I thought that I would try to give my insights into the State House Districts in Indiana, and I will start with the Southern part (mostly the old 8th and 9th Districts, now including a lot of the 6th District). I plan three more installments: Indianapolis Metro, Northwest (The Region to South Bend-Elkhart), and Northeast and the Cornfields.
Remember, this was the epicenter of the demise of the Democratic State House majority in 2010. Democrats lost 12 seats last year, where Democrats lost open seats in HD 46 (Tincher), HD 73 (Oxley), HD 75 (Avery), HD 76 (Van Haaften), and incumbents in HD 44 (Michel), HD 62 (Blanton), HD 68 (Bischoff), HD 70 (Robertson), and HD 74 (Stilwell). 9 of the 12 losses occurred here. For Democrats to be able to have any shot at regaining the House (and that is very, very, very slim), they have to make MAJOR GAINS in this area. I would caution that when someone looks at the presidential numbers in Indiana, that in north and central Indiana, Obama over performed what most legislative Democrats win, but in the Southern third of the state, he performed much like he did in neighboring Kentucky- very badly. Many of the counties in the Louisville media market, Hillary Clinton defeated Obama by 2 to 1 and 3 to 1 (78% in Scott County). Those Hillary voters did not come home to Obama in November. Remember that in 2004, when George W. Bush won some of these districts with well over 60%, only a few Democrats lost their seats. In many of the seats in this area, one needs to analyze them like one would look at state legislative districts in Kentucky. I have been working on this for a while and I am really interested in any comments on what I have to say here.
The idea that Republicans drew a fair map is laughable to me. Their gerrymandering was different that Democratic gerrymandering. They basically found any Democratic leaning county and put all the Democrats in one district and then cut up the rest of the county to other districts. Take a look at the Terre Haute, Evansville, and Bloomington areas in this section for evidence of that.
Indiana has its elections for cities and towns this year. Many of the races will not develop that much until after November, especially in the heavily contested cities.
District 42- Incumbent: Dale Grubb (D), elected 1988- Obama 49.3, McCain 49.1
Dale Grubb's district continues to be centered north of Terre Haute, and includes all of heavily Democratic Vermillion County. Compared to the old HD42, Obama performed about one point better. However, it splits Grubb's home county of Fountain and extends him into Brazil, in Clay County. Grubb was able to survive the 2010 onslaught though, so he should probably be alright in 2012. However, when he retires, this will be a dogfight for this seat. Currently this district is LIKELY DEMOCRAT.
District 43- Incumbent: Clyde Kersey (D), elected 1996- Obama 62.4, McCain 36.3
This district is a classic example of the GOP gerrymander of Indiana. They isolate the heavily Democratic precincts in a county, and then chop up the remainder among GOP leaning counties. This is the case here in Vigo, but also in Monroe, St. Joseph, Allen, Madison, Delaware, Vanderburgh, LaPorte, and Porter. Kersey's old district even extended into Clay County, which nearly defeated him in 2010. That part has been removed and this district is now entirely in Vigo County. This should benefit Kersey since this is a district that voted for Obama by 26 points. This new version of HD 43 is SOLID DEMOCRATIC.
District 44- Incumbent: James Baird (R), elected 2010, McCain 57.5, Obama 41.0
As if the old version of HD 44 was not bad enough for Democrats, in that it was based in Republican Putnam County, the new version is even worse. Before, it extended west into the Terre Haute area, but now it goes east into heavily Republican Morgan County. The man Baird beat was former Greencastle Mayor Nancy Michel. The new district makes it very hard for Michel to try to make a comeback. This district now is SOLID REPUBLICAN.
District 45- Incumbents: Bruce Borders (R), elected 2004 vs. Kreg Battles (D), elected 2006, McCain 51.4, Obama 47.1
Neither of these incumbents got the districts they wanted. Borders, who represented the most Democratic district (in 2008 Gov. numbers) held by a Republican, moved further away from a safer seat. In fact, the changes took away parts of heavily Republican Daviess County and most all of his home of Greene County. The added part was the city of Vincennes in Knox County, which is the home of Rep. Kreg Battles. The apparent goal of this was to create on open District 64, which looks similar to the old District 64, but without Kreg Battles and Vincennes in it. Battles has won in HD 64, which is much stronger for the GOP than this district. Were Republicans willing to sacrifice Bruce Borders to have better chance in an open HD 64? Currently this district is a TOSSUP/TILT DEMOCRAT.
