Deep-Red Indiana Now A Battleground As Suburban GOPers Flip

In presidential elections since the Depression, Indiana has been the lone industrial state where the elephants always roam. For all the talk of independent Hoosiers, the state has gone Republican in 16 of the last 17 races for the White House, with Lyndon Johnson in 1964 the sole exception. In 2004, the networks began painting Indiana Republican red exactly two minutes after the polls closed with the breathless verdict justified by George W. Bush's eventual 60 to 39 percent rout of John Kerry.

So what was Sarah Palin doing in the northern Indianapolis suburb of Noblesville Friday afternoon motivating the GOP faithful? Why are Barack Obama and the Republican National Committee advertising heavily on Indianapolis television? How come most recent polls (there have been only a handful of statewide surveys this month) show Obama within striking distance of the lead? Why has Indiana become 2008's most unlikely battleground state?

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[sammdphd]

This is very positive!...Now lets work on Georgia!

[ComnCents]

Indiana has a lot of small, medium and large companies that are tied to the automobile industry.
They are not getting hit as hard as Michigan but people working in these companies are very worried about their future.
It would not surprise me if 'Hoosier Hysteria' this year is not basketball but a flood of voting for Dems.

[Vern58]

It is already happening- wait and see......

[Vern58]

As a voter in the state of Indiana, i knew this time it is not in the bag this year for the Republicans. They will loose big in the 3 most populous regions of the state, and may not do as well in the south and rural areas as they are accustomed to
.Marion/Hamilton Counties( Indy) and the NW region (Lake, Porter and La Porte) will go Democratic, as probably St Joseph, Elkhart and Allen Counties (the South Bend and Fort Wayne areas), as well as Monroe and Tippecanoe Counties(I.U. and Purdue) That is a substantial portion of state population. McCain will do well in rural counties and in the Solid South (Evansville and the rest of the Ohio River counties, which are in the Louisville/Cincinnati media market) It aint in the Republican bag yet, folks.
We are well organized and on the ground in most of the state, far better than the Republicans and working much harder than they are. Stay tuned- this might get interesting.

[simplify]

Obama has hundreds of lawyers on the ground in many battle ground states. I hope they can smell the Republican dirty tricks before they try to steal the elections yet again.
If that happens, regretfully there will be hell to pay. I'm hoping and praying it doesn't.

We want change but we have to do our part by not only voting and voting early, but also by being vigilant and reporting any suspicious tampering or stealing of votes by the Republicans.at polling stations.

[Kuroneko]

Indiana will go blue this election. Fundamentals of Obama support are strong. The fundamentals are working-class people of Indiana. Go, Indiana, Go blue!! Obama 375 EVs!!!!

[scjk67]

thats wonderful news, i'm originally from nw indiana, left there in 1991 now living in south carolina which is a red state but hopefully this election will go blue, but thats far fetch. and now can we all say .
OBAMA-BIDEN LANDSLIDE!!!!!!!

[dagnew]

I've been a Hoosier for 26 years, now, coming from Illinois. I would love for my vote to count this time. I just wish some of my fellow Hoosiers would get over their r acism. I live in a very "conservative" area of the state. Trying to talk to some of them is like talking to a very thick brick wall. I even know a few who voted for G eorge W allace. If Indiana goes blue, I will rejoice!

[Noelle]

I have lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana for 4 years. I moved here from a very large, blue city and was nervous about the move into such a red city. Indiana is much different than what I expected.

Fort Wayne is Indiana's 2nd largest city, has sooo many churches and votes republican but the longer I am here the more confused I have become about this. People here are pretty liberal on social issues. There is a very large art community. People here are very charitable and even lead most of the country in taking in refugees from places such as Myanmar and Sudan. The exchange programs are great and my daughter's school is filled with students from other countries. Most of our teachers are well traveled and encourage their students to do the same. Our mayors have been democrats and not the socially conservative kind.

So I started asking people why national dems have such a problem here. The number one response I have gotten..."They ignore us." National dems don't come, the people are told dems can't win here and people don't vote. Indiana has had the lowest turnout in the country. Obama has changed that. He and Michelle have spent alot of time with the people here and I believe this November we will see what a difference just showing up can make. Between the primaries and the general this year, people for the first time in a long time feel like they matter.

[robXdion]

They get ignored because they are closed minded and an ultimate waste of time. They need to look at themselves instead of faulting someone else for not converting them.

[lisakaz2]

C'mon Hoosiers. Vote for your IL neighbor. He don't bite.

[Vern58]

In at least my little "blue corner" ( the 3 county region that abutts Chicago) of the state we know it already. We are also the 2nd most populous area of the State.

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

...might even change the state name to Native American a...

[MajorKong]

Wow! Never thought I'd see the day.

If nothing else this will force the McCain camp to spend money in Indiana.

[lyric]

I've lived in Indiana for 15 years and have never seen an election like this. In my neighborhood (predominantly republican district), Obama yard signs outnumber McCain signs by about 3-1. One house down the street posted a McCain sign, and within a week four houses on either side and across the street posted Obama signs. :)

[The Lorax]

Great news! Thanks for sharing.

[MightyAfrodite]

Obama will be in Indianapolis for a rally this Thursday (right before leaving for Hawaii to visit his grandmother) and I'm gonna be there! I can hardly contain myself!

OBAMA/BIDEN '08!!!

Yeah Baybee!!

[lisakaz2]

Have fun! Cheer for all of us.

[robXdion]

Thursday events are canceled. Remember?

[MightyAfrodite]

He cancelled Iowa's and Wisconsin's rallies. He's doing Indy's, then flying to Hawaii.

[dayala]

wow...Indiana going blue...who would have imagined!?

GO BLUE HOOSIERS!

[Paula1953]

Why has Indiana become 2008's most unlikely battleground state?

Because we Hoosiers are sick and tired of the republicans running the show here.
We're ready for change!

That's why I voted for Obama today!!!

[mrJJ]

All Politics are LOCAL

Every single Republican & GOP McBush candidate on the down ticket during this election cycle must be voted down or out of office.

RW consultant sees armageddon for Republicans in focus group:
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1008/Voting_for_Obama_anyway.html?showall

GOTV for Obama/Biden

"They (Republicans) have socialized risk. Using Taxpayer dollars to bail out a failing "Insurance" Conglomorate (AIG) & a Multitude of "Banks" that are classified as "Too Big To Fail"

Financial reward has always been associated with assumption of risk, but what the republicans have managed to do is divorce the two and in doing so they have managed to hold the rewards for themselves while transfering the risk to all of us.

Guess who gets their "cut" of the $700 Billion Taxpayer BailOut money first?

The so called Capitalist/Socialists... $70 Billion off the top please....

$70 billion worth of pay deals planned for employees of failed banking firms receiving government aid.
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Kucinich_calls_for_probe_of_taxpayerfunded_1019.html

GOTV for Obama/Biden