A recent poll by the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics and SurveyUSA shows that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jill Long Thompson is catching up to the Indiana incumbent, Mitch Daniels. For the past several months, Daniels has been leading Long Thompson. The new poll, which was conducted on June 10th-12th shows that Daniels's lead is decreasing.
Of the 452 people polled by SurveyUSA's callers, each candidate received about 49%. But, the poll also shows Daniels has an razor-thin edge among some groups of voters (depending on how the question was phrased). This race is becoming tighter, and for good reason. Daniels is sharply criticized for his judgment and Indiana's economy. For the full results, look to this webpage.
In recent months, Daniels has been criticized on multiple issues. The matter of unemployment is just one of many. At the state level, numerous jobs and services have been eliminated. For instance, a friend of mine must now travel much further outside her hometown to arrange her child support services. Likewise, if you check out Indiana's governmental site, the top Frequently Asked Question is: How Do I File for Unemployment!
Additionally, the online group NotMyMan.org has found Daniels to be the root of many more problems. Mitch Daniels has opposed setting aside money for exploring renewable energy resources in Indiana. This doesn't bode well for Daniels considering rising gas prices - and the fact that he sold one of Indiana's major highways to an international consortium. To top it off, Daniels was a Budget Director in Bush's first administration, and Mitch resigned because people accused him of insider-trading.
In contrast to Daniels' trainwreck, Long Thompson offers a new approach for solving Daniels' mess-ups and she brings some much needed experience –
Between 1989 and 1995, Jill served as a congresswoman in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving the traditionally Republican 4th district. She also served as the Under-Secretary of Agriculture from 1995-2001. As a member of congress, she introduced legislation to ban the acceptance of gifts from lobbyists and voted against automatic pay increases. She also grew up in rural Indiana, and she knows what it means to be a farmer who's struggling in the Midwestern United States.
For more information on Long Thompson's plans for improving Indiana, visit her
campaign site. As a life-long Democrat, I wholly support Long Thompson's campaign, and urge voters to say no to Daniels. He has caused too much frustration and unemployment. This November may offer a prime opportunity to turn Indiana Blue.