3 Indiana races represent worry for GOP
9TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT; 8TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT; 2ND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
3 Indiana races represent worry for GOP
Incumbents in tough fights typical of battle to retain Congress
By Jeff Zeleny
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Published August 6, 2006
LOOGOOTEE, Ind. -- The sheriff, unlike most Democrats running for Congress, has little interest in piling too much blame on President Bush. After all, if he is going to prevail in the midterm election, he must win over some of the very people who voted for Bush in 2004.
As he walks through the streets of this southern Indiana town, shaking hands and introducing himself as a candidate for Congress, Brad Ellsworth utters barely a sour word about Republicans. Yet Republicans are as nervous about losing this district as almost any across America.
"It's hard to tell--at least in this area--a Republican from a Democrat," said Ellsworth, a rugged lawman who is one of the party's top recruits. "I don't want our president to be viewed as weak. I know that sounds weird for a Democrat to say, but when the president is viewed as weak, our country is viewed as weak internationally."
Few places provide a better outlook for the final three months of the congressional campaign than Indiana, where three Republicans are fighting aggressively to keep their seats. The White House and top Republicans are nervously watching, fearful that if they can't win these districts in a state Bush carried with 60 percent of the vote, are prospects for preserving their majority bleak?
"We're working like these three seats are absolutely critical to the control of the House," said Murray Clark, chairman of the Indiana Republican Party.
While Ellsworth's reluctance to condemn Bush makes him a bit of an anomaly in a campaign season filled with vitriol, it underscores an attempt by many Democrats to place a gentle distance between themselves and the national party. Just as some Republicans are less than eager to embrace the president, not every Democrat is going for the jugular.
A sidewalk conversation with Ellsworth here on West Main Street, in front of Hunt's Steamer Cafe, illustrates the complexities of the electorate.
`I want to vote for you'
"I'm a Republican, but I want to vote for you," said Harold Green, a retired businessman in the town of 2,700 people about 80 miles northeast of Evansville. "People are looking for change."
Indeed, Republicans may have their troubles, but will voters like what they see from the Democrats?
Here in southwest Indiana, Rep. John Hostettler is locked in one of his toughest races since winning his seat in 1994, when Republicans swept to control of Congress for the first time in four decades. His fight with Ellsworth looks so intriguing to Democrats in Washington that they have pledged to invest at least $1.5 million in television ads, which almost certainly will be rivaled by Republicans.
In northern Indiana, Rep. Chris Chocola faces a familiar opponent in Joe Donnelly, whom he handily defeated in 2004. But a difficult climate for Republicans, coupled with local anger over privatizing the Indiana Toll Road, creates a fresh slate, strategists from both parties agree.
And in southeast Indiana, Rep. Mike Sodrel was the only Republican to defeat an incumbent Democrat two years ago. But as Sodrel faces former Democratic Rep. Baron Hill for a third time, he will not have a heavy presidential turnout that sealed his victory in 2004.
Republican leaders in Washington insist that all races hinge on local sentiment and incumbents in Congress won't be weighed down by national mood swings. But as Sodrel returned to his district last week to campaign during the August congressional break, questions he heard from voters illustrated a litany of concerns.
"People have questions about the price of energy--why is it so high and what are we doing about it? The war in Iraq--what's the plan? The rising cost of health care--what have we done?" Sodrel said. "And they have questions about immigration--are we going to get a bill?"
The questions ring familiar in nearly every competitive race, which is worrisome to the GOP. But Sodrel and Republicans elsewhere are beginning to remind voters that the election also will decide which leaders will control Congress.
"There is more hinging on this race than whether I occupy this congressional seat," Sodrel said. "If the House changes hands, you will have a speaker from San Francisco and a majority leader from Maryland. It will basically be a contest between flyover country and the two coasts. Think of the geographical shift."
He was referring to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who could become speaker, and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who likely would become majority leader if Democrats win control of the House.
When asked whether he believed the people of Indiana's 9th Congressional District knew enough about Pelosi to factor her hometown into their voting decisions, Sodrel quipped: "They know where San Francisco is."
It is, of course, a code word for liberal.
Won't be branded
Two years ago, that is precisely the message that contributed to Hill's defeat. This time, he said he would not allow himself to be branded in such a way.
"I'm letting people see and feel and touch me," he said after speaking with residents at a nursing home in New Albany. "So when these charges are made, I'm hoping they won't stick like they did before."
Hill is fighting back, dispatching his lawyer to investigate and sue whoever was behind a billboard and e-mail campaign suggesting he supported gay marriage.
As Hill talked to the lunch crowd at the Hitching Post tavern in New Albany on a recent day, Iraq, gas prices and health care were among the topics on voters' minds. He answered questions in great detail, drawing from his experience in Congress.
He did not, however, mention party affiliation until asked.
"I basically believe in the tenets of the Democratic Party, but I'm a Democrat who believes we need to be fiscally responsible again," Hill said. "There are a lot of Republicans out there who know me and vote for me."
To win his seat back, he knows he'll need them.
