CLARKSVILLE -- Representatives of the third largest political party in Indiana will convene April 29 through May 1 at the Holiday Inn here, just after launching their new "Victory 2006" campaign.

The party has hired a small Indianapolis firm, Sherman & Co. Public Relations, to head up the campaign in an attempt to stay true to its support of small businesses.

"The Republicans seem to be the party of big business and the Democrats seem to be the party of no business," Brad Klopfenstein, executive director of the Libertarian Party of Indiana, explained. "The small business owners are really underrepresented."

He said Sherman & Co. in particular was selected because "they seemed to have the same values that we did."

Victory 2006, Hendricks County Libertarian Party Chair Todd Singer said, will help the party increase awareness throughout the state.

"We hope that translates into some victories in 2006," he added.

At the convention, Klopfenstein said, statewide officers for the Libertarian Party will be elected. Each elected official will serve for two years.

Special speakers will include Vin Suprynowicz, editor of the Las Vegas Journal Review and author of The Black Arrow, and Abdul Hakeem Shabazz, host of "Abdul in the Morning" on WXNT radio in Indianapolis.

Seminars and candidate recruitment and education are also planned.

"We're already gearing up for the 2006 election," Klopfenstein said, adding that it's also a great opportunity for Libertarians to spend time with people with similar views.

Sometimes, he explained, Libertarians from different areas can feel all alone in their beliefs.

Singer said he and Hendricks County Libertarian Party Secretary Dale Wedel will be attending the convention this weekend in order to vote and talk with other Libertarians.

He said he and Wedel hope to raise awareness about the party throughout the state, but their personal focus is mostly on Hendricks County.

"Republicans are mostly unchallenged [in Hendricks County]," Singer said. "We hope to give voters a choice."

He added that Libertarians are generally even more fiscally conservative than Republicans and he would like to see more restraints on local government spending in the county.

He also noted that he would like to try to make the government more available to the public.

For more information about the Libertarian Party of Indiana, visit the website at www.lpin.org, e-mail to lpinhq@lpin.org, or call 920-1994. For more information about the Libertarian Party of Hendricks County, visit the website at www.lphc.org.