By Erica Irish 
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Democratic Party has nominated former Evansville mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel for Indiana attorney general over a current lawmaker from Northwest Indiana.

Indiana Democratic Party Chairman John Zody announced the nomination in a virtual press conference Wednesday evening to end the party’s state convention. He applauded Weinzapfel and Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, for positioning their campaigns around how to protect areas like Hoosiers healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As attorney general, I will focus on citizens’ rights, not partisan fights, and restore honor, integrity, and purpose to the office,” Weinzapfel said as he accepted the nomination.

Zody said the party saw high turnout from state delegates, resulting in an 86% turnout, or 2,066 total votes between Weinzapfel and Tallian. Weinzapfel won the nomination with 1,057 delegate votes, a narrow win over 1,009 votes in favor of Tallian.

Indiana’s current attorney general, Republican Curtis Hill, recently served a 30-day suspension of his law license that ended Wednesday. He began serving the suspension in late May when the Indiana Supreme Court determined he violated the code of conduct for lawyers by assaulting four women, including a state representative and legislative staff members, during a party held to mark the end of the 2018 session.

Hill faces three challengers for the GOP nomination, which will be determined later this month: former U.S. congressman Todd Rokita, Indianapolis attorney John Westercamp and Decatur County Prosecutor Nate Harter. The candidates are scheduled to deliver speeches when the Indiana Republican Party opens its virtual convention Thursday night.

Hill was endorsed for reelection Wednesday evening by Jim Bopp, who is the campaign finance attorney for President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign.

Bopp outlined his endorsement in a six-minute video posted to YouTube.

“Curtis has taken numerous actions as attorney general to promote and defend conservative principles and policies,” Bopp said in the video.

Weinzapfel said his campaign began with a mission to protect Hoosiers by removing Indiana from a multi-state lawsuit aimed at striking down the Obama-era Affordable Care Act. He noted that mission is even more important with the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Frankly, we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, and we’re going to start first thing tomorrow morning,” Weinzapfel said.