In an effort to put an end to politico and pundit speculation, a spokesman for Indiana Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jill Long Thompson tells me she has picked her candidate for the Lite Gov spot and they will make the name public a week before the convention, which is the week of the 21st.

“The long and short of it is that we’ve got our guy,” Jeff Harris told me in an e-mail. “Stay Tuned!”

It will be interesting to see who JLT has picked and where they are from.

Going, Going, almost Gone

After finally being hit with a cold bucket of reality, Hillary’s Presidential campaign is melting away and her departure cannot come soon enough.   Although I would like to think of her as gone and forgotten, that will not be happening unfortunately.  I still see her trying to angle a VP spot.  Hopefully there is some retired general who will be more than happy to take her place.

Crime & Punishment

If you think crime is down in Indianapolis, you’re right.  The latest crime stats (as of May 18) show decreases in robbery and burglary.  The number of homicides were the same, but the key indicator, aggravated assaults saw a double-digit percentage drop.  That number is important because had someones aim been better the aggravated assault would have turned into a murder.  Mayor Greg Ballard credits the dropped crime to reorganizing the police department and increased work with neighborhoods.

Young at Heart

If Jill Long Thompson is still in the market for a Southern Indiana Democrat to nominate as Lt. Governor, Senate Minority Leader Richard Young (D-Milltown) will gladly take the job, if asked.   Former House Speaker John Gregg and Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel have both said “no.”  Young says he would be happy to campaign with Thompson saying she is a formidable candidate and will work hard to defeat Mitch Daniels.

Barack Obama is now the presumptive Democratic nominee for the Presidency of the United States.  Say what you will about his policies or disagree with his politics, but America made history tonight.  For the first time an African-American has been nominated to head a major political party for the most important job in the world.  Something like this happening was unheard of when my father was my age, and never even imagined during my grandfather’s time.

You have to think about this as a country, when it comes to race, this shows we have made a ton of progress.  We still have some ways to go in some areas, but at least for now, we all have an opportunity to see history be made.  At the very least, you have to feel good about that.

Now the campaign can begin in earnest.

The dust is settling over yesterday’s State GOP Convention where current Attorney General Chief of Staff Greg Zoeller beat Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas.  Zoeller beat Costas by more than 300 votes.  There is a lot of speculation as to what happened.  I mentioned some of those reasons in my last post; Zoeller ran a good campaign, Costas was slow to get out of the gate, angry Ron Paul supporters, etc.

However, one theory that was floated by two politicos I ran into yesterday was the vote might have also been a backlash against the Governor, not necessarily for any heavy-handed campaign tactics, but government consolidation.   Daniels has been pushing consolidation as part of property tax reform and many of the delegates in the room were guess what…I’ll wait…that’s right, local government officials.

Remember, local government and it’s one unit for every 2,700 Hoosiers would be reduced in size and hopefully scope under the Kernan-Shepard report.  So why would a local official want to vote themselves out of a job or support the person who is trying to put them out of a job, for that matter?  Now that may not the sole reason that Costas lost, I actually attribute more of it to the fact that he never laid out a vision for the Office or why he as qualified to hold the office as evidenced by the two videos the candidates presented to the delegates.  Costas talked about evangelical issues while Zoeller talked about his record.  But you can’t ignore the fact that some of the people whom Daniels was asking for help, were some of the same people who think he’s trying to put them out of a job.  

Revenge or a not so friendly reminder?  You decide.

Greg Zoeller won his party’s nomination by more than 1000 votes. Here’s why.

1. Jon Costas ran a campaign that was slow to get out of the gate.

2. Zoeller built a lot of good will over the years and worked his butt off.

3. Some County chairman had an axe to grind with the Governor.

4. The Ron Paul supporters who had an axe to grind with the State party.

At the end of the day, does it matter. It depends on your perspective. But a win is win.

4;45 p.m.

We have a winner in the Attorney General’s race.  It’s Greg Zoeller.  This is major embarrassment for the Governor who supported Jon Costas.  Zoeller won by more than a 1000-vote margin out of the 1768 votes cast.

4:15 p.m.

The voting is over. The results are expected shortly.

3:45 p.m.

The voting has begun. I’ll let you know how it goes.

3:10 p.m.

Governor Mitch Daniels just entered the room and is speaking. He’s saying thanks to delegates, employers who have brought jobs to Indiana and soldiers who serve the county. He’s touting Indiana’s economy as the best in the region. He says Indiana’s budget will be in the black for the 4th year in a row. He called the delegates the “core of a movement for change.” He also said when it came to change, Indiana started the party before the rest of the country.

Daniels is touting progress in jobs, roads, health care, government reform and property taxes as real change that was no accident. He says Indiana cannot allow Democrats to stop progress and reverse Indiana’s course. He criticized the Democrats’ attacks on privatization, saying it has put Hoosiers to work and save the taxpayers’ money.

3:04 p.m.

The Convention just played the Mitch Daniels “Pirates of the Caribbean” ad to a rousing applause. This is a prelude to the Governor speaking, which should occur in about 10-15 minutes. He’s being introduced by Secretary of State Todd Rokita.

2:50 p.m.

Lt. Governor Becky Skillman’s name is being put into nomination. She and Mitch Daniels are being labeled the dynamic duo.

2:45 p.m.

