Hero of the Peaceful Dinner Stepping Down
Remember a few years back when you would get those annoying robocalls or sales calls during dinner? Remember when they suddenly stopped? Remember who is responsible for that? Well, if you read this blog, you’re politically astute enough to know that the answer to that last question is Attorney General Steve Carter. Turns out, Carter is not running for re-election after two terms in office.
Steve Carter may not be known by many people (at least that’s what doing phone banks told me), but more than the Do-Not-Call List, he’s also pursued fraudulent absentee ballot voting in the Region and most recently, Carter has been working out a deal with MySpace and other social networking sites to keep skeezy older guys from committing internet crimes against Indiana’s tech savvy youth.
Politically though, things are about to get interesting. And that includes the State GOP Convention where Carter’s replacement will be chosen.
(Read more after the leap)
Gary Welsh of Advance Indiana notes:
Because Carter made his announcement after the filing deadline for the May primary, he short-circuited efforts of other would-be candidates to line up supporters to run for state convention delegate, which are nominated in the May primary. That means any candidate will have a very short time between now and the June 2 state convention to lobby delegates for support.
Gary also notes that anybody who had ambitions for running for A.G. now has little time to get their name out there and “effectively hands control of the selection of his Republican replacement to party leaders”. Timing of Carter’s decision is odd, considering that he has been a well liked Attorney General (well, to those who knew who he was) and was also the top Republican vote getter in 2004 for statewide office. Who will replace him? Who knows. But I’m sure there are those who now, and through June 2, are going to be working overtime to make sure their person is the one who does.
March 23rd, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Carter was a class act (at least as far as anyone knows); Indiana will be lesser for his loss.
But, of course, one does not bow out of seeking reelection at a press conference on Easter Sunday for no reason.
There’s either a scandal about to break, or Carter has some personal or health issue to compel his rapid withdrawal.
Very strange.
In poking around, I have heard the name of Tom Wheeler, the Chairman of the Election Commission and an attorney at Locke Reynolds, floated by several people as a possible Republican candidate for Attorney General. There is also Carter’s assistant, whose name I can’t think of off of the top of my head right now.