Top Democrats in Indiana are confident that Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence’s record on reproductive rights and LGBTQ equality will boost their candidate’s chances of beating Pence’s lieutenant governor in the upcoming gubernatorial race.

Pence narrowly defeated Democrat John Gregg for governor in 2012, and the two were again locked in a close race for Indiana’s highest office before Pence was selected as Donald Trump’s running mate.

Republican leaders in the state last week nominated Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb to appear on the ballot in November. Holcomb’s close ties to Pence, who is known for some of the most stringent anti-choice and anti-LGBTQ policies in the nation, will prove to be a liability among Indiana voters, leaders across the aisle told Rewire at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

Indiana House Democratic Leader Scott Pelath said in an interview that Pence’s sweeping anti-choice law, HB 1337, which includes banning pregnant people from terminating a pregnancy due to fetal anomalies or the sex or race of a fetus, drew the ire of even those who typically oppose legal abortion.

Pelath blamed the Republican supermajority in the state legislature for nevertheless ensuring HB 1337’s path to Pence’s desk.

“Mike Pence didn’t even give it a second thought,” Pelath said. “Where I’m going with this is, Eric Holcomb will be no different.”

A federal judge temporarily blocked the law from taking effect July 29 as scheduled.

Pence has faced mounting backlash not only for his anti-choice policies, but also his signature Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which allows people and companies to refuse service or otherwise discriminate if behaving otherwise would violate their religious beliefs. The act is “another embarrassment to the state,” in Pelath’s words.

“They all play into a narrative that the Republican establishment in Indiana is willing to sacrifice economic development, and tolerance, and a good image for our state, for their extreme right-wing agenda,” Pelath said.

John Zody, chair of the Indiana Democratic Party, added to the list of grievances Pence’s refusal to apply for $80 million in federal funding to expand pre-K in Indiana. Zody, in a separate interview, stressed the economic impact of Pence’s discriminatory policies, which have reportedly cost the city of Indianapolis up to a dozen conventions and $60 million.

“The person who was closest to Mike Pence’s agenda, quite literally, is now the candidate for governor,” Zody said.