Indy Democrats are at something of a crossroads.
Marion County’s less-than-stellar voter turnout in the 2024 election has some Democrats calling for a change in leadership at the local level.
Myla Eldridge, the chair of the Marion County Democratic Party and the Marion County auditor, is facing a challenger backed by a group of local, progressive Democrats who have grown frustrated with what they say is a lack of leadership and organization at the local level.
Annette Johnson, the Pike Township trustee, told Mirror Indy she is planning to challenge Eldridge for control of the county party at its reorganization meeting March 1. Johnson thinks the county party could be doing more to increase voter turnout.
“Marion County is such a very Democratic county, and I know we’re able to get individuals elected, but at the same time, I also want to get our voters engaged,” Johnson said.
City-County Councilor Jared Evans, a westside Democrat, plans to run as her vice chair, Johnson told Mirror Indy. Evans did not respond to Mirror Indy’s request for comment.
David Bride, the current vice chair of the county party, is also seeking a new term.
When asked to comment on Johnson’s remarks, Eldridge defended the job she’s done. She said the county party worked closely with the state and national parties and hired a Get Out the Vote coordinator in the run-up to the 2024 election to encourage turnout.
“Sitting on the sidelines, taking pot shots at those who actually tried, is no way to lead a party,” Eldridge said in an emailed statement to Mirror Indy. “Everyone was disappointed with voter turnout numbers in Marion County and across the state. There are a variety of factors that play into that. Some are within our control, some are not.”
How we got here
The Democratic Party has dominated Marion County over the past decade.
Despite retaining control of the mayor’s office, a supermajority on the City-County Council and a majority of the nine township trustee seats in the 2023 election, local Democratic Party leaders are facing pressure from the more progressive wing of the party to better represent their values or step aside.
The move to unseat Eldridge, who is also vice chair of the state party, comes after Marion County’s historically low voter turnout in 2024.
Roughly 55% of registered voters in Marion County voted in 2024, amounting to about 350,000 residents, according to Marion County Election Board data — among the lowest turnouts in the county for a presidential election year since 1988.
Progressives who feel left out of the party were angered to learn that Democrats on the City-County Council voted to oust Councilor Jesse Brown, an elected Democrat and self-described democratic socialist, from their caucus.
The day after the vote, about 50 people showed up to a council committee meeting to protest Brown’s removal.
Mike Oles, who managed Jared Evans’ 2015 council campaign, said Brown’s ouster shows that local party leaders aren’t listening.
“I think it’s a brilliant critique of how ineffectual and uncommunicative the Marion County Democratic Party has been,” said Oles, who was present at the Feb. 4 meeting. “Marion County has to get its act together.”
When Eldridge ran for county party chair for the first time in 2022, she won 96% of the vote from nearly 300 precinct committee chairs and vice chairs who were present at the caucus. She’s unlikely to garner that same level of support this time around.
Eldridge, who ran on a message of unity and increasing voter participation three years ago, was elected to replace Kate Sweeney Bell amid a wave of discontent over the party’s practice of endorsing candidates before primary elections, known as slating.
What’s next?
On March 1, county party organizations throughout the state of Indiana will hold reorganizational meetings — typically only accessible to Indiana Democrats in accordance with party rules — to select their leadership positions for the next four years.
Meanwhile, Democrats from across the state are preparing to elect the next state party chair after Mike Schmuhl announced this year he is not seeking another term.
His possible replacements include Jennifer McCormick, the former Republican state superintendent of education who switched parties and ran unsuccessfully for governor against Mike Braun; Destiny Wells, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, who ran unsuccessfully for attorney general in 2024 and secretary of state in 2022; Derek Camp, chair of the Allen County Democratic Party; and former state Sen. Karen Tallian, a Democrat from northwest Indiana.
What about the Republicans?
Joe Elsener, chair of the Marion County Republican Party, told Mirror Indy he is not seeking another term.
His possible replacements include Natalie Goodwin, who unsuccessfully challenged City-County Councilor Nick Roberts in 2023, and John Schmitz, a perennial candidate who most recently ran unsuccessfully in 2024 against U.S. Rep. Andre Carson in the 7th Congressional District.
Mirror Indy data reporter Emily Hopkins contributed to this story.
Peter Blanchard covers local government. Reach him at 317-605-4836 or peter.blanchard@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @peterlblanchard.
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