Clerk White to Run for Secretary of State

To nobody's surprise, Marion County Clerk Beth White has set up a website and held a rally announcing that she'll be running for Secretary of State.

Like several of the other state-wide non-Gubernatorial offices, political parties choose their nominees via conventions rather than primaries. There typically aren't too many contested conventions, and White has been making the rounds around the state for some time.

After a rocky first year in office, Clerk White has been running the Clerk's office with great efficiency. The county clerk's duties are very administrative, and honestly, there's a whole lot of them.

As a candidate who ran for office in 2011, I found the election division staffed by professionals. I was never treated any differently just because I was from a minor party. Whenever I've had to talk to a employee from the Clerk's office for any reason, they've been incredibly attentive and helpful. I really can't complain about the job Beth White has done within the office.

There are a few of her votes on the bi-partisan Election Board that I can quibble with. But I'm okay with that if it meant running and modernizing the Secretary of State's office as she has with the Marion County Clerk's office.

The question now is if Beth White can take out incumbent Republican Connie Lawson. Lawson was appointed by then-Governor Mitch Daniels after then-SOS Charlie White was forced out of office due to several felony convictions.

Lawson is a former state Senator, but running a state-wide campaign is a whole different ballgame.

On the other hand, these non-Gubernatorial offices tend to be much closer to baseline votes. People tend to vote their political party affiliation since these campaigns tend to be fairly low profile and candidates usually don't get the big bucks and the media coverage.

It could be an interesting race to watch.