In contrast to the Indiana Republican convention, there was no suspense or drama as Hoosier Democrats officially chose their nominees for statewide offices.
John Gregg and Christina Hale officially accepted their nominations for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively.
Gregg , a former Indiana House speaker , and Hale, a state representative, laid out their own proposals and backgrounds as they addressed more than two thousand delegates at the Democratic state convention. But they talked a lot more about what they call the failings of the Pence administration.
“Now, thanks to Governor Pence’s compulsion to tell people who to love, what to do with their bodies and even where to go to the bathroom, he’s embarrassed our state,” said Hale.
Gregg says it’s the job of a governor to leave Indiana a better place than they found it.
“That is the job that Mike Pence has not done. That is the job that Mike Pence no longer deserves,” Gregg said. “He’s had his chance – we cannot stand him for four more years.”
Gregg previously faced Pence in the race for governor in 2012, losing by about three percentage points.
State Superintendent Glenda Ritz accepted the nomination to make her re-election bid, and she only briefly mentioned what she dubbed “partisan attacks” from Republicans during her four years in office. Instead, she focused more on her goals for the next four years, which include universal pre-k, an end to assigning schools a letter grade and getting rid of the ISTEP test.
“Our state needs a superintendent who moves beyond ideology and politics and puts the focus where it needs to be: educating our children to be prosperous in our economy,” Ritz said.
Also accepting a nomination - former Lake County judge Lorenzo Arredondo says one of the ways he will define himself as attorney general will be through what he doesn’t do.
“And as your Attorney General, I would not waste taxpayers’ money by filing lawsuits that you cannot win,” Arredondo said.
Ritz will face challenger Jennifer McCormick, the Yorktown Community Schools superintendent. Arredondo will square off against Elkhart County prosecutor Curtis Hill, as they both run to replace outgoing Attorney General Greg Zoeller.