District 46- Incumbent: Bob Heaton (R), elected 2010, McCain 51.5, Obama 47.2
Bob Heaton, who nearly won in 2008, easily won an open seat, that looks much like the new district, which stretched from the Monroe County to Vigo County. The biggest change is that Heaton gains Ellitsville, a suburb of Bloomington, which tends to lean Republican (at least for Bloomington). But Ellitsville is not a stronghold of the far right. The new district did subtract Brazil in Clay County. This a winnable district for Democrats, but they need a candidate. At this point, this district LEANS REPUBLICAN.
District 55: Incumbent: OPEN SEAT (R), McCain 58.4, Obama 40.2
This district is very similar to Rep. Tom Knollman's old district, but with one important difference, no Tom Knollman, since Union County has been placed in HD 68. This district is anchored in Connersville (the town with no fluoride in their water), with leftovers from other counties. This is another district where Democrats would need to put up a good fight to take back the House, but where it is not easy. This district is LIKELY REPUBLICAN.
District 56: Incumbent: Phil Pflum (D), McCain 50.7, Obama 47.5
The old version of this district basically linked the cities of Richmond and New Castle. The new version is all in Wayne County. It always reminded me of the Lois Capps district in California that was oddly shaped and split counties, but seemed to link more like communities than if counties were kept together. This did make this district much more Republican. The old version voted for Obama by about 6-8 points, so there is about a ten point turnaround in favor of the GOP, but taking away New Castle and replacing it with rural parts of Wayne County. Pflum is from Richmond and done well there. It will be interesting to see if the GOP seriously targets Pflum, or waits until he retires. At this point this district TOSSUP. However, when Pflum retires, this will be a tough district for Democrats to hold if he hangs on in 2012.
District 57: Incumbent: Sean Eberhart (R), McCain 59.3, Obama 39.4
There is not much to say here. This is still a heavily Republican district centered on Shelby County, with the remainder of Bartholomew County filling out the population. Democrat J.D. Lux tried to win this district several times, but was not successful. This district is SOLID REPUBLICAN.
District 59- Incumbent: Milo Smith (R), McCain 54.4, Obama 44.6
Republicans did succeed in their self-congratulatory praise that they drew maps that did not divide communities in this district, and it was not to the benefit of Milo Smith. This is still a Republican district, but since it is entirely in Bartholomew County, it lost its heavily Republican part in Southern Johnson County. Columbus Township is now intact. This district only gave John McCain 54-45% in 2008. While Bartholomew County's elected officials are strongly Republican, Democrats have dominated the mayor's office in Columbus for years. While it is doubtful that Smith would be highly vulnerable, the right set of circumstances could produce a Democratic win here if that Democrat was very popular in Columbus. Terry Coriden, who ran unsuccessfully for the State Senate in 2006, actually won Bartholomew County, and his wife is a Superior Court Judge in the County. A candidate like Coriden or outgoing Mayor Fred Armstrong could give the GOP a run for its money. Right now, the focus here is on the competitive open race for Mayor of Columbus. The unfortunate thing for Democrats if one looks statewide is that for them to have any chance at retaking the majority, they will have to win seats like this. It is no wonder why most people have said that these maps put Republicans in charge for the next ten years in the State House. This district is LIKELY REPUBLICAN.
District 60- Incumbents: Peggy Welch (D), elected 1998 vs. Ralph Foley (R), elected 1992, McCain 52.4, Obama 46.7
HD 60 shows how not serious the Republicans were about not splitting up counties and communities of interest. Monroe County is split between 5 counties and Morgan is split between 3. The census numbers would easily give Monroe County two districts within its border and Morgan one with great ease. Republicans actually split Perry Township in Monroe County three ways. Anyone who has EVER lived in Bloomington will tell you that Monroe County has nothing in common with its neighbors, especially Morgan County and Martinsville. The old HD 60 was (mostly) the non-city of Bloomington parts of Monroe County, plus Ellitsville (the town that is big enough to be a city, but will not agree to become one), and a couple of stray townships in Brown and Greene Counties. The old district gave Obama only 56%. The new HD 60 is majority in Morgan County, which is heavily Republican and a few years ago was banned from high school home basketball games when racial epithets were yelled at Bloomington South players. This district does not include most of the heavily Democrat precincts near the college. Welch pondered a challenge to Rep. Todd Young, but decided to run here again. At this point the district is a TOSSUP. And to my IU Hoosier fellow alumni, can you really see any part of Bloomington paired with Martinsville? It makes as much sense to me as the GOP plan in Kansas to pair rural west Kansas with Kansas City.
