The GOP great divide

Clark County

Discussion

November 6, 2008

Clark Republicans split national, local races

By DAVID A. MANN The News and Tribune Thu Nov 06, 2008, 02:14 PM EST

Behind every blue state there’s a red lining.

And although the Hoosier State — solidly Republican presidentially since 1964 — was eventually called in the Democratic column on the heels of the historic election of Sen. Barack Obama Tuesday, Clark County remained Republican to the hilt on top-of-the-ticket races.

Republican candidate John McCain got Clark County’s vote for president by a 53 percent to 46 percent margin. Gov. Mitch Daniels crushed challenger Jill Long Thompson, getting more than 60 percent of the local vote. And Republicans cruised to victories in races for attorney general and superintendent of public instruction in the county.

All in those races — except, of course, McCain — went on to be GOP victories, creating a big night for Republicans on the state level.

“It’s exciting to see all these people in Clark County voting for Republicans,” said David Buskill, county Republican Party chairman.

But despite the Republican victories in state offices, Democrats ran the table in local elections.

Judgeships, county commissioner, council seats and other county offices went blue.

Residents of Clark County also voted Democratic in all five area statehouse elections. And Democratic Rep. Baron Hill handily defeated Republican former congressman Mike Sodrel for the third time in four elections.

That leaves the Republicans with a question about why voters favor Democrats on the local level but the Republicans on the state and national level.

“We’ve got to do a better job of having a solidified message,” Buskill said, noting that is something national Republicans have.

The question for Buskill is “how do I get my local guys that same thing?”

He said the numbers that local Republicans are putting up are getting better and that the number of people voting straight down party lines for Republicans has increased over the years.

Additionally, last month’s visit by McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, helped the local party create an instant network with an influx of e-mail addresses, numbers and new volunteers.

That’s something Buskill believes could turn things around in future elections.

“I couldn’t be more excited about the future,” he said. “We’re going to double our efforts next year.

“We’ll find out what the disconnect is and we’ll fix it.”

Rod Pate, chairman of the Clark County Democratic Party, said he was pleased with Tuesday’s vote.

“We didn’t win the governor, but other than that, it was a clean sweep,” he said.

Going into Tuesday, he believed Obama’s presence on the ticket would have had a tremendous effect.

However, after seeing how county voters favored McCain and Daniels, he believes those running for local offices won on their merits.

Voter turnout, just more than 60 percent, also was a surprise, Pate said.

“I thought it would have been much higher,” he said, noting the excitement that surrounded the presidential race.

As to the question of why voters continue to prefer Democrats for local offices, Pate insists, “it’s because we’re good guys.”

Linda Gugin, professor of political science at Indiana University Southeast, believes the difference can be attributed to the way the county and campaigns have changed through the years.

Clark, similar to Floyd County, used to be a pretty solidly Democratic territory, she said. But social issues have come into play in recent national elections.

“And this is a very conservative part of the state,” she said.

The closest

• The closest a local Republican came to winning a seat in the election was At-Large County Council candidate Steve Doherty, who came up 662 votes short.

The most

• In challenged races, the Clark County candidate who received the most votes Tuesday was Edwin “Huck” Coots, who retained his coroner post. He received 28,480 votes.

Fun fact

• 15 Indiana counties favored Barack Obama: Perry, Lake, Marion, Madison, Delaware, Vanderburgh, Spencer, Monroe, Vigo, Vermillion, Tippecanoe, St. Joseph, Starke, LaPorte and Porter.