Karen Tallian was a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for Indiana Attorney General in 2020, but lost the nomination to Jonathan Weinzapfel.
34 Facts About Karen Tallian
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In March, 2025 Karen Tallian was elected Chair of the Indiana Democratic Party.
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Karen Tallian was born in the farming community of Streator, Illinois, where her father was born and where he traded antiques and was an auctioneer.
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Karen Tallian is the oldest of four children, including siblings Diane Patton, David Kotansky and James Kotansky.
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Karen Tallian was admitted to the Indiana State Bar in 1990.
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Karen Tallian was an adjunct instructor for Valparaiso University Law School.
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Karen Tallian began her public service career by serving on the boards of various agencies in Porter County.
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Karen Tallian served as president and board member of the Portage Parks Foundation, president of the Porter County League of Women Voters, and director of the State Board of the League of Women Voters.
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Karen Tallian first ran for town council in Ogden Dunes in 1991, but lost to the Republican candidate Trusten Lee, a dentist.
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Karen Tallian previously ran for the bench on the Porter County Superior Court in 2000, but lost to incumbent Judge Jeffrey Thode.
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Karen Tallian first joined the State Senate in December 2005 as a replacement for Sen.
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Karen Tallian represents District 4, D-Portage, which includes portions of Porter and LaPorte counties.
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Incumbent Democratic candidate Karen Tallian won her first re-election on November 7,2006, to the Indiana State Senate District 4.
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Karen Tallian received 19,431 votes to beat her Republican opponent Dale Brewer, the Porter County Clerk, who received 11,622 votes.
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Karen Tallian claimed it was a mistake that her mortgage payments and tax payments were not bundled, but once she noticed it, she settled her account.
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Candidate Karen Tallian accepted endorsements from the Indiana Manufacturers Association, the Indiana Farm Bureau's political action group and several unions.
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In 2014, Karen Tallian ran unchallenged in the Indiana primary election on May 6,2014, receiving 3958 votes.
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On May 12,2015, Karen Tallian officially announced she would seek the Democratic Party's nomination for governor in 2016.
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Karen Tallian said she decided to run for governor to restore the "balance of power" to the state government, which has been dominated by Republicans.
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Karen Tallian has lived in Ogden Dunes, Indiana since 1973 and was married to Robert Patrick Tallian.
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Karen Tallian attended law school while raising her three children.
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Karen Tallian's son Mike is a Portage, Indiana firefighter and medic.
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Karen Tallian is the ranking minority member of the Indiana Senate Appropriations Committee that sets the state's biennial budget.
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Karen Tallian has criticized the Republican-controlled budget for holding the allotted funding for education steady over a decade, even as the population of students has grown from 1 million to 1.1 million students.
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Karen Tallian joined nine other Democrats in the Indiana Senate and the Democrats in the House and voted against the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, but the legislation passed on primarily Republican support and on Governor Mike Pence's signature into law.
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Karen Tallian voted against the fix because it didn't offer enough protections for LGBTQ citizens.
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Karen Tallian led Democrats who were calling for an increase in the minimum wage from US$7.25, which is the federal minimum, to US$10.10 an hour.
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Karen Tallian introduced legislation during the 2015 legislative session.
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Karen Tallian argued that the legislation would lead to lower wages and that the promised favorable atmosphere for business lacked evidence.
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Karen Tallian has backed both the decriminalization of marijuana and allowing doctors to prescribe it as a legal form of pain medication.
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Karen Tallian's case was bolstered by the support of Indiana State Senator Brent Steele but he dropped his support after states like California and Colorado adopted their own laws, because he believed the debate had changed and those states' legislation would strengthen opposition in Indiana.
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Karen Tallian has continued to push for allowing doctors to prescribe it.
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Karen Tallian has allied with Indiana State Representative Linda Lawson on the issue.
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Karen Tallian was the first to argue that the Governor's original plan gave the executive branch additional authority to privatize public transport assets, such as ports, railroads, and highways and bridges, which was then removed from the legislation and later narrowed to highways.