Mike Sodrel has been in my life forever. Or maybe it just seems that way.
Every two years for almost a decade, the Republican businessman has been on the ballot in Indiana's 9th district, either trying to oust Rep. Baron Hill (D) from Congress or, once, seeking re-election to the House.
But with his bizarre primary defeat earlier this month, Sodrel, a 64-year-old trucking company owner, probably ends a political run that featured more downs than ups.
[...]
Of course, as Sodrel found out, there is a difference between being known and being liked.
Apparently, 9th district Republican voters knew Sodrel but were ready for a change.
I think Rothenberg might be overstating the case here - I don't think Sodrel is capable of knowing (or caring) what the voters in the 9th think of him. I wouldn't be surprised to see him back for another run in 2012.
On the other hand, I hope Rothenberg is right. The people of Indiana's 9th District have rejected Sodrel's ideas of leadership since he managed to eke out a win in the 2004 election. Maybe after yet another loss, he'll take his ball and go home for good.
If the election for Congress were held today, would you vote for Baron Hill, the Democrat, or Mike Sodrel, the Republican?
Hill
Sodrel
Other
Undecided
All
49%
37%
4%
10%
Men
47%
40%
5%
8%
Women
52%
34%
3%
12%
Democrats
86%
6%
3%
5%
Republicans
14%
69%
4%
13%
Other
52%
32%
5%
11%
The Research 2000 Indiana Poll was conducted from September 29 through October 3, 2008. A total of 800 likely voters who vote regularly in state elections were interviewed statewide by telephone.
Bloomington Herald Times editor Bob Zaltsberg said, "Hill-Sodrel doesn't seem to have quite the pizzazz or intensity that it's had in the last few years."
There will be a debate the week after next and Sodrel wants the candidates attached to lie detectors. He may need such a gimmick to pull this one out.
I just got a fundraising email from Baron Hill's campaign, citing new numbers from one of Sodrel's internal polls. According to the forwarded email, Sodrel's internal poll from Wilson Research Strategies, taken Sept 8-9, shows the race within the margin of error, 44 Hill - 41 Sodrel.
Josh claims that the poll also shows McCain with a 20-point lead (56-36) and Daniels with a 20-point lead (55-35), which is pretty far removed from most of the other poll numbers for the Presidential and higher than the other Gubernatorial polls. (In fact, 56 is much higher than McCain has registered in any of the polls listed on Pollster.) HoosierAccess has the PDF of the toplines here. (I've also snagged a copy for future reference.)
Josh also claims, quoting from the report, "The district is decidedly more Republican this cycle than last." This ignores the fact that in Monroe County alone, there have been more than 13,000 new/updated registrations since the May primary - 5,500 in the last month, and more than 2,300 in the last seven days. The Campaign for Change has been focusing almost exclusively on voter registration in the past few weeks, and they've canvassed my neighborhood at least twice. This poll is an outlier, too, in that it doesn't find the big chunk of Obama supporters who are leaning toward Daniels - something that's been a constant in most other polls this cycle.
Baron Hill is, of course, using these numbers to try and raise funds for even more TV ads. I know I live in Monroe County - which has given Baron his margin of victory in each of his wins - but I haven't seen much activity from Sodrel aside from yard signs. (He did talk to the IU College Republicans a few weeks back.)
It will be interesting to see the next round of financial disclosures in this race, and how much of his own money Millionaire Mike is willing to burn in this re-re-rematch.
The "leaked" email and the full text of Baron's pitch are after the jump...
A few weeks ago I wrote about the No Child Left Inside Act, a pivotal bill expanding education on environmental issues for our nation's youth. When I wrote that initial post the House was scheduled to vote on the bill within the week, but as so we so often see, procedural roadblocks kept the bill buried until today.
This morning the House voted on a resolution that would send the bill to the floor for consideration, the first legislative step on its way to final approval. As expected the vote was split nearly perfect along party lines, with only two brave republicans willing to back NCLI. I say nearly perfect for a reason however. While 181 republicans voted to effectively kill the legislation, a single lone democrat crossed the aisle to stand amongst the 'nays'.
Baron Hill.
While I am aware Hill is in a heated general election battle, I remain baffled as to why he chose to vote as he did. Anyone have any ideas? Don't get me wrong, for the most part I love what he is doing for democrats across the state and for our country at large. But NCLI is too important to let slide and thus I feel Baron owes us an explanation.
As such, I urge all ninth district bloosiers to give Hill's office a call and voice your approval of H.R. 3036.
