More Democrats are running for seats in Indiana’s upcoming primary elections than the state has seen in decades.
Karen Tallian, Chair of the Indiana Democratic Party, sat down with Caroline Beck to talk about how Democrats are taking advantage of the infighting happening among Republicans this primary election.
Multiple incumbent Republicans are facing primary challengers backed by President Trump after Senate Republicans voted against approving a mid-decade redistricting push.
Now Democrats are viewing some races as opportunities to flip seats.
WFYI did not receive a response to multiple requests for an interview with Indiana’s Republican Party chair.
This interview has been edited for style and clarity.
Caroline Beck: Since we are in the thick of the primary season, are there any races, or, you know, challengers that you are seeing as a real potential in any of the races going on in Indiana right now, as a way of Democrats to make ground or even win the races in Indiana that maybe they haven't before?
Karen Tallian: Well, the answer to that is yes, I have to say, though, that I think the most interesting primaries are going on in the Republican Party.
I've been a Democrat elected official and in party politics for over 20 years, and I have never, ever seen the infighting that is going on with the GOP right now, they are vicious, and these battles have become a media circus, and I think that the breakdown in the GOP is one of the things that is going to be great news for the Democrats in November.
Beck: How do you expect Democrats to take advantage of all that infighting? Do you think there's specific races that you see that really working to their advantage?
Tallian: You know, take a look at all of the state legislative races. I mean, that's where all the news is right now, right? Trump comes in and has identified specific people that he's trying to target. So he's lobbing, he's lobbing missiles at them. You know, it's interesting that we don't have to do any work.
We just have to talk about our own, our own priorities, and everybody knows what those are. This year. Of course, everything is about affordability. You know, people are out there trying to afford utilities, health care, child care and gasoline, thank you very much, is now $4.50 a gallon.
Beck: What is your thoughts about like for congressional races? You know, there's some challenging happening right here with the Victoria Spartz seats with, you know, JD Ford coming in, and he's a popular choice, I think, among Democrats. And we see, you know, the first congressional district that's gotten a lot of you know attention as well because of all of the redistricting stuff. So I'm curious, what are your thoughts about those two races, specifically?
Tallian: Here in Indianapolis, you know, it's the Andre Carson race that seems to have most of the attention. But I don't see that happening across the state. And frankly, you know, I think Andre Carson is a lock.
You know, we the state party and the State Central Committee, just voted to endorse Andre Carson and Frank Mrvan as incumbents long serving records, and we are 100% behind them. So the JD, Ford, I mean, the 5th Congressional is an interesting race. I also serve with Victoria Spartz, I think, in the State Senate. And she didn't run because I think she knew that she could not win that district in the state senate.
She then went on to run for Congress. I'm not quite sure how she managed to hold that position for what, three, four terms, but frankly, I think that the people in the fifth are sick and tired of that. Demographics are changing up there. Hamilton County is purple, quickly shifting to blue. I think that's the next big one to watch.
Beck: Okay, yes, well, I was curious too. I think seeing you know, notable people in the state house like JD Ford and Andrea Hunley deciding to not, you know, go for their state seat again. Are you concerned at all about those seats flipping, or worried about the risk that comes with that?
Tallian: No, so JD Ford seat, for example, we have qualified candidates. We have four qualified candidates in that race. Any one of them could win, but I have to tell you, I mean, the re-emergence of Mike Delft into that Senate seat is beyond my imagination.
Again, I served with Mike Delph when he was in the State Senate. He was not well-liked by his caucus and punished. He was made to sit with the Democrats. You know, to have him reemerge is really a kind of retro. Wow. Where did this come from? I think the Democrats are going to hold that seat.
Beck: Do you see that as a trend like Greg Ballard wanting to come back as an independent to run, like seeing previous Republicans coming back as more centrist or independent?
Tallian: Well, of course, yeah. I mean, I think that the middle-of-the-road Republicans have just, you know, they put up with Trump as long as. They loyally could, but they're at the point now where it's just not reasonable or viable anymore.
I've had so many Republicans tell me that, you know, their party doesn't stand for what they believe in anymore. Their party has abandoned them. So either they're going to come over to the Democrats, or they're going to try to start something new.
Beck: Does the Democratic Party have that problem at all? Do you think is it? Is there a solid base and trust in the party still?
Tallian: I think that the D's, we've been pretty steadfast in what we support, our policies are not all over the place, like the Trump administration changes from day to day. I think that we're going to be after the primaries, and we do have some interest in the primaries.
We have open, essentially open seats, so it's pulling people out, not because of division in the party, but because of momentum and enthusiasm, people want to get involved, and I think after the primaries, we're going to be pretty unified.
Beck: Well, I was going to ask, are you seeing more Democrats running for seats right now? Or what's your read on that?
Tallian: Funny you should ask that question. We have more Democrats running on the ballot all across the state than we have had in decades. And I, like I said, I don't see that as a as you know, people are divided against each other. I think I see that as momentum. People are coming out of the woodwork to do something.
You know, millions of Americans have basically said enough is enough, and we're going to do something about it. So you know, whether it's run for office, run for delegate, we've had more people run for convention delegate than ever, just they want to be involved. They want to do something well.
Beck: Thank you so much for the conversation, Karen.
Tallian: Absolutely.
Contact Government Reporter Caroline Beck at cbeck@wfyi.org
