Democratic Party Chair Mike Schmuhl will not seek reelection at end of term

Indiana Democratic Party Chair Mike Schmuhl announced Saturday he will not seek reelection for the position at the end of his term in March.

Schmuhl became the chair of the Indiana Democratic Party in 2021. He previously ran Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 presidential campaign as well as former U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly’s (D-Ind.) reelection bid for the U.S. House in 2010.

Schmuhl didn’t give a reason for his departure, but said in a statement, “I know how hard it can be to be a Democrat in Indiana, and over the past four years we have placed our party on a path to future success.”

He touted the successes of the party in the last four years, including mayoral wins in Terre Haute, Evansville and Michigan City; tripling the number of overall donors; and attracting national funding for this year’s gubernatorial race.

“More Hoosiers have a Democratic mayor now than they did last year,” Schmuhl said. “I want to thank Hoosier Democrats for allowing me to do this work, and I look forward to the day when Indiana has a more balanced government to serve the people of our great state.”

READ MORE: Randy Head steps down as Indiana Republican Party chair. What role do state party chairs play?

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Schmuhl’s announcement comes a little more than a week after Republican Party Chair Randy Head stepped down from his position, returning full-time to his lobbyist position ahead of the legislative session. The announcement also comes on the heels of the Democratic Party’s adoption of a new code of conduct and formation of an ethics committee in the wake of several dozen party members demanding action after sexual harassment allegations against another Democratic official.

Schmuhl’s replacement will be selected by the Indiana Democratic Party’s state committee on March 15.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story said Schmuhl worked on former U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly's (D-Ind.) bid for Senate. That was incorrect. He worked on Donnelly's 2010 reelection bid for U.S. House.

Lauren is our digital editor. Contact her at lauren@ipbnews.org or follow her on Twitter at @laurenechapman_.