INDIANAPOLIS | Led by state Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, a diverse group of 13 Democratic state legislators from across Indiana endorsed Barack Obama for president at a Statehouse news conference Thursday.

"Those of us who are gathered here today consider him to be the person running that can bring about the change that America needs," Rogers said.

Several in the group said Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, inspires in them the same optimism that followed the late Robert Kennedy. The lawmakers also said they are excited to see Indiana play a key role in the presidential selection process for the first time since Kennedy ran in 1968.

Indiana's 72 unpledged Democratic convention delegates are at stake when Obama and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., square off in the state's May 6 primary.

Clinton is hosting a town hall-style meeting on economic issues this afternoon at the Hammond Civic Center. Obama has yet to campaign in Northwest Indiana, but Rogers said the candidate would pay a visit soon.

State Reps. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, and Mara Candelaria Reardon, D-Munster, also endorsed Obama at Thursday's news conference.

Brown urged the public to ignore the fracas over controversial remarks that Obama's now-retired pastor made, calling it "truly the most ridiculous part of this campaign."

Brown said Obama, as a member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, is no more accountable for the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's past sermons than Brown, as a legislator, is responsible for what is said by Indiana House Speaker Pat Bauer, D-South Bend.

Candelaria Reardon, the lone Hispanic member of the General Assembly, delivered her endorsement in Spanish. She and other legislators touted Obama's experience as a community organizer in Chicago.

"I'm excited that we're going to have a president that has seen the obstacles in the African-American community that are often shared by the Hispanic community as well," Candelaria Reardon said.