Bayh, Kebe earn Indiana Democratic Party’s nominations...

INDIANAPOLIS–Beau Bayh captured the Indiana Democratic nomination for Secretary of State Saturday, defeating Blythe Potter 1,383 to 885 — a 61–39 split on 2,269 ballots cast, with one blank. The Treasurer and Comptroller nominations were uncontested.

In a press availability after the vote, Bayh framed the fall campaign squarely around corruption in the office, telling reporters Hoosiers are “ready for something different, something better” and vowing to “open an independent audit to root that out on day one.”

Asked whether the GOP’s crumbling support for Diego Morales — and the rise of Max Engling — complicated his path to November, Bayh waved it off, arguing Republicans are abandoning Morales not over the luxury SUV or the no-bid contracts but because “they know he was going to lose to this campaign.” Engling, he said, offers no real alternative: “He’s a part of the same system that produced Diego Morales.”

On election integrity, Bayh promised a “zero tolerance policy for any illegal voting” and pointed to the Hoosier Hall Pass program as an on-ramp for younger Hoosiers to work the polls.

Pressed on the inevitable comparison to his father — who used the Secretary of State’s office as a 1986 springboard to the governorship — Bayh insisted this is the job he wants: “I have every intention to serve out honorably in this role.”

He closed with an appeal to Potter’s backers and unaligned voters alike: “There’s a home in this campaign for you if you believe in good government.”

Coumba Kebe, State Treasurer

Indiana Democrats nominated Coumba Kebe for State Treasurer on Saturday. Kebe’s background is in healthcare, where she has served in roles ranging from corporate compliance and training officer to director of field operations.

Per a release, Kebe has “managed complex logistics and multi-million-dollar budgets” during her career. Kebe was raised in Indianapolis, and she graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Management.

Kebe currently lives in Noblesville. She used the time she had in front of party leaders on Saturday to highlight key issues she’d like to tackle as State Treasurer, like long Medicaid waiver lists and rural healthcare.

“At a time when so many Hoosiers are struggling to afford basic healthcare, childcare, housing, and the basic necessities of life, we cannot afford to lose sight of why we are here,” Kebe said. “I know this great state is capable of being a place where every child has an opportunity to succeed, where families can afford to stay in the communities they know and love, and where people feel like government is working with them, not around them.”