Baron Hill 202-225-5315
Because as a progressive community, reminding Hill where we stand on this issue is the least we can do.
Baron Hill (IN-09), who originally voted against the SCHIP expansion, has announced his intention to vote to override the President's veto.
Let's congratulate Baron Hill, and give him all the encouragement he can get!
* Jeffersonville Office phone is (812) 288-3999 (toll-free number) is 1-866-440-1321 fax is (812) 288-3873
* Bloomington Office phone is (812) 336-3000 fax is (812) 336-3355
* Washington office phone is (202) 225-5315 fax is (202) 226-6866
This is a tremendous event, regardless of the outcome. There is no doubt that the number of phone calls, emails, faxes, and in-person visits to his offices was a huge factor in this decision. Progressive activists, the Party, and the majority of Americans were working in the same direction toward a common goal. Lobbyist money can't compete with true grassroots activism, especially when it's combined with some institutional support.
The Bloomington Herald-Times (sub req'd) published an editorial yesterday accusing Baron Hill of political cowardice and bowing to the influence of tobacco.
Last fall, our editorial board endorsed congressional candidate Baron Hill because we believed the federal government needed a major shift in direction. The Republican-controlled White House and Congress were holding our country captive in an ill-conceived war, leading us further into deficit spending, and infringing on more and more of our civil liberties.
We also backed Baron Hill because we believed he reflected strong Hoosier values - values like health care for families and children.
Yet, Congressman Hill recently announced that he will not be voting to override President Bush's veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program bill, although he has supported SCHIP funding in the past. If the override fails, 800,000 children in the United States and 69,500 in Indiana will lose health coverage. If the override is successful, coverage for these children will be funded by a 61-cent increase in the cigarette tax.
The moderate congressman's decision to vote against the override appears to be a political nod to the tobacco farmers in the 9th District. While Hill may understandably be thinking about re-election in 2008, we believe politics in this case should yield to what's best for the children of our state.
We don't accept Hill's assertion that his vote doesn't matter, in his claim that "there are simply not enough votes in the House of Representatives" to override the veto. We'd like to know whether his position would change if the anticipated margin were closer. While the override may be a long shot, what if it were to fail by one vote?
Republican Sen. Richard Lugar, who twice supported the SCHIP expansion bill and who supports the override, is apparently able to vote with his conscience, regardless of the tobacco constituency in Indiana. We suspect that Congressman Hill really does support the SCHIP concepts, but we're disappointed that his vote apparently won't reflect those values.
I value your opinions and take them into serious consideration when making decisions in Washington. I ask the same of you now: please consider my reasons for voting against this particular bill. Please separate it from my continuous support of the broader SCHIP program. I certainly understand if you still disagree with my decision. All I ask is that you try to understand my reasons. As always, please feel free to contact me or a member of my staff and someone will be happy to further address any concerns you may have.
Tip o' the hat to TDW for pointing me to the latest Rothenberg Political Report ratings for next year's House races. Relevant to Indiana are Rep. Baron Hill, who is listed as "lean Democratic," Rep. Joe Donnelly, who is listed as "Democrat favored," and Rep. Brad Ellsworth, who didn't even make it on to Stu's radar screen.
This mimics the most commonly held belief that Donnelly and Ellsworth should be able to hold their seats with little to no problem, but it will take a great ground operation to defend the 9th district from the recently ousted Mike Sodrel, who appears to have recharged his Bush-loving batteries in preparation of another run.
The Indiana Democratic Party's state Chair writes in this morning's New Albany News and Tribune on the recent talk of a Hill-Sodrel rematch in 2008. It's all pretty great stuff:
Sodrel behaved like a petulant child after losing the 2006 election. He refused to concede defeat, and he closed his Seymour office almost a month before his term officially ended, abandoning his constituents and leaving them with nowhere to turn for help.
Now he wants to come back and try again?
Part of public service is acknowledging and obeying the will of the public. Last fall, voters chose Baron Hill over Mike Sodrel, but instead of graciously accepting the loss, Sodrel crossed his arms and stamped his feet in defiance of the outcome.
That is not the kind of representation the 9th District needs in Washington.
Beyond behaving badly under difficult circumstances, Sodrel has shown many times that he’s only interested in his own political future, not the future of Southern Indiana residents.
Last week, he told Southern Indiana media that “it would be really nice if I knew who the respective presidential candidates were going to be” before making the decision to run again.
If Sodrel was truly engaged in the political process for the right reasons — offering ideas and a vision for the district — he would run for office no matter who leads the national ticket. But he only wants to take a bet where the cards are stacked in his favor.
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