By Niki Kelly
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Democratic Party’s central committee on Saturday, March 15, elected former state senator Karen Tallian as the next chair of the state party.

Karen Tallian

She defeated Destiny Wells by a vote of 18-14.

“I am honored and humbled by the State Central Committee’s confidence in me to serve as Indiana Democratic Party Chair,” said Tallian, of Ogden Dunes. “As we move forward, it is our job as Democrats to both reunite internally and reunite with the working Hoosiers who may feel left behind by the Party in recent years. I am ready to get to work electing Democrats up and down the ballot.”

She replaces Mike Schmuhl, who decided not to seek re-election to the post. Several other contenders dropped out of the race in the days before the vote, including former Allen County Democratic Party Chair Derek Camp and at-large Gary Common Council Member Darren Washington.

Tallian represented portions of Porter, LaPorte and Lake counties in the Senate from December 2005 through November 2021. She was the Democratic caucus chair between 2016 and 2020.

While in the Senate she built strong relationships with labor leaders, fought to decriminalize marijuana and sought to raise Indiana’s minimum wage.

A press release said Tallian is looking forward to rebuilding the party, holding a town hall tour to hold Indiana Republicans accountable at the state and federal level and preparing for the 2026 and 2028 elections.

Here are the other leaders who were elected at the meeting for the 2025-29 term: Alex Nyirendah, vice chair; Erin Retif, secretary; and Michael Griffin, treasurer.