District 61- Incumbent: Matt Pierce (D), appointed 2004, Obama 76.2, McCain 23.0
After the first draft of the map placed Pierce in a Bloomington to Martinsville district, which was about half Monroe County, half Morgan County, the revised version came out, and Pierce must have been pleased. The revised 61st District is basically the heavily Democratic city of Bloomington, including, Indiana University. This the strongest non-minority majority district in the entire state for Democrats, where Obama exceeded 75%. It is the 10th most Democratic district in the state. This district is SOLID DEMOCRAT.
District 62- Incumbent: Matt Ubelhor (R), elected 2010, McCain 51.7, Obama 47.0
The new design of HD 62 looks little like its former version. Gone are Orange, Lawrence, and Washington Counties from this new district. Good for the GOP: it picks up more of Greene County and a few precincts in Daviess Counties. Bad news: most of the gain is in Democratic Monroe County. In fact, nearly half of this district is now in Monroe County, where the new Republican has never run before. Until this district can be sorted out, is a TOSSUP/TILT REPUBLICAN.
District 63- Incumbent: Mark Messmer (R), elected 2008, McCain 58.6, Obama 40.0
Messmer picked up this seat from retiring Democrat Dave Crooks in 2008. Democrats drew this district in 2001, believing Crooks was strong enough to hold it, despite the strong Republican nature of his home in Washington, in Daviess County, and paired it with most of then-Democratic Dubois County, the most Catholic County in all of Indiana. Crooks hung on this time until his retirement in 2008, when the Democratic nominee, who was seen as strong, imploded in the end. Messmer, from Jasper, in the heart of Dubois County, was reelected easily in 2010. It is hard to see how Democrats beat Messmer, who does well in the area where Democrats need to rack up votes. With Messmer running again, this district is SOLID REPUBLICAN.
District 64- OPEN SEAT, McCain 57.9, Obama 41.0
It seems a GOP goal was to create a new Gibson County based seat. This county has moved strongly Republican lately. The small parts of Gibson County gave the winning margins for Republican Wendy McNamara in the House and Jim Tomes in the Senate. It is combined with Democratic-leaning parts of Knox County, and a mixed bag in Vanderburgh County. It has Democratic-leaning German Township, and the Republican-leaning Armstrong and part of Scott Townships. I am probably more pessimistic about this seat than most people are. Until we see who the candidates are in this new district, it LIKELY REPUBLICAN.
District 65- Incumbent: Eric Koch (R), elected 2004, McCain 57.1, Obama 41.5
Eric Koch should be really happy with his district. If he doesn't, he can only blame himself, because he was the one responsible for drawing the State House map. His district didn't change very much. It is centered in heavily Republican Bedford (Lawrence County), and extends to swingy Brown County up to heavily Republican Southern Johnson County. This district was heavily Republican even when all the other districts were Democratic. To illustrate how Republican the Bedford area is, in 2000, Democratic Gov. Frank O'Bannon lost this county, which was the only county in the southern third of the state not to vote for him. This race is SOLID REPUBLICAN.
District 66- Incumbent: Terry Goodin (D), McCain 53.5, Obama 45.2
Clark County turned strongly against Democrats in 2010. Generally a Democratic stronghold, Democrats lost most of the contested races in the county. Goodin lost the previous areas of Clark County in HD 66 by a little over 200 votes. This time, he picks up the remainder of Charlestown Township and represents the rest of eastern Clark County. However, Goodin drops all of Jackson County, and picks up part of Jefferson County, including most of the City of Madison. Most valuable to him is that he gains the rest of his home in Scott County, where he is extremely popular and has a lot of relatives. This district got more Democratic in this plan. If Republicans could not beat him in 2010, it is hard to see them beating him in any year less Republican. This district is LIKELY DEMOCRATIC.
District 67- Incumbent: Randy Frye (R), elected 2010, McCain 60.1, Obama 38.3
So much for Republicans drawing simple districts. This one has all or part of seven counties. Frye is one of the many freshmen elected in 2010, but this was a GOP open seat of Rep. Cleo Duncan, not a GOP pickup. This district is much different than Frye's old district. He loses most of Decatur County and all of Rush County. What he gains is the Southern Tier of Dearborn County, more of Ripley County, North and Eastern parts of Jennings County, Eastern Jefferson County, and all of Ohio and Switzerland Counties. This a Republican leaning district, but not nearly as Republican as before, especially with the gain of heavily Democratic Switzerland County. The problem for Democrats is that this district is so fragmented, it will be hard to find someone that would have a substantial base to build off of. However, as was noted in HD 59, this may be the kind of district that Democrats may have to gain if they ever want to take back the House. This district starts out as SOLID REPUBLICAN.
