Sen. Young to run for governor

By Lesley Stedman Weidenbener
lstedman@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

INDIANAPOLIS — Senate Minority Leader Richard Young, a Democrat from Milltown, yesterday became the first candidate to announce for the 2008 governor's race.

"People deserve to have the best government that elected officials can provide, and I've always liked a challenge," he said in an interview yesterday. "I'd like to try to rise to this challenge."

Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican elected in 2004, has not said whether he will seek a second term.

And while Young is the first Democrat to confirm that he will seek his party's nomination in the May 2008 primary, he is unlikely to be the last.

"Richard is a well-respected public servant and has done a lot of good things for the people of Indiana," said Mike Edmondson, executive director of the Indiana Democratic Party. "Having said that, we are certainly in the early stages, and I would expect there will be other candidates as well."

Young, 64, said he plans to establish a campaign committee, perhaps this week, so he can begin raising money for what likely will be an expensive campaign.

He called the prospect of campaigning "daunting" but said he believes he has the experience to be an effective governor. A farmer and a former small business owner, Young was elected to the state Senate in 1988, filling the unexpired term of Democrat Frank O'Bannon of Corydon, who had been elected lieutenant governor.

Read more on Senator Young's announcement at the Courier-Journal.com