Jill Long Thompson just announced a UAW endorsement.

Its the one that appeared to be a glaring ommission when I asked about it earlier this week.

Jill Long Thompson touted a new endorsement today from the AFL-CIO but while this adds to a list of union labels for the Democratic candidate for governor, there is one big one missing.

Where is the UAW?

With all the flap about Barack Obama wearing a flag pin or not wearing a flag pin on his lapel, Jill Long Thompson sports a lapel pin that needs some explanation. 

It reads WOS which is short for Women of Steel.  It comes from the Steelworkers Union, one of her biggest support groups.   Long Thompson says she draws inspiration from it and believes all women are women of steel.

Meantime, while Republican blogs accuse her running mate, Dennie Oxley, of being unemployed, Oxley reports that he has a new part-time job.  Its a public relations position with Certified Engineering.

They hit the air tomorrow.  Jill on camera with a negative attack at an unnamed governor thrown in.

So far, all the talk about Senator Evan Bayh possibly becoming Barack Obama’s running mate stops right there.  But what if Bayh gets the job, and then gets elected Vice President?

That would create a vacancy in the U. S. Senate and the vacancy gets filled through an appointment by the governor.  Because the next Indiana governor takes office before the Vice President does, the winner of the Mitch Daniels/Jill Long Thompson race will get the honor. 

If its Daniels, there is already speculation that Congressman Mike Pence would get top consideration.  A Pence appointment to the Senate would create a vacancy in Congress and, therefore, a 2009 special election in a year with no other elections.  Former Republican state lawmaker Luke Messer might be a candidate for that opening (a Republican governor won’t create the opening without some idea of how he wants it filled.)

If its Long Thompson, it makes sense that Evan Bayh will get considerable input into the selection of his replacement.  That makes Bart Peterson a possibility, or maybe Bill Moreau. 

Make your own projections.  Isn’t this fun?

The campaign of Governor Mitch Daniels sent RV-1 to an event conducted by the Starfish Initiative (a not-for-profit geared toward high school mentoring) today.   The governor didn’t go, but campaign staffers did.  They handed out t-shirts and signed up volunteers.

Here’s the interesting part:  the offices of the Starfish Initiative are next door to Jill Long Thompson Headquarters on Delaware Street so all of the campaign activity took place within sight of the HQ front door.

Daniels spokesman Cam Savage says the activities were routine and the campaign agreed to take part in the event before it knew the location.  The RV was parked there for about an hour, he said.

Jill Long Thompson continues to add campaign staff as Jason Tomcsi comes over from the Statehouse.

Tomsci will be the new spokesman for the Democratic candidate for governor.  Jeff Harris stays as communications director.  Tomsci is at least the third staffer from the Senate Democratic Caucus to join the Long Thompson campaign.

Could it be that taking a chance with an underdog candidate is better than guaranteed employment under Senator Richard Young?

When Sen. Evan Bayh appears on stage this afternoon with Barack Obama at Purdue University the eyes of Indiana political junkies will be focused on an event designed to change the political landscape in this state.   Jill Long Thompson won’t be there.

The Democratic candidate for governor will continue on her Hoosier Hometown tour visiting five cities in southern Indiana, including Boonville and Tell City.  Long Thompson spokesman Jeff Harris says the candidate already had a schedule set when she learned of the Obama visit.

He says the campaign hopes there will be opportunities to get Obama and Long Thompson together in the future.

Democratic candidates for the state legislature now join their candidate for governor, Jill Long Thompson, in her call for a suspension of the state sales tax on gasoline but, so far, the message is not on TV.  Without TV ads to drive the point home, the calls for action won’t accomplish much.

Which gets us to tomorrow and the reporting deadline for fundraising in the governor’s race.  Jill Long Thompson needs to make a good showing so that she can attract even more money and, therefore, get her message on TV.

Yet Friday on Indiana Week in Review Democratic Chairman Dan Parker did his best to reduce expectations.  He said that any sum over a million dollars would show success for Long Thompson.  You may recall that a previous IWIR discussion put the credibility level at 1.5-to-2 million.

Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

I’m posting late this Monday because this was my 4th of July holiday (and my wife decided that today was the day we needed a new vinyl floor in the garage.)

I want to suggest that the old theory that Labor Day is the start of the fall campaign is yesterday’s news.

I say that the weekend of the 4th is the new official start.  Sure, Mitch Daniels began TV commercials long ago, but Jill Long Thompson just hit the campaign trail for real.  Its joined!

Wait any longer and you’re lost. 

On to November!