In the 2008 presidential election, Democrats in northern Indiana helped sway Indiana’s electoral vote to a blue state; A move that has not been seen in Indiana since 1964. Indiana has historically been considered a conservative red state mainly due to the southern most counties, which are considered to be part of the “Bible Belt”. However, during the last presidential election many moderates, fed up with Bush’s policies, helped sway the state to an experimental state, known as a purple state. A purple state is the mixture of conservative (red) and democratic (blue) votes, which can create a fickle election.
Today, after only two years of Barack Obama’s term, this is no longer the case. Many Hoosiers seem angry over the liberal agenda and policies set by the Obama administration. Several democratic candidates are much less publicly known compared to their republican counterparts. The upcoming November election may help southern Hoosiers and northern moderates turn this experimental purple state back to pure red.
By Michael Rocus
http://www.economist.com/node/17204952
I can't see Indiana going blue again, as much as I would like it to happen. The Obama campaign seized their window of opportunity in 2008 by collaborating with highly supportive Hoosier Unions and others disgruntled by the terrible economic state and job markers; Obama for America did not just operate field offices in big cities such as Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, but in SIXTEEN total Hoosier cities and town. It was a combination of good timing and EXTREMELY hard work on the part of these field offices that the Democrats could take Indiana by a very slim margin.
ReplyDeleteIndiana is, at the core, a conservative state; just ask anyone that's grown up here (except maybe those that are native to Bloomington ;D ). Before 2008 we hadn't gone blue since Carter, and we likely won't again for a long, long time.