The County Line
Gov. Eric Holcomb will be the headline speaker at the biggest political rally of the year, the Republicans’ Lincoln Day Dinner. It has been scheduled for March 15 at the 502 East Event Center in Carmel, says County GOP Chairwoman Laura Campbell.
The event is where party faithful and candidates meet to view the political landscape and see who’s who on the current scene. This being a city election year, one can expect to find mayors and other city officials and hopefuls for local office in attendance. Major donors to the Republican Party are also found at the gala.
Holcomb’s appearance will likely boost the size of the crowd, but it may also depend on how many contests develop for each office at stake in the crucial May 7 GOP primary. Relatively few candidates other than incumbents have filed thus far. Sixty-five municipal offices are at stake in this year’s election.
Holcomb has completed his first two years of his first term. Polls show his performance thus far to be popular with most Hoosiers. The Lincoln Day celebration was originally designed to honor the nation’s first Republican president. It is observed in virtually all counties in Indiana and many communities around the country. Abraham Lincoln spent his formative years as a Hoosier resident.
Democrats hold a similar annual banquet honoring early Democratic presidents Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. The date for this event has not yet been announced.