Greg Zoeller (R)
INDIANAPOLIS (Legal Newsline)- Greg Zoeller, Indiana's chief deputy attorney general since 2001, will be sworn in as the state's new chief legal officer Monday, succeeding his boss, Republican Steve Carter.
Zoeller, also a Republican, defeated Democratic nominee for attorney general Linda Pence in November.
In the race for the GOP nomination, Zoeller bested Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas, who later ran his former opponent's general election campaign against Pence, a prominent attorney at the Indianapolis law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP.
During the campaign, Zoeller, a self-described conservative, said as attorney general he would continue Carter's fight against telemarketers, expand the office's identity fraud program to protect seniors, root out voter fraud and public corruption and defend the state's teachers in nuisance litigation.
Zoeller worked as an aide to both former Vice President Dan Quayle and to former U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburg. He also served as senior counsel to the U.S. House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight.
In 1996, Carter was nominated by the Republican Party to run for attorney general over Zoeller but lost.
Carter later won in 2000 and 2004. He gained national attention for Indiana's Do Not Call law, which is more restrictive that the 2003 federal law.
Also taking the oath of office at the Statehouse today are Gov. Mitch Daniels, Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman, and incoming State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett.
From Legal Newsline: Reach reporter Chris Rizo at chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com.