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Presidential petitions roll in to Indiana

Posted at 10:26 PM, Jan 20, 2016
and last updated 2016-01-20 22:26:06-05

INDIANAPOLIS -- There are officially two presidential candidates on the ballot in the Hoosier state, with many more sure to come. 

6,000 ballot petitions collected by volunteers in Indiana and a declaration of Hillary Clinton's candidacy were delivered to the Secretary of State's office to put her on the ballot. 

"We have a great grassroots effort here in Indiana, and we look forward to seeing Hillary Clinton being the Democratic nominee," Dan Parker with Hillary for America said. 

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But this week, Clinton and her national campaign are focused in Iowa and New Hampshire on Senator Bernie Sanders' surge. 

"It's close now, but the one thing you can say about Hillary Clinton is she's a trusted and tested leader, and her experience is going to come through," Parker said. 

Clinton's filing comes one day after Jeb Bush's campaign filed his petitions in Indiana. He is the first to do so in what is still a crowded race. 

"It's drawing a lot of attention. How it plays out? I'm scratching my head on it as is everybody else," Sen. Dan Coats said. 

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RTV6 spoke with Coats via satellite Wednesday. 

"We still have three or four or five major players who are still competing for this nomination. I can't begin to guess how this plays out. Every time I make a prediction, it goes in the opposite direction, so I'm watching with great interest. We have a lot of qualified people and I think we line up very well in terms of new ideas and new ways to lead America than the other party," Coats said. 

Coats did say that a contested convention is a real possibility for the Republicans with no candidate winning delegates throughout the primary process. 

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