District 68- Incumbents: Jud McMillan (R), elected 2010 vs. Tom Knollman (R), elected 2006, McCain 67.0, Obama 31.7
In 2010, Jud McMillan defeated 30 year incumbent Bob Bischoff. When Bischoff was elected in 1980, was not nearly as Republican as it is today. Rather than being a suburb of Cincinnati, it was a strong union area, where the largest employer was Seagram's. In fact, when Lee Hamilton first won the 9th District in 1964, Dearborn County was his strongest county. Things have changed since then. This new version of HD 68 is decidedly Republican. Gone are Ohio and Switzerland Counties, as well as the southern tier of Dearborn County. It now is most of Dearborn and Franklin Counties, plus Union County. All of these parts are strongly Republican. The real danger for McMillan is not a Democrat in this district, but a primary challenge from a Dearborn County Republican. It should be noted that even in the old district, Democrats knew they would have a difficult time holding it without Bischoff, and now it is even more tilted to the GOP. This district is SOLID REPUBLICAN.
District 69- Incumbent: Dave Cheatham (D), elected 2006 (previously served 1982-1992), McCain 54.7, Obama 43.5
Cheatham's district changed mainly in that it traded Madison for Seymour. The old HD 69 was all of Jefferson County, nearly all of Jennings County, and a slice of Ripley County. Cheatham defeated Republican Billy Bright in 2006, and had previously represented the district. Cheatham is very popular in his home of Jennings County, and he will retain several townships in Jefferson County. He will face a challenge in Jackson County, the home of former Rep. Baron Hill, who lost his home county last year. The good thing for him is that he will gain heavily Democratic Vernon Township (Crothersville) and most of the town of Brownstown, which leans Democratic. However, Seymour has trended more and more Republican over the years as it has grown, thanks to its location half way between Louisville and Indianapolis. This is roughly the same area (with a few more precincts) that Rep. Terry Goodin had represented in the old HD 66, which he lost by nearly 500 votes in 2010. Despite the changes, Cheatham should be in good shape, given his political strength and base in Jennings County. At this point, this district is LIKELY DEMOCRATIC.
District 70- Incumbent: Rhonda Rhoads (R), elected 2010, McCain 59.0, Obama 40.0
This was the battle of the school teachers in 2010. Retired Corydon Central High School teacher, and 32 year incumbent Paul Robertson faced former Harrison County Councilwoman and Morgan Elementary teacher Rhonda Rhoads, who had just narrowly lost a race for County Commissioner in 2008 (by only 22 votes). Robertson had proven extremely popular in this district, but it was moving away from Democrats thanks to the small parts of Floyd and Clark counties in it. Democrats packed Republican voters in his district, thinking he was strong enough to withstand them. Until 2010, he did. Robertson ran stronger than every other Democrat in his district, including being one of only two Democrats to win his home of Harrison County, thanks to a GOP landslide in the county due to corrupt former Sheriff Mike Deatrick, who is facing a multiple felony trial. However, Floyd County, and to a greater extent, Clark County, gave Rhonda Rhoads a big margin. When the district was redrawn, it was not changed a lot, but the small changes came at the expense of Republicans. South Blue River Precinct, which Rhoads won by 22 votes was removed. Jeffersonville 42 and Union 1 were removed in Clark County. While Robertson carried Jeff 42 by about 30 votes, Rhoads carried Union 1 by nearly 300 votes. Rhoads also lost a Republican precinct in Georgetown Township in Floyd County. Altogether, this knocked about 500 off her 2010 margin. Democrats need to find a candidate that can appeal across all three counties. But the goal for the Democrat is to win a decent margin in Harrison County and hold down losses elsewhere. In 2006, Democrats won every race in Harrison County, but in 2010, nearly all the Democrats countywide lost (largely thanks to corrupt, indicted Sheriff Mike Deatrick). It is a volatile county politically. Paul Robertson has said he is not running again. Until they prove they can get a strong candidate, this race LEANS REPUBLICAN.
