Former State Sen. Karen Tallian elected Indiana Democratic Party leader

Former State Sen. Karen Tallian is the new chair of the Indiana Democratic Party.

The party’s state central committee elected Tallian Saturday to serve the next four years as party leader.

Tallian won a narrow victory over former statewide candidate Destiny Wells, 18 votes to 14. Tallian said she will reach out to those who didn’t support her to ensure the party is united moving forward.

Tallian said what Democrats need to offer voters now is “rationality.”

“When I look at what’s going on, both at the Statehouse and at the national level, a lot of what the Republicans are offering does not make sense,” Tallian said.

The northwest Indiana native said a major path to returning Indiana Democrats to relevancy rests with winning back labor union voters.

“Labor’s been gone for a while,” Tallian said. “But I have had labor leaders tell me, ‘We’ve been gone, but if you’re in, we’re back.’”
 

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Courting labor unions is a part of Tallian’s fundraising strategy, along with starting a subscriber-based weekly podcast.

Tallian is only the second woman ever chosen to lead the Indiana Democratic Party, after Ann DeLaney about three decades ago.

Tallian replaces Mike Schmuhl, who opted not to run for a second term as state party chair.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.