Indy city-county councilor selected to fill Jean Breaux's state Senate seat

Indianapolis City-County Councilor La Keisha Jackson was selected by Democratic Party insiders Thursday to fill the remainder of the late state Sen. Jean Breaux's seat in the Indiana General Assembly.

Jackson, who has represented District 15 on the City-County Council since 2014, was chosen for the seat during a caucus, a special kind of election political parties can use to fill vacant elected seats. Democrats held the caucus for the Senate District 34 seat Thursday following Breaux's death in March.

In a news release about her caucus win, Jackson said she will make sure Breaux's legacy lives on.

"I cannot walk in her shoes because those are big shoes to follow," Jackson said according to the news release. "But what I do promise you is I will advocate, work hard, listen and fight the good fight."

What is a caucus?: Inside the secretive process to fill vacant seats without elections

Precinct committee persons on Thursday chose Jackson over Chunia Graves, who filed for the District 34 primary earlier this year, but was removed from the ballot by the Indiana Election Commission.

Breaux had filed to run for reelection to her Senate seat prior to her death. According to the state Democratic Party, Breaux's name will still be on the May primary ballot. The party will hold another caucus to fill that ballot vacancy prior to the general election in November.

Democrats will also have to hold a caucus to fill Jackson's Indianapolis council seat, which will become vacant once she has been sworn into her role at the Statehouse.

This is the second state Senate caucus Indiana Democrats have held this year. Earlier this year, David Vinzant was selected via a Democratic caucus to replace Eddie Melton as a senator following Melton's election as mayor of Gary in late 2023.

Contact IndyStar's state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at [email protected] or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X@CarloniBrittany.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: La Keisha Jackson chosen to replace late Indiana Sen. Jean Breaux