District 71- Incumbent: Steve Stemler (D?), elected 2006, Obama 51.7, McCain 47.5
Why would Republicans even challenge Steve Stemler? He was the only Democrat not to bolt the chamber over right to work, and the GOP Speaker made him a committee chair. He has voted with them on a number of issues. It seems that Stemler faces more of a challenge at home in the Democratic primary, where this district is 11% black (very high for Southern Indiana), and Obama won in 2008, which is really a sign of the Democratic nature of the district considering Obama's non-popularity in Southern Indiana. Local Jeffersonville/Clarksville/Utica Democrats are currently working on local races. It will be interesting to see how much Stemler works to help these Democrats locally. Strangely, despite is GOP flirtations, Stemler is benefitted by a strong Democratic showing this year locally. If Democrats are successful locally, most people are likely to pull a D ticket in 2012 in the primaries. If Republicans make major gains, swing voters may be more likely to pull a GOP primary ticket, which would be a problem for Stemler against a loyal Democrat in a primary, given local Democratic activist's problems with Stemler. Also a wild card is his relative Kerry Stemler, who is a strong advocate of tolls for a new eastern bridge, but which would also include a toll on the existing Kennedy Bridge which links Clark County to Louisville. But will Stemler run as a Democrat? Currently, this district is SOLID DEMOCRAT (if you consider Stemler a Democrat).
District 72- Incumbent: Ed Clere (R), elected 2008, McCain 53.6, Obama 45.6
Ed Clere defeated longtime incumbent Bill Cochran in 2008 by about 100 votes after running a really nasty campaign (which he denied any involvement in), especially at the end. Democrats targeted this race in 2010, with New Albany City Attorney Shane Gibson, but in a year when Democrats lost every contested race in Floyd County (including popular County Commissioner Chuck Freigberger running for the State Senate), there was not much of a chance for Democrats, especially when they were losing House seats left and right. Plus, the Floyd County Democrats have a number of divisions, and coupled with the influx of Republicans in Floyds Knobs, Georgetown, and Greenville (in HD70), and the split between Democrats in New Albany and the county, makes for a bad mix. In 2010, Republicans ran a very nasty campaign against Gibson, and again, Clere denied any knowledge. This district changed only slightly in redistricting to gain a Republican Georgetown Township Precinct, while it dropped its only Clark County precinct in Clarksville, which is strongly Democratic. I thought Republicans would take the most Democratic precincts in New Albany, Clarksville, and Jeffersonville and make one super Democratic district, but they did not. Democrats need to get a good candidate and proceed accordingly here. They have a decent bench in Floyd County. If Democrats ever want to regain the House, this district is an absolute must to win. This district is currently LEAN REPUBLICAN today.
District 73- Incumbent: Steve Davisson (R), elected 2010, McCain 57.8, Obama 40.6
Few freshman could have expected a more favorable district to what they had before than Steve Davisson. The previous District 73 ran through all or part of eight counties, starting in Spencer County and running to Scott County. The old 73rd District was Democratic leaning, but given the health situation of Dennie Oxley II, and the late decision to leave the race, the Democratic nominee had little time to get around the sprawling district, while the Republican, Steve Davisson, had ran a strong race in 2008, and Republican put a lot of money behind him early, and on television. Davisson shed heavily Democratic Scott, Crawford, and Perry Counties, as well as Spencer and Dubois Counties. He gained the remainder of his home in Washington County, and picked up Republican leaning Southern Lawrence County and most of Republican Orange County. He also gained a few heavily Republican precincts in Clark County. One of the things that this plan did was to place former Rep. Sandy Blanton (who lives in Orleans-Orange County) in this district. By splitting Orange County, Republicans did do what they could to try to prevent a comeback by Blanton or former Rep. Jerry Denbo. Right now, this district is LIKELY REPUBLICAN.
