INDIANAPOLIS – A decisive victory for secretary of state nominee Vop Osili highlighted Saturday’s state Democratic convention along with a focus on maintaining the party’s majority in the Indiana House.

About 2,000 delegates gathered in a downtown Indianapolis ballroom to choose a youthful slate of statewide office candidates and gear up for what could be a punishing fall election.

Sam Locke, 27, and Pete Buttigieg, 28, join Osili on the ticket as a new generation of possible Democratic leadership. None of the three has previously run for election.

“We feel like we have a great crop of new candidates running statewide,” Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker said.

Other speakers – including House Speaker Patrick Bauer of South Bend – talked about how Democrats have to maintain control of the House to counteract Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels and the Republican-held Senate.

“We aren’t a money machine in this party,” he said. “We’re a people party. And we have to survive for the people.”

Senate Minority Leader Vi Simpson, D-Bloomington, urged those in the room to support Democratic House candidates, because a Democratic majority is “able to stop really bad legislation that Senate Republicans kick out of the Senate. It is imperative.”

The only contested race was between Osili and Tom McKenna for secretary of state. Osili won easily 1,215 to 338.

Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry nominated Osili, saying “a vote for Vop will bring honesty, integrity and compassion to the office.”

Osili, 47, easily captured the enthusiasm of the crowd with his supporters dancing in the aisles to music with heavy bass.

He lives in Indianapolis with his wife and two children. A founding partner of a “green” architectural design company, he has knowledge and expertise on environmental issues.

Osili said he wants to focus on free and equal elections and noted that the secretary of state should look at opportunities to modernize the voting process. These include online voter registration, longer voting hours, more early-voting sites and no-excuse absentee voting.

“I think it’s time for a change,” he told the group. “I am running to make sure we hear all voices.”

McKenna, 64, was born in Madison but now lives in central Indiana. Over the years, he has worked as a private attorney and a deputy prosecutor.

But most of this life was spent serving three governors – Evan Bayh, Frank O’Bannon and Joe Kernan. His positions included head of the former Indiana Department of Commerce, work as an administrative law judge for the Indiana Department of Labor and chief of staff for Kernan.

The secretary of state is the state’s chief elections officer. And the winner of this year’s contest is also important because he decides control of the Indiana House if the chamber splits 50-50.

Osili will face Republican Charlie White, 40, for the office in the fall.

In the state auditor race, Locke was the only challenger for the Democratic nomination.

Born and raised in Connersville, he has worked as a fundraiser, consultant and operations manager in the non-profit industry. He currently lives in Floyds Knobs in southern Indiana with his wife.

His campaign website said he will constantly look for ways to save and conserve tax dollars, and to hold vendors and state agencies accountable for their usage of public funds. There are no specific proposals listed.

He will face a Republican incumbent, Auditor Tim Berry, 48, originally of Fort Wayne.

Buttigieg won the treasurer nomination with no opposition. He grew up in South Bend and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. He is campaigning full time but previously worked in economic development, retail strategy, energy and logistics.

Buttigieg’s priorities in office will be investing the state’s dollars in a way that can help spur economic development and job creation.

He will face incumbent GOP state Treasurer Richard Mourdock, 59, of Evansville.

nkelly@jg.net