Jill Long Thompson

Governor, IN

A challenger with experience. Former U.S. House Rep. Jill Long Thompson defied conventional wisdom and won a narrow upset primary victory against a well-funded, politically connected opponent, becoming the first female gubernatorial nominee in Indiana’s history. Long Thompson, who now faces incumbent GOP Gov. Mitch Daniels, has a broad range of experience: former congresswoman, under secretary for rural development in Bill Clinton’s Department of Agriculture, CEO and senior fellow at the National Center for Food and Drug Policy — and manager of her family’s 80-acre grain and dairy farm in Whitley County, Indiana.

“My Man Mitch.” Daniels, who was the director of the Office of Management and Budget during President Bush’s first term, turned his presidential nickname — “my man Mitch” — into his 2004 campaign slogan. The architect of Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy, Daniels tried to reduce the amount of aid going to New York after 9/11, claiming New Yorkers were engaging in “a little money-grubbing game.” Daniels made a fortune as an executive with pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. He has wrought havoc in Indiana, going on a mad privatizing frenzy that includes giving coal companies access to wildlife areas and encouraging developers to build a hotel in a state park. Indiana Right to Life calls Daniels their “most pro-life governor” in Indiana’s history.

Reinvesting in Indiana. Long Thompson is the kind of leader who can put Indiana back on track after four years of Daniels’s mismanagement and failure. She has a plan for creating home-grown jobs and improving education, from providing full-day kindergarten to reinvesting in higher education. A three-time EMILY’s List endorsee, Long Thompson is a vocal supporter of a woman’s right to choose. The Indiana governor’s race is one of Democrats’ best pickup opportunities nationally, and Long Thompson’s campaign is garnering rave reviews. But she faces a costly campaign against a well-funded, millionaire incumbent. Long Thompson needs $20 million to defeat Daniels and become Indiana’s first woman governor.