Karen Tallian
Karen Tallian (Democratic Party) was a member of the Indiana State Senate, representing District 4. She assumed office in 2005. She left office on November 1, 2021.
Tallian (Democratic Party) ran for election for Attorney General of Indiana. She lost in the Democratic convention on June 13, 2020.
In 2015, Tallian campaigned for governor of Indiana in the 2016 elections. On August 17, 2015, Tallian dropped out of the race following the AFL-CIO's endorsement of John Gregg (D).[1] Tallian was elected chair of the Indiana Democratic Party in March 2025.[2]
Biography
Tallian earned her B.A. in philosophy and psychology from the University of Chicago in 1972 and her J.D. from Valparaiso University in 1990. Her professional experience includes working as an adjunct professor for Valparaiso University Law School, attorney for the Portage Township Trustee, the Portage Fire Department, the Porter County Plan Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals, attorney for Hilbnich Law, attorney for Bruce Clark and Associates and attorney/Partner for Eberhard and Gastineau since 1998.[3]
Committee assignments
2021-2022
Tallian was assigned to the following committees:
- Appropriations Committee
- Corrections and Criminal Law Committee, Ranking minority member
- Senate Environmental Affairs Committee
- Pensions and Labor Committee
- Senate Public Policy Committee
- Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee
2019-2020
Tallian was assigned to the following committees:
- Appropriations Committee, Ranking minority member
- Corrections and Criminal Law Committee, Ranking minority member
- Senate Environmental Affairs Committee
- Pensions and Labor Committee
- Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee
2018 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2018 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Indiana committee assignments, 2018 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
| • Environmental Affairs |
| • Local Government |
| • Pensions and Labor |
| • Rules and Legislative Procedure |
| • Tax and Fiscal Policy |
2016 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2016 legislative session, Tallian served on the following committees:
| Indiana committee assignments, 2016 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
| • Corrections and Criminal Law |
| • Environmental Affairs |
| • Pensions and Labor, Ranking Minority Member |
| • Rules and Legislative Procedure |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Tallian served on the following committees:
| Indiana committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
| • Corrections and Criminal Law |
| • Environmental Affairs |
| • Pensions and Labor |
| • Rules and Legislative Procedure |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Tallian served on the following committees:
| Indiana committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
| • Civil Law |
| • Corrections and Criminal Law |
| • Elections |
| • Pensions and Labor |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Tallian served on these committees:
| Indiana committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
| • Commerce & Economic Development |
| • Energy and Environmental Affairs |
| • Pensions and Labor |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Tallian served on these committees:
| Indiana committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
| • Corrections, Criminal, and Civil Matters |
| • Energy and Environmental Affairs |
| • Pensions and Labor |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2020
See also: Indiana Attorney General election, 2020
General election
General election for Attorney General of Indiana
Todd Rokita defeated Jonathan Weinzapfel in the general election for Attorney General of Indiana on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Todd Rokita (R) | 58.3 | 1,721,995 | |
| Jonathan Weinzapfel (D) | 41.7 | 1,229,624 | ||
| Total votes: 2,951,619 | ||||
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Democratic convention
Democratic convention for Attorney General of Indiana
Jonathan Weinzapfel defeated Karen Tallian in the Democratic convention for Attorney General of Indiana on June 13, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jonathan Weinzapfel (D) | 51.2 | 1,057 | |
| Karen Tallian (D) | 48.8 | 1,009 | ||
| Total votes: 2,066 | ||||
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Republican convention
Republican convention for Attorney General of Indiana
Todd Rokita defeated incumbent Curtis Hill, Nate Harter, and John Westercamp in the Republican convention for Attorney General of Indiana on July 9, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| Curtis Hill (R) | ||
| Nate Harter (R) | ||
| ✔ | Todd Rokita (R) | |
| John Westercamp (R) | ||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Adam Krupp (R)
Democratic primary convention
Karen Tallian and Jonathan Weinzapfel declared their candidacy for the Democratic convention on June 13, 2020.
Republican primary convention
Incumbent Curtis Hill, Nate Harter, and John Westercamp declared their candidacy for the Republican convention on June 20, 2020.
2018
- See also: Indiana State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Indiana State Senate District 4
Incumbent Karen Tallian defeated Cole Stultz in the general election for Indiana State Senate District 4 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Karen Tallian (D) | 60.4 | 26,762 | |
| Cole Stultz (R) | 39.6 | 17,557 | ||
| Total votes: 44,319 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Indiana State Senate District 4
Incumbent Karen Tallian advanced from the Democratic primary for Indiana State Senate District 4 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Karen Tallian | 100.0 | 6,289 | |
| Total votes: 6,289 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Indiana State Senate District 4
Cole Stultz advanced from the Republican primary for Indiana State Senate District 4 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Cole Stultz | 100.0 | 3,596 | |
| Total votes: 3,596 | ||||
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2016
- See also: State executive official elections, 2016
Tallian announced her 2016 campaign for Governor of Indiana on May 11, 2015.[4] On August 17, 2015, Tallian dropped out of the race for Governor of Indiana following the AFL-CIO's endorsement of John Gregg (D).[5]
2014
- See also: Indiana State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the Indiana State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 6, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was February 7, 2014. Incumbent Karen Tallian was unopposed in the Democratic primary and was unchallenged in the general election.[6][7]
2010
- See also: Indiana State Senate elections, 2010
Tallian faced Republican candidate Shawn Olson in the November 2 general election. Tallian defeated Olson by a margin of 18,888 to 15,857.[8]
Tallian ran unopposed in the May 4 Democratic primary.[9]
| Indiana State Senate, District 4 (2010) General Election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
 Karen Tallian (D)
|
18,888 | 54.4% | ||
| Shawn Olson (R) | 15,857 | 45.6% | ||
2006
- See also: Indiana State Senate elections, 2006
On November 7, 2006, Democrat Karen Tallian won re-election to the Indiana State Senate District 4 receiving 19,431 votes, ahead of Republican Dale Brewer receiving 11,622 votes.[10]
| Indiana State Senate, District 4 (2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Karen Tallian (D)
|
19,431 | |||
| Dale Brewer (R) | 11,622 | |||
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Karen Tallian did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Tallian has three children.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Indiana scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2021
In 2021, the Indiana State Legislature was in session from January 4 to November 15.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to consumer interests.
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- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to social issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to the Quaker community.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on whether they supported or opposed IMA's position on a bill.
- Legislators are scored on votes by bills supported by the organization.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to public education.
2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the Indiana State Legislature was in session from January 6 to March 11.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 3 through April 24.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 2 through March 16.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 3 through April 22.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 5 through March 10.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 6 through April 29.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 6 through March 14.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Indiana General Assembly was in session from January 7 through April 29.
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See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Dan Carden, NWI.com, "Tallian drops out of governor's race," August 17, 2015
- ↑ Yahoo.news, "Former state senator Karen Tallian elected as new chair of Indiana Democratic Party," March 15, 2025
- ↑ Indiana Senate Democrats, "Karen Tallian," accessed May 13, 2015
- ↑ Indianapolis Star, "Indiana Sen. Karen Tallian to run for governor in 2016," May 11, 2015
- ↑ Dan Carden, NWI.com, "Tallian drops out of governor's race," August 17, 2015
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "Official primary election candidate list," accessed February 10, 2014
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed June 12, 2014
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "2010 Indiana State Senate Official General Election Results," accessed March 6, 2014
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "2010 Indiana Primary Election Results," accessed March 6, 2014
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "2006 Official election results," accessed March 6, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Indiana State Senate District 4 2005–2021 |
Succeeded by Rodney Pol Jr. (D) |
 |
State of Indiana Indianapolis (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
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