District 74- Incumbent: Sue Ellsperman (R), Obama 52.2, McCain 46.0
Sue Ellsperman was described as one of the strongest Republican candidates challenging a Democrat in 2010, and she needed to be: she was running in a Democratic leaning district, and going up against the #2 Democrat in the House. In the end, she ended up winning by about 900 votes, thanks to big wins in Dubois and Spencer Counties, to offset her losses in Perry and Warrick Counties. The new version of this district puts Ellsperman in a precarious situation. While she did lose Warrick County, thus preventing Stilwell from running against her, it was replaced by the rest of Perry County, all of heavily Democratic Crawford County, Southern Orange County, and a couple of lightly populated townships in Dubois County (totaling less than 4,000). The parts of Perry, Dubois, and Crawford all voted for a Democrat in HD 73 that lost badly, if that gives any clue. Only about a little over a quarter of this redrawn seat is in Ellsperman's home in Dubois County, and she lost a few precincts in Spencer County. And despite the Republican lean of Orange County, the precincts added there tend to vote Democratic. One interesting resident of this new district is former St. Rep. Jerry Denbo of French Lick (Orange County), who helped bring the riverboat there. Thanks to a big win in Perry County, this district is unique in that it is the only district in the rural part of Southern Indiana that voted for President Obama. Many DKE readers would look at a 52% Obama district as a tossup, but for rural Southern Indiana, this is a real standout. Democrats need to find a good candidate given Ellsperman's skills in politics, but the new makeup of this district makes it more and more difficult for her to hold this seat. With the right candidate, this may be one of the best pickup opportunities in the state. Therefore, it is a TOSSUP.
District 75- Incumbent: Ron Bacon (R), elected 2010, McCain 53.9, Obama 44.8
Ron Bacon got a totally new district. In fact, only 11% of the old HD 75 is in the new version. It is now a largely Warrick County District, where about two-thirds of the residents in this district now live. However, the 12 Warrick County precincts that are not in this district are the most Republican in the county, in the Newburgh area. However, 21 precincts in Ohio Township, which is more than just Newburgh, are in this district. The remainder of the district is in Southern Spencer County, a swing area (the Democratic are of the county is in the north of the county), and most of Pike County, which leans Democratic. One thing Republicans did do was to put former Rep. Russ Stilwell, who losing his seat in 2010, easily won his section of Warrick County near Boonville, which is a Democratic stronghold with strong ties to organized labor. Given Bacon, who is a freshman (but who was Warrick County Coroner) has yet to plant deep legislative ties to the area, and weak GOP nature of the district, this district is a TOSSUP/LEAN REPUBLICAN.
District 76- Incumbent: Wendy "Mac" McNamara (R), elected 2010, McCain 51.4, Obama 47.5
This district seemed to sneak up on Democrats in the end. They had convinced State Senator Bob Dieg to give up his seat to run for the State House when Trent Van Haaften decided to run for Congress. They figured he would be a strong favorite. But Republicans ran an attractive young candidate in Wendy McNamara who had ties to most the district and the GOP landslide pulled her across the finish line by a grand total of four (4) votes. She ran even in Vanderburgh and Posey Counties, but was pushed over the top by her one Gibson County precinct where she won by 26 votes. Gibson County and northern Posey County are now gone and replaced by more of Vanderburgh County. The main change is that several of her precincts in Ward 6 of Evansville, which she lost, were replaced by precincts in Ward 5, both of which have Democratic City Council members, but is less Democratic. McNamara still retains her base of Perry Township in Vanderburgh County. In all, this district improved the McCain number by about 1.5%, but it is still Democratic leaning at the local level. It also looks like former St. Sen. Dieg is looking for a rematch in 2012. Therefore, this district is a TOSSUP.
District 77- Incumbent: Gail Riecken (D), elected 2008, Obama 62.7, McCain 36.3
The new version of District 77 eliminates all of what it had in its heavily Republican precincts in Newburgh. It is replaced by Democratic precincts in Evansville. In fact, there are only two precincts in this district not in the city of Evansville. It seems the goal here was clear: to pack as many Democrats as possible into this district. In fact, this district is now 19% black. Riecken faced her strongest possible opponent, former Local Government Finance Chair Cheryl Musgrave, who was strongly backed by Gov. Daniels in 2010 in a less Democratic district, still managed to hang on. With Obama on the ticket in 2012, who will boost minority turnout, in fact, one precinct in Ward 4, John McCain got 3 votes, and another he got 7 votes. This district is SOLID DEMOCRAT.
District 78- Incumbent: Suzanne Crouch (R), appointed 2005, McCain 55.0, Obama 44.3
This district has always been known as the Republican district in Evansville. In fact, for a long time, it was one of the only Republican held district in Southern Indiana. The incumbent here is Suzanne Crouch, who was appointed to the seat when Vanetta Becker moved up to the Senate. She is not a far right Republican- she voted against right-to-work legislation in 2006. The main difference in this district is that she lost several of her Republican Newburgh (Warrick County) precincts for more Republican Vanderburgh County precincts in Center Township and Ward Three. However, it is still dominated by heavily Republican parts of Evansville, Scott Township and Newburgh. This is still a heavily Republican district, and therefore is SOLID REPUBLICAN.