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By MARK SCHOEFF JR.
WASHINGTON - Rep. Baron Hill made what looked like a risky decision last spring prior to the Indiana primary. While his Hoosier House colleagues remained neutral in the Democratic presidential contest, Hill decided to endorse Sen. Barack Obama.
Obama went on to lose Indiana to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who had the backing of Democratic establishment–from Sen. Evan Bayh to party leaders of southern Indiana counties. But Hill was looking beyond this year when got behind Obama.
He saw something at Brown County High School in the fall of 2007 that convinced him that supporting Obama would help Hill build a base of support for the future. When Hill asked the students about the presidential race, they erupted in cheers for Obama.
Similar scenes occurred time and again throughout the district, according to Hill. “There was something flying under the radar that no one was seeing,” Hill said in a recent HPI interview.
Although Obama barely lost the Indiana primary to Clinton, he did well enough to essentially end Clinton’s presidential bid. This fall, Obama edged out Republican presidential nominee J ohn McCain by 26,000 votes to become the first Democrat to win Indiana in a general election since President Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
Obama’s showing can be attributed in part to the youth vote. He built connections to the 18-29 year old voting bloc through assiduous cultivation of online networks. His appeal for change and the diversity he embodied attracted college students and young adults.
The results were apparent on Election Day. Hill says that there was a 45-minute voting line at the polling place at Assembly Hall at Indiana University in Bloomington. Elsