After a few months of speculation, Cheryl Musgrave officially jumped into the HD77 race today and gave a huge boost to the Republican effort to take back the Indiana House. While her announcement wasn’t huge in the way of breaking news (she’s been signaling her intentions for at least a month), it was huge symbolically. Not only is Musgrave a strong competitor, but she’s known statewide and her credentials highlight the one issue Democrats don’t want to discuss next year: property tax reform.

To give you an idea of how strong she is, consider her background as laid out by the Evansville Courier & Press:

Musgrave is one of the few local Republican politicians who has never lost an election.

She was elected to three terms as Vanderburgh County assessor in 1994, 1998 and 2002. She then ousted Democratic County Commissioner David Mosby in 2004 before leaving for Indianapolis to head the Department of Local Government Finance in July 2007.

Musgrave has never lost an election, despite the fact that she has never run in an area favorable to Republicans. Her electoral appeal is proven in the area, while Riecken’s only race for State Rep. thus far was an uncontested one. On top of that, it’s a district that Gov. Daniels won with 53% of the vote.

Her statewide connections from her time as the DLGF commissioner are huge for her fundraising purposes, but also give the GOP’s recruitment effort some justified bragging rights. While Republican candidates who have lined up to run have already far surpassed the number of Democrats who have jumped in, and while most–if not all–of the candidates are considered stronger than usual, Musgrave gives the mainstream media a known commodity to embody the Republican effort to take back the house. While she isn’t the first strong challenger to announce for next year, Musgrave is known statewide and is one of the first of the 2010 cycle to catch the eye of the media outside her district. Consider Jim Shella, who noted:

Republican Cheryl Musgrave’s move to run for the Indiana House of Representatives in a Vanderburgh County seat now represented by Democrat Gail Rieken [sic] is one more sign that the GOP and Governor Mitch Daniels are serious about winning back control in the House.

A minor milestone to be sure, but this marks the first time a member off the mainstream media has commented on races outside the immediate region. We expect others across the state to similarly begin making the same point now that Musgrave is in.

Finally, it’s no secret that the biggest issue for the Governor and House Republicans in the next session is property tax caps. It’s also no secret that Pat Bauer wants it be a secret because his future as Speaker of the House may hinge on how he handles it. Musgrave, unfortunately for Democrats, was appointed DLGF commissioner in the middle of the property tax/assessment mess in 2007 and is largely credited with cleaning it up. No other person in the state has more bona fides on the issue, making it that much harder for Bauer to sweep it under the rug.

You can learn more about Musgrave at www.CherylMusgrave.com.