State’s top Dem talks strategy
Fundraising, recruiting, shaping new message lead the party’s agenda
So far in his career, Indiana’s new Democratic Party Chairman Mike Schmuhl is most known for serving as the campaign manager for Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 presidential campaign.
Now, Schmuhl, 38, is tasked with leading the state’s Democrats in a supermajority Republican state, replacing former chairman John Zody. The South Bend-native is focused on fundraising, the party’s messaging, recruiting candidates for all levels of elected office and working with officials.
Schmuhl said he’s always been interested in politics and journalism, and he worked at the Washington Post for three years. But, Schmuhl said he ultimately chose to return to South Bend to work in Indiana politics.
“I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to give back to the city that raised me, and now it’s a real honor to serve in this position,” Schmuhl said.
In 2010, Schmuhl managed former U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly’s 2nd Congressional District reelection campaign. He also advised campaigns of 9th Congressional District Democratic candidate Shelli Yoder in 2016 and 2nd Congressional District Democratic candidate Mell Hall in 2018. Both lost.
Schmuhl helped with Buttigieg’s South Bend mayoral campaign, and went on to serve as chief of staff when Buttigieg was elected. In the 2020 election, Schmuhl said he served as campaign manager for Buttigieg’s presidential run.
Schmuhl and Buttigieg went to high school together, Schmuhl said, and he said he’ll never forget growing the presidential campaign from being the first employee and working with limited funds to a 600-member team with more than $100 million in resources.
Working on Buttigieg’s presidential campaign, Schmuhl said his biggest take away was that politics and campaigning “really does come down to relationships and people.”
“It was a once in a lifetime campaign experience,” Schmuhl said.
Initially, Schmuhl said he didn’t want to run for the state chairmanship, “but then a few things changed” like the election of President Joe Biden and the selection of Jaime Harrison to lead the Democratic National
Committee.
What really shifted his thinking, Schmuhl said, was the Jan. 6 insurrection. After reflecting on his career in working on Democratic campaigns, Schmuhl said he had a change of heart.
“Who am I to just kind of sit on the sidelines and observe when there’s so much going on in our state, in our country,” Schmuhl said. “I really felt that the best use of my time would be to step up and be involved, and so I changed my mind and I’m glad I did.”
Lake County Democratic Party Chairman James Wieser said he’s “incredibly excited” for Schmuhl to lead the state party because he has a lot of experience working campaigns and has national contacts.
“He brings an energy and a focus to the position that our party needs,” Wieser said. “He’s the right person at the right time to lead our party.”
Gary Mayor Jerome Prince, who was recently elected chair of the 1st Congressional District for the state party, said he looks forward to working with Schmuhl.
“He brings great energy and experience to the Indiana state Democratic Party, and he brings a great network,” Prince said.
As chairman, Schmuhl said his overall goal is to ensure Democratic candidates win, after “a couple rough cycles,” which would help the state “become more competitive and make Indiana more fair and equitable when it comes to political representation.”
“When there’s more people of both parties that are kind of balancing each other out, you get better ideas, you get better legislation, better laws and better outcomes for Hoosiers,” Schmuhl said.
To achieve that, Schmuhl said he will focus on raising money for the party “so we can fund the programs we want to do,” recruit “great” candidates to run for office and hire “a big team” at the state party.
From there, the party has to focus on “getting people to register to vote, getting people to the polls” and encouraging more women to run for public office, Schmuhl said. One way to do that is to partner and coordinate with different groups throughout the state.
“There’s so many groups out there with passion and I think bottling that excitement will be critical to our success,” Schmuhl said.
The goal in Republican-dominated counties, Schmuhl said, is to “show up and not just offering an alternative or responding to what Republicans have been saying or doing” it’s letting the voters know what the Democratic Party stands for “and we’re speaking to you about issues that matter to you.”
The party’s messaging should focus on Biden’s achievements: Letting voters know that the American Rescue Plan “is working”; discuss the multiple infrastructure benefits the American Jobs Plan and how the plan will directly impact Indiana; but also “talk about the things we’ve always talked about as Hoosier Democrats” like increasing minimum wage, affordable health care, public education and increasing teacher pay, Schmuhl said.
The plan is a “multiyear strategy,” which should be successful given the calendar ahead: 2021 as “rebuild, re-strategize” year because there are no elections, then the 2022 midterms, followed by a 2023 municipal year, and then the 2024 presidential election, Schmuhl said.
The midterms are “a real opportunity for us to target some races and make gains county, statewide,” and then, at the municipal level, the party can target mayoral races and city council officers “and make gains that way,” Schmuhl said.
“I do like our calendar. I want to work with folks across our state in different counties and at different levels to make sure that we are fielding really strong candidates, and making those gains cycle in and cycle out,” Schmuhl said.
For about half his life, Schmuhl said, the state has been represented by Democrats and the other half of his lifetime the state has been represented by Republicans “at various levels of government and politics.”
“I think these last few cycles have definitely been tilted to the right, but it doesn’t need to be that way forever. That’s what I am advocating for and pushing for,” Schmuhl said. “We have to get back to more competition and better representation in our government.”