Candidates to replace Rokita included Democrat Vop Osili,[8] Republican Charlie White,[9] and Libertarian Mike Wherry.

[15] Tom McKenna, Olisi's opponent for the Democratic nomination, was a private attorney and a deputy prosecutor who had previously served in positions under governors Evan Bayh, Frank O'Bannon, and Joe Kernan, including as the head of the former Indiana Department of Commerce, an administrative judge law for the Indiana Department of Labor, and Kernan's chief of staff.

[15] Olisi promised to connect new businesses with state economic development programs and with companies that might be interested in their services.

[17][18] White promised to defend Indiana's voter ID law to ensure "fair and accurate elections.

"[12] However, questions were raised about whether White had falsified his driver's license and residency, and therefore voted illegally, committing voter fraud.

[12][19] One important facet of the Secretary of State's position was that, as chief elections officer, they would decide control of the Indiana House in the instance it were to be split 50-50.

[19] In what was seen to be shaping up as a Republican wave election, Osili hoped he could attract ticket splitting voters.

[24] White was removed from office on February 4, 2012, after a jury convicted him on six felony counts including perjury, theft and voter fraud.

Ultimately, however, the courts ruled that, instead, Governor Mitch Daniels would be able to fill the vacancy created by White's removal from office.

[30] A main issue of contention was Mourdock's having invested $43 million of state pension funds and other state funds in Chrysler junk bonds, and having subsequently taken legal action tookin an attempt to stop Chrysler's bankruptcy plan (including the Chrysler-Fiat merger) from taking effect,[30][32][33][34][35][36][37] Buttigieg criticized Mourdock both of these actions.

Mourdock's candidacy was seen as benefiting from running in a very Republican-favorable election cycle and from being in a Republican-leaning state, making the strong favorite to win.

[43] In what was seen to be shaping up as a Republican wave election, Buttigieg hoped he could attract ticket splitting voters.

Mourdock was the state's top vote-getter, receiving a greater number of votes than any other Indiana candidate in the 2010 elections.

[13][14] He was a former United States Air Force officer[56] and a current non-profit consultant from Floyds Knobs.

A large majority of these were seized by the Republicans, giving them legislative dominance, but not enough to meet quorum without Democratic attendance.