Mike Sodrel visited the Harrison County Fair last night (Friday).

I saw the former Republican Congressman making the rounds of the exhibits, talking to folks and shaking hands.

Sodrel at the GOP booth.

I later (after grabbing a camera) found him at the booth for the Harrison County Republicans, where he continued to talk to people and I took some pictures.

There are more pictures below the fold.


Mike Sodrel handing out popsicles; I tried a different setting for the camera here, and it didn’t turn out so good.

This has been a sweltering week for the fair (even in the evenings), and the Harrison County Republicans have been giving out free popsicles.

More handing out popsicles; the fellow on the left is 9th District GOP Chairman and Harrison County GOP Chairman Larry Shickles.

Sodrel was soon standing at the cooler handing them out to waiting kids.

Yet more dispensing of popsicles.

Mike Sodrel isn’t usually someone that’s depicted in the media as getting along well with children, but he was a hit even when they ran out of popsicles and had to go get more; must have something to do with being a grandfather many times over.

Millionaire Mike, it seems, has a really big heart.

Mike Sodrel exchanging high fives with one of the kids.

There were a lot of gaping mouths at the booth for the Harrison County Democrats.

They made many hushed cell phone calls with hands held over their mouths, their eyes glancing repeatedly at the Republican booth a couple of spaces down.

Gary Gilley, the Democrat Vice Chair and the Harrison County Chief of Police, just stared.

Eventually, he just wandered off.

This was a good thing, as Gilley was inside the Democratic booth with his police uniform on, which I seem to recall is a major no-no (and something worth taking a picture of, had I caught him in time with the camera).

Worrying Democrats orbited, leaving their booth walking casually past Sodrel–stealing glances the whole way–before returning to whence they came a few minutes later empty handed.

I can’t fault them too much for gawking; I parked myself next to a post near the Republican booth, watched, and took pictures.

The view from down the way must not have been good enough, nor the scouting reports sufficient, for Democrat Chairman Barb Black soon migrated from their booth to a lawn chair in a booth opposite the Republicans to get a better view.

There, she made idle chit-chat with a pest exterminator (oh, the irony), her eyes on the Republicans, before heading back to her party’s booth some time later while Sodrel continued to dispense popsicles, shake hands, and chat with people.

Sodrel got what I would eyeball as a very positive reception; he did not go around introducing himself, but a lot of people recognized him and simply walked up (he was the only Republican to carry the whole of Harrison County in 2006).

When I saw Sodrel earlier in the evening in one of the exhibit buildings, a younger lady walked up to him and said that she “just wanted to shake his hand.”

Later, at the booth, I heard someone ask him if he was going to run again.

Sodrel (curse it all) was facing away from me at the time, so I couldn’t hear him and don’t know what his response was.

He said something, shrugged, and shared a laugh with the questioner.

The former Congressman seemed to be in good spirits, and a lot happier and at peace with himself than when I saw him last (which was probably sometime last December).

I don’t know whether he is running or not, but he looks to be the happy warrior regardless.

Baron Hill, by the way, has not made any sort of appearance at the Harrison County Fair; he did not even walk in the parade last Sunday.

This post is also available at Hoosierpundit.