MUNCIE, Ind. — The Delaware County Democratic Party met Saturday to vote for a new vice chair. Melanie Wright, former member of the Indiana House of Representatives, won against Chelsea McDonnel, former campaign manager for congressional candidate Jackson Franklin.

After previous Vice Chair Joann McKinney announced she would start a job with Ball State PBS, she resigned earlier this month and will be involved with the party as a volunteer. Democratic Party Chair Andrew Dale said both candidates were great and encouraged the crowd to listen to both McDonnel and Wright. People eligible to vote Saturday morning were precinct committee people (both PC’s and Vice PC’s).

McDonnel founded the nonprofit MADVoters in 2023 and is currently a campaign manager for District 35 candidate Phil Gift. She also managed the campaign of Jackson Franklin, a firebrand progressive who ran for congress throughout early 2025 and the primary of 2026. McDonnel emphasized importance of transparency and community in her statement and called for stronger coordination for the local party.

Wright talked about her advocacy for public education and talked about the terror of ICE on local schools. After her tenure in the Indiana House, she ran as a congressional candidate in 2020 against Republican Elizabeth Rowray, and the Indiana State Senate election for District 26 in 2022 against Republican incumbent and current candidate Scott Alexander.

Daisy Dale is the editor and publisher of The Muncie Post-Democrat, a commissioner for the Muncie Human Rights Commission, and a board member of Muncie Queer Alliance.