INDIANAPOLIS | Gov. Mitch Daniels is returning to the campaign trail.

The term-limited governor who won re-election last year isn't running for national office. He wants more Republicans in the Indiana House of Representatives.

"There are things we want to get done, and more allies would be helpful," Daniels said.

To that end, the governor will speak at a fundraiser Friday at a Chicago law firm. The minimum ticket price is $200.

Hosts of the event include former Illinois Gov. Jim Thompson, billionaire Dean White, of Crown Point, and former Schererville Republican state legislator Dan Dumezich.

The money raised will go to Aiming Higher, a fund created in 2004 to pay transition expenses after Daniels' first election. The fund was converted into a political action committee earlier this year.

Daniels said last week he will use the money to try to take back control of the for the GOP, where Democrats currently hold a one-seat advantage. Republicans control 33 of the 50 seats in the state Senate.

Republicans controlled both chambers of the General Assembly during Daniels' first two years as governor.

Many of his major accomplishments, such as selling the Indiana Toll Road and privatizing welfare, occurred during those years.

Daniels said the 2006 Toll Road deal -- a 75-year lease netting the state $3.8 billion -- couldn't have happened if Democrats controlled the House at the time.

"It wouldn't have mattered if we have been offered $33 billion, they wouldn't have let us do it," Daniels told Indiana entrepreneurs earlier this month.

House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said he isn't surprised the governor is able to raise big bucks from out-of-state supporters. The governor's privatization of government programs has made out-of-state investors a lot of money, he said.

Democrats will keep control of the House by offering voters better representation, Bauer said.

"We will never be able to compete with the money machine. But we will try to compete with quality candidates and a better message," he said.

State Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, said it's essential Democrats keep control of at least one chamber of the General Assembly following the 2010 elections.

"If we, the Democrats, do not maintain the majority in the House, things will just be totally different," he said.

Brown said he is especially concerned about the effects of a potential one-party redistricting.

The General Assembly will draw new legislative district boundaries in 2011. If the GOP controls both houses it could draw the maps to ensure it stays in control of the state legislature for a decade, he said.

In addition to recruiting and supporting GOP House candidates, the governor said he also will use the money to "promote our agenda and our ideas."

In April, Daniels tapped the fund to pay for radio ads and telephone marketing aimed at persuading state lawmakers to put property tax caps into the Indiana Constitution. Lawmakers didn't go for it then.

However, a second effort is already under way. A state Senate committee meets Tuesday, in an unusual December session, to consider a proposal putting the tax caps in the Constitution.

While Daniels' name is increasingly bandied about as a potential 2012 presidential candidate -- something he has said he has no interest in -- the governor is clearly interested in using his recruitment and campaigning in the 2010 elections to cement his legacy in Indiana.

"I'm always trying to get good people to take some role in public service," Daniels said. "I hope that there will be a new generation of people in our party who have their own good ideas long after I leave the scene."

Big names. Big bucks.

Gov. Mitch Daniels has powerful allies in his quest to win back the Indiana House for the Republican Party. Listed below are the "hosts" of Daniels' fundraiser Friday at the Chicago law firm, Mayer Brown.

* Murray Clark, chairman, Indiana Republican Party

* Wil Davis, owner, Gary Jet Center

* Dan Dumezich, former Schererville Republican state legislator

* Ty Fahner, Mayer Brown attorney, former Illinois attorney general, 1980-83

* Bob Grand, Indianapolis attorney, Munster native, major fundraiser for George W. Bush

* Gretchen Gutman, Indianapolis attorney, lobbyist

* John Janicik, Mayer Brown attorney

* Tom John, chairman, Marion County Republican Party

* Jim Richmond, former U.S. attorney, Northern District of Indiana

* Gov. Jim Thompson, Republican governor of Illinois, 1977-91

* Tom Wheeler, chairman, Indiana Election Commission

* Dean White, Crown Point billionaire, 202nd richest person in America