We mentioned the cocktail chatter earlier, now it appears that Indianapolis attorney Linda Pence, or maybe we should call her prominent Indianapolis attorney Linda Pence, officially kicked off her bid to explore running for attorney general of Indiana as a Democrat at 2:47pm on January 15th, 2008. We may not be the smartest kids on the block, but we’ve been around the political block enough to know that Ms. Pence is hearing from Democrat power brokers, and wannabes for that matter, from all over Indiana telling her that if she gets in the race – they’ll back her all the way. While we love that kind of enthusiasm, we must caution Pence from believing every gold encrusted promise that comes her way from Hoosier state democrats.

And something else for Pence and her team of trusted campaign advisers (hi Joe Hogsett – too bad it didn’t work out in ’04 – you’re a strong choice for campaign chair) to chew on: Incumbent attorneys general – be it Republican or Democrat – don’t get knocked off that easily.  In fact, if you look at the last three incumbent AGs to lose – all three, Wisconsin’s Peg Lautenschlager, Kansas’s Phill Kline, and Louisiana’s Charles Foti – they all lost because of things that they did that severely disqualified them from being re-elected in voters minds.  And settle down about incumbent AGs losing in Indiana – Steve Carter is no Karen Freeman-Wilson – he’s been elected twice by Hoosier voters statewide – unlike Wilson who was simply appointed by her Governor.

Short point to be made to Linda Pence – it’s going to take a lot of either your own money, or money from your lawyer buddies to begin to make a dent in the positive image that Steve Carter has with Indiana voters. Trying to take down a popular incumbent?  Your money is better spent someplace else.

See her exploratory filing here.