Tony Bennett’s floor demonstration just came on a few minutes ago. They played “San Francisco” and “ABC” by the Jackson Five. A colleague pointed he thought that was a first for a Republican convention. I agree.

2:30 p.m.

The candidates names are being nominated into the ballot. Former Lt. governor John Mutz nominated Tony Bennett. State Rep. Eric Turner is nominating Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas for Attorney General. Turner said Costas can help win in Northern Indiana where Republicans need help. Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi is nominating Greg Zoeller. He touted Zoeller’s experience saying that will be invaluable in beating the Democrats in November. Both candidates showed videos of themselves. Costas’ video focused on more traditional conservative themes, while Zoeller touted his experience and record. Zoeller seemed to have more floor support in the audience, but it’s the votes that count.

2:06 p.m.

Attorney General Steve Carter and Superintendent of Public Instruction Sue Ellen Reed have both said their good-byes. Carter did remind the delegates of the strong team he put together when he came into office. a nod towards his guy Greg Zoeller, maybe.

1:30 p.m.

The Indiana GOP State Convention has just convened. There are 1932 delegates present. There were a few little flare ups from some Ron Paul supporters in district meetings earlier this morning, but nothing major. The day is still young so stay tuned. My producer Chris Spangle, is also live-blogging the event. You can check his items out at chris-spangle.com.

Scratch another name off the list of potential Democratic candidates for Lt. Governor.  Former Speaker of the House John Gregg told me this morning me that he has taken his name off the list of possible running mates for Jill Long Thompson. 

Gregg is the second Southern Indiana Democrat to say no the the lite gov spot.  Last week Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel put out a statement saying that he was staying put.

Two other names that are still being circulated are State Rep and former Posey County Prosecutor Trent Van Haaften and Lake County Sheriff Roy Dominguez.

That’s the number to look out for at today’s State GOP Convention in Indianapolis.  It’s the number of Ron Paul supporters who are expected to show up and throw a potential monkey wrench into today’s nomination process.

The Paul supporters are mad that the state party changed the rules for selecting delegates to the national convention.  Instead of voting on individual candidates, the party changed the rules so that the national delegates will be presented as a slate and would have to be voted up or down by the convention.  That has the Ron Paul crowd crying foul and they may try to disrupt the convention.  One thing I am hearing is that is the Ron Paul group may throw their support behind AG candidate Greg Zoeller as a way to stick it to the state party.  We’ll see.

I don’t think it will be Chicago 1968, but it is definitely going to be fun to watch today. I’ll be live blogging from the convention so check back later today.

Despite my best efforts, my significant other and I made it back from the wilderness in one piece. Now granted, I will admit that as I headed south I was expecting something out of the “The Hills Have Eyes, but no Teeth.” Fortunately, I was wrong. I met really nice people and in fact, not only did I have a good time, overall, I learned a few things. Here they are.

10. Rubbing sticks together won’t help you light your cigar.

9. Godiva chocolate is good for smores, but it melts over an open flame.

8. No matter what the signs say, everything is at least 30 minutes away from where you are.

7. True irony is when your cabin is adjacent to a petting zoo and the donkeys keep you up all night making noise.  Although I’m not sure which one was for Clinton and which one Obama.

6. When you are in the woods, you cannot complain about the insects. They were there first.

5. If you find a cell phone signal, don’t move an inch or you will lose and miss out on information regarding Jill Long Thompson’s search for a Lt. Governor and Republican in-fighting over the nomination of a candidate for Attorney General.

4. If you pick a cabin with a hot tub, never criticize your significant other’s driving skills on country roads, because you will never get to use it.

3. They call it poison ivy for a reason.

2. It makes no sense to spend $100 on Land’s End hiking boots if you’re not going to use them because the trail is muddy from last night’s rain.

1. Black people do make it back from the woods.

By the way, I saw the best sign ever on a little church on SR 37, “Count Your Blessings, Not Your Problems.” I agree wholeheartedly.

As strange as this might seem, I am heading off on a naturesque camping trip today.  There is something about Abdul being in the woods that reeks of a really bad horror film, i.e. “The Blair Underwood Witch Project.”  But even though I’ll be in the wilderness, I’ll still be keeping an eye on a few items.

I’ll be watching how the Clintons continue to make spectacles of themselves as the Democratic National Committee plays King Solomon and tries to figure out what to do with the delegates of the rule-breaking states of Florida and Michigan.  I still maintain, allowing them to send delegates is like allowing someone who cheated on a test to keep half the answers.

Closer to home, the Republicans nominate their Attorney General candidate on Monday.  While Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas is the party favorite, challenger Greg Zoeller has been working the delegates like crazy and Costas got off to a very slow start due to organizational issues, so this could be a close call.

Jill Long Thompson can scratch Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel off her list of possible Lt. Gov candidates.  Weinzapfel took himself out of the running.  My money is still leaning towards State Rep. Trent van Haaften.  He is from southern Indiana, a sharp guy, and understands the Legislature, which is something Long Thompson will need.

In Indianapolis, as incumbent Mayor Greg Ballard is marking his first six months in office, the Democrats are already starting to position themselves for who wants another crack at the Marine in 2011.  Two names I have heard surface to date are former Deputy Mayor Melina Kennedy, who continues to make the rounds and current Sheriff Frank Anderson is also rumored to have talked about running for the job.

I’m off to get ready for my trip into the woods.  Does anyone know who to make a smore?  And do they go well with martinis?