Archive for the ‘Indiana Politics’ Category

Rumor mill is churning about the Democrat side of HD 86, that Ed Delaney might step aside from the ballot leaving the Party free to place David Orentlicher back on the ballot now that his bid for Congress has failed.

[crossposted to DFB]

Fellow Republicans:

This morning, in my capacity as Howard County Republican Party Chairman, I formally endorsed the election of Jon Costas as Attorney General. This was not an easy decision. Greg Zoeller has been a long-time faithful public servant to the people of Indiana, has ably served Attorney General Steve Carter as his Chief of Staff and would be an excellent Attorney General. I feel it is important to explain to our Howard County delegates my reasons for the endorsement of Jon Costas.

Four years ago the State of Indiana was virtually bankrupt, nearly financially ruined as a direct result of the reckless fiscal policies of sixteen years of Democratic administrations. Not only was the state in a condition of financial ruin, there was little hope for finding the resources necessary to tackle monumental tasks such as highway infrastructure and economic development. The poor state of affairs that Indiana found itself in was dramatically reversed with the election of Governor Mitch Daniels. Governor Daniels restored fiscal responsibility to state government and through the genius of the Indiana Toll Road lease agreement, Indiana was able to secure necessary funding for our highway infrastructure program for the next decade. We simply cannot return to those days of irresponsible taxpayer stewardship. We must re-elect Governor Mitch Daniels.

(Read more of Craig Dunn endorsement below the fold) (more…)

Anybody tired of hearing the mantra of “change” over and over without ever hearing what that change would be? For the last month we’ve heard the same empty message of change from presidential candidates and gubernatorial candidates, all of them Democrats, but have we ever asked ourselves what that change would be other than a different person in that particular office? So what is “change” exactly? Republican State Representative Jackie Walorski discusses in her recent blog post on Capitol Letters, what that represents.

It’s been fascinating to watch and listen to the Presidential candidates talk about “change”. Barack Obama is basing his entire campaign on “change”. I’m not sure if he’s talking about “change” for the sake of “change” or what, because he’s never really spelled out what exactly he would do to “change” anything in this country.

But, it’s equally interesting to read the editorials of several newspapers around Indiana. In Northern Indiana, the newspaper tone has been instructing it’s faithful readers to “embrace change” and to vote against Hoosier incumbents in November. Is that “change” for the sake of “change”? As a legislator, I’ve been involved in helping move Indiana forward in many areas. Indiana now leads the Midwest in job creation, we have our own “Big 3″ auto makers, employing thousands of Hoosiers. Our State has gone from bankrupt to having a cash balance on hand. We went from one of the worst child abuse States to one of the best in child protection. These “changes” weren’t easy.

Read the rest of Representative Walorski’s post here.

What a mess the Democrats are in right now. Hillary was supposed to win Indiana by a large enough total so that that nagging voice to concede in her head (i.e. the DNC) would go away and she could continue to campaign for president. And “Diamond Jim” Schellinger “Rocks!” was supposed to win the gubernatorial primary and make JLT go gently into that good night. Well, neither happened. Now post Indiana primary, Hillary is furthering her self induced national embarrassment by issuing racially insensitive remarks to USA Today, and the state Democrats are stuck with a candidate for governor who is broke and no one in the party structure even wanted running, much less winning.

(Read more after the leap) (more…)

The Indy Star reports:

Jim Schellinger, the Indianapolis architect who fought a campaign for the Democratic nomination for governor to a razor-thin finish last night, conceded the race to Jill Long Thompson this afternoon.

“Jim Schellinger just phoned Jill to concede,” Thompson communications director Jeff Harris said.

With all but two precincts counted out of 5,230 precincts across the state, Long Thompson led by 7,102 votes, according to unofficial figures from The Associated Press, which earlier declared her the winner.

Which allows me to use this again!

YouTube Direct 

Jonathan Martin of Politico.com is reporting some interesting political news to Hoosiers:

Another entrant for 2012/2016?

Here’s a new one: Rep. Mike Pence (IN).

Upside: Evangelical, fiscal conservative, good with the media (he’s a former talk show host)
Downside: He’s a fairly junior member of the House and is virtually unknown beyond conservative circles in DC and voters in his eastern Indiana district.

But he seems at least curious about the national stage. Why else would he keynote the South Carolina GOP’s Silver Elephant fundraising gala later this month?

If he does eventually make a run, he’ll already have a toehold in the Palmetto State. Tim Cameron notes that his direct mail consultant is South Carolina-based Starboard Communications.

Congressman Pence would certainly make an interesting choice. His name has even been tossed around during this presidential cycle as potential Veep pick.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Mike Pence not too long after Hoosier Access first launched last August at the Midwest Republican Leadership Conference. Knowing the “Hoosier Hysteria” would be hog wild for a Pence candidacy, I prodded him about any potential higher political endeavors he might pursue. Check it out after the leap. (more…)

I found the analysis below of the 5th CD race quite interesting:

The Crossover voting hurt Dan Burton more than John McGoff. Internal polling showed a 20-25 point victory on Election Day (also verified by polling done by a third part- Howey). Voter ID calls in the last 4 days showed undecideds going 60-40 for Burton. So what happened? Conservative primary voters who would have voted for Dan Burton instead participated in Operation Chaos. They won’t do that in 2010.

McGoff didn’t eat into Burton’s victories outside of Indy metro. Dan delivered 3 to 1 margins outside of Marion and Hamilton counties. This has always been Burton’s base (he lost Marion County in his last major challenge). He’s always performed well in the traditional Republican areas in the other 9 counties in the district. McGoff didn’t budge numbers there despite considerable effort (and some nasty mail in the last week).

(Read more after the leap) (more…)

Posted in Congress, Elections, Indiana Politics | No Comments » | Read more..

Baron Hill carried less than 70% of the votes cast in the 9th District Democratic primary, a record low for him. He carried only 60% of the vote in Bloomington.

These figures exclude undervotes, where people left the ballot blank rather than vote for Baron or any of his challengers. In Harrison County, there over a thousand Democrat undervotes in the Congressional race.

In all, more than one Democratic primary voter in three voted against Baron Hill, or at least declined via undervote to vote for him (in terms of undervotes). The bedrock of the Democratic Party in the 9th District has been betrayed. Baron’s base may be in Bloomington now, but the rest of the district has gone in a different direction from him.

Hillary Clinton carried the 9th District by better than 63%. The only county in the district that Obama carried was Monroe. Most counties in the 9th (including my own, Harrison) gave Hillary Clinton margins upward of 70%.

(Read more after the leap) (more…)

Congratulations are in order for our endorsed candidates for their victories yesterday!

Way to go:

• Luke Puckett for your victory in the 2nd CD over Joe Roush and Tony “I swear I’m not a Nazi, I just play one in real life” Zirkle.
• State Rep. Dan Leonard for still showing that you serve your constituents well.
• Jim Banks, for topping all of your opponents in the primary and becoming the newest member of the Whitley County Council!

Republican or Democrat, last night was an exciting time to be a politico in Indiana! “Chaos” was out in force yesterday with many Republican voters crossing over to vote in the Democrat primary. Turnout was extraordinarily high all across the state, but Republican ballots cast were way low, especially in typically red counties.

What was more interesting to watch last night wasn’t so much how the presidential race shook down between Hillary and Obama, but how Operation Chaos played it’s role in down ballot races. Incumbents and challengers alike will all claim Chaos hurt them the most. The thing is, they’re right. Everybody is going to have their particular spin. In the 5th CD, Congressman Dan Burton emerged victorious yet again (no surprise there), but with his lowest re-elect numbers ever. A good portion of his supporters are Rush Limbaugh listening conservatives who probably took Rush’s advice to switch over and cause havoc with the Democrats primary. With the intertwining history that Limbaugh and Burton have had with the Clinton’s over the years, for conservatives to cross over and pull the lever for a Clinton seems a bit absurd. But when couched with the idea that a vote for Hillary only prolongs the agony of Democrats, all of the sudden, it becomes quite a palatable choice.

(Read more after the leap) (more…)

Guys and Gals,

Hoosier Access hopes to be your one stop shop for election day coverage tomorrow!  But as you may have been able to tell, we each have our own races we are working on tomorrow.  So I wanted to give a plug to a group that is going to be in town tomorrow doing their own coverage as well.  Consider them partners in crime.

I’m talking about Election Journal.  They’ve been all over Indiana the last few days looking covering the goings on, but they’ve also been on the prowl for shenanigans.

So tomorrow, check Hoosier Access and Election Journal and help keep us up to date with what you’re seeing as we keep you up to date with what we’re seeing.

*UPDATE* - The Indy Star is reporting that the video below is a hoax.  If that’s true, talk about timing!

Woah! Really? Is that how we’re seen to Mickey Kantor, Bill Clinton’s Trade Representative, a supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, and an informal adviser to her campaign? Thanks to ABC’s Jake Tapper, you can see for yourself (fast forward to minute 4:45).

YouTube Direct 

Kantor is saying the clip is doctored, but you can read the guys lips! What an idiot!

Read the rest of Jake’s post here.

By the way, what’s with James Carville’s Michael Jackson impression with the single glove?