Waiting For Heads To Roll At The Indiana Democratic Party

Jill Long Thompson has won a narrow 5000-plus vote win over Jim Schellinger in the Democratic gubernatorial primary with or without a concession from Schellinger. Her 54% victory in Lake County sealed victory for her. Look for Ann DeLaney, a top supporter of Thomopson's, to re-emerge as a person to be reckoned with in the Indiana Democratic Party. State party chairman Dan Parker, meanwhile, is in a very precarious situation. He put all his credibility on the line by going all out for both Schellinger and Sen. Hillary Clinton. Party spokeswoman Jen Wagner became the Schellinger campaign's chief mouthpiece as Schellinger struggled to find a message despite his huge money advantage and the support he had from the party brass. I have to believe Thompson is going to want some changes at the top. DeLaney, who has also been a close Bayh advisor over the years, will likely be the person to approach Bayh to make changes at the top. I suspect the state party's credibility in Lake County is substantially weakened at this point as well.

UPDATE: Here's the latest press release from the Schellinger campaign explaining why he won't concede this election:

Tim Jeffers, campaign manager for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Schellinger, issued the following statement on yesterday’s primary election results:

“This race is still too close to call.

“There are many precincts still uncounted, provisional ballots to count and sort through, and a re-canvass process that will likely show shifts in county vote totals.

“As we know, the election process is sometimes a lengthy one when elections are very, very close -- but as Democrats, we believe every vote must count. It’s important that we protect the integrity of the election process, especially with this many new registered voters and record turnout.”