----------
jzeleny@tribune.com
3 Indiana races represent worry for GOP
Incumbents in tough fights typical of battle to retain Congress
By Jeff Zeleny
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Published August 6, 2006
LOOGOOTEE, Ind. -- The sheriff, unlike most Democrats running for Congress, has little interest in piling too much blame on President Bush. After all, if he is going to prevail in the midterm election, he must win over some of the very people who voted for Bush in 2004.
As he walks through the streets of this southern Indiana town, shaking hands and introducing himself as a candidate for Congress, Brad Ellsworth utters barely a sour word about Republicans. Yet Republicans are as nervous about losing this district as almost any across America.
"It's hard to tell--at least in this area--a Republican from a Democrat," said Ellsworth, a rugged lawman who is one of the party's top recruits. "I don't want our president to be viewed as weak. I know that sounds weird for a Democrat to say, but when the president is viewed as weak, our country is viewed as weak internationally."
Few places provide a better outlook for the final three months of the congressional campaign than Indiana, where three Republicans are fighting aggressively to keep their seats. The White House and top Republicans are nervously watching, fearful that if they can't win these districts in a state Bush carried with 60 percent of the vote, are prospects for preserving their majority bleak?
"We're working like these three seats are absolutely critical to the control of the House," said Murray Clark, chairman of the Indiana Republican Party.
While Ellsworth's reluctance to condemn Bush makes him a bit of an anomaly in a campaign season filled with vitriol, it underscores an attempt by many Democrats to place a gentle distance between themselves and the national party. Just as some Republicans are less than eager to embrace the president, not every Democrat is going for the jugular.
A sidewalk conversation with Ellsworth here on West Main Street, in front of Hunt's Steamer Cafe, illustrates the complexities of the electorate.
`I want to vote for you'
"I'm a Republican, but I want to vote for you," said Harold Green, a retired businessman in the town of 2,700 people about 80 miles northeast of Evansville. "People are looking for change."
Indeed, Republicans may have their troubles, but will voters like what they see from the Democrats?
Here in southwest Indiana, Rep. John Hostettler is locked in one of his toughest races since winning his seat in 1994, when Republicans swept to control of Congress for the first time in four decades. His fight with Ellsworth looks so intriguing to Democrats in Washington that they have pledged to invest at least $1.5 million in television ads, which almost certainly will be rivaled by Republicans.
In northern Indiana, Rep. Chris Chocola faces a familiar opponent in Joe Donnelly, whom he handily defeated in 2004. But a difficult climate for Republicans, coupled with local anger over privatizing the Indiana Toll Road, creates a fresh slate, strategists from both parties agree.
And in southeast Indiana, Rep. Mike Sodrel was the only Republican to defeat an incumbent Democrat two years ago. But as Sodrel faces former Democratic Rep. Baron Hill for a third time, he will not have a heavy presidential turnout that sealed his victory in 2004.
Republican leaders in Washington insist that all races hinge on local sentiment and incumbents in Congress won't be weighed down by national mood swings. But as Sodrel returned to his district last week to campaign during the August congressional break, questions he heard from voters illustrated a litany of concerns.
"People have questions about the price of energy--why is it so high and what are we doing about it? The war in Iraq--what's the plan? The rising cost of health care--what have we done?" Sodrel said. "And they have questions about immigration--are we going to get a bill?"
The questions ring familiar in nearly every competitive race, which is worrisome to the GOP. But Sodrel and Republicans elsewhere are beginning to remind voters that the election also will decide which leaders will control Congress.
"There is more hinging on this race than whether I occupy this congressional seat," Sodrel said. "If the House changes hands, you will have a speaker from San Francisco and a majority leader from Maryland. It will basically be a contest between flyover country and the two coasts. Think of the geographical shift."
He was referring to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who could become speaker, and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who likely would become majority leader if Democrats win control of the House.
When asked whether he believed the people of Indiana's 9th Congressional District knew enough about Pelosi to factor her hometown into their voting decisions, Sodrel quipped: "They know where San Francisco is."
It is, of course, a code word for liberal.
Won't be branded
Two years ago, that is precisely the message that contributed to Hill's defeat. This time, he said he would not allow himself to be branded in such a way.
"I'm letting people see and feel and touch me," he said after speaking with residents at a nursing home in New Albany. "So when these charges are made, I'm hoping they won't stick like they did before."
Hill is fighting back, dispatching his lawyer to investigate and sue whoever was behind a billboard and e-mail campaign suggesting he supported gay marriage.
As Hill talked to the lunch crowd at the Hitching Post tavern in New Albany on a recent day, Iraq, gas prices and health care were among the topics on voters' minds. He answered questions in great detail, drawing from his experience in Congress.
He did not, however, mention party affiliation until asked.
"I basically believe in the tenets of the Democratic Party, but I'm a Democrat who believes we need to be fiscally responsible again," Hill said. "There are a lot of Republicans out there who know me and vote for me."
To win his seat back, he knows he'll need them.
----------
jzeleny@tribune.com
posted by Carlos T Mock at 10:49 AM
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