.

Andy Downs, a political scientist at Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne, said Rokita's arrest "moves him somewhat off the moral high ground."

But Downs said two factors may limit any negative impact for Rokita in the Senate race. First, the allegations against him appear to have been dropped. Second, Rokita has been careful to tie his criticism of Messer to the question of disclosure, rather than to the DUIs themselves.

"He didn’t criticize the indiscretion, he criticized the lack of disclosure," Downs said. "And he wasn’t convicted."

Messer and Rokita are competing with former state Rep. Mike Braun for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Indiana's May 8 primary. The three-way contest has been called the nastiest GOP primary in the nation. 

The winner will have an opportunity to take on incumbent Sen. Joe Donnelly, who is widely considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats in 2018, given that President Donald Trump carried Indiana by a wide margin in 2016.

Call IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at (317) 444-6081. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.