5 candidates will be considered during Thursday caucus
Tallian resigned after 16 years in office
Five candidates are hoping to replace Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Portage, for the 4th District Indiana Senate seat. Democratic Party leaders will vote for Tallian’s replacement at a Thursday caucus.
After 16 years in state government, Tallian filed her resignation Sept. 30, more than a year before her term ends Jan. 1, 2023. Her resignation is effective Nov. 1.
“Being a Democrat in the Indiana Senate is a really hard job,” Tallian previously said. “After 16 years, I’ve had enough.”
Because she represents portions of Porter and LaPorte counties, the Indiana Democratic Party will have a caucus to appoint her replacement, she said.
The party has scheduled a caucus for 7 p.m. on Thursday at the USW Local 6787 Union Hall, 1100 Max Mochal Highway, Chesterton, officials said.
Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Mike Schmuhl said in a statement that Tallian’s successor “will share the same values of creating a better future for Hoosier families” in the district and throughout the state.
“The winner of this election will be a new voice for Democrats, who’ll continue to advocate for livable wage jobs for workers, affordable and accessible broadband internet, and fully-funded public schools,” Schmuhl said in the statement. “Democrats will continue delivering solutions to today’s problems for Hoosiers while the other side has focused more on manufactured culture wars than legitimate ideas.”
During the caucus, the members will consider these candidates:
Becky Mateja Lombardini, a Porter resident who helped run North Township Trustee Frank Mrvan’s successful primary
campaign to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Gary. She ran an unsuccessful campaign for Porter County commissioner against incumbent Jim Biggs, R-North, in 2020.
Deborah Chubb, of Michigan City, is the executive director of Indiana Women’s Action Movement, which recruits, trains and empowers Democratic women running for the state legislature. Chubb is also a Michigan City Area Schools Board of Trustees member.
Todd Connor, of Michigan City and a veteran, is the chief executive officer of Veterans for Political Innovation, which aims to make democracy more competitive and less polarized. He is also the founder of Bunker Labs, which helps the military community start and grow businesses.
The Rev. Michael Cooper is a youth and young adult pastor at Metropolitan Community Church in Illiana, a church that focuses on gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer spirituality. He ran an unsuccessful 2019 campaign for Portage City Council as a Green Party candidate.
Rodney Pol, of Chesterton, is the corporation counsel for the City of Gary and previously a deputy public defender for the Indiana State Public Defender’s Office.
Porter County Democratic Party Chairman Drew Wenger said the precinct committee chairs of the 94 precincts within Porter and LaPorte counties have been invited to the caucus to vote for the next senator.
Once caucus rules are approved, each candidate will give a three-minute speech about who they are, Wenger said, and then the precinct committee chairs will cast their ballots.
To win, a candidate needs to receive 50% of the vote plus one, Wenger said.
Votes will be cast until a candidate receives the proper number of votes, so there could be multiple rounds of voting, Wenger said.
If there are multiple rounds of voting, the candidate with the fewest number of votes in a round is removed from the next ballot, he said.
Tallian “has been an absolute asset to the party” for 16 years, Wenger said, and “deserves a good break after that amount of time of just beating her head against the Republican machine” while being successful in getting legislation passed.
“The next officeholder, we are looking for somebody that will have the endurance to hold up because we recognize that our role here, as the minority party for now, we’re going to have to take some time to build up our offense and slowly take back the state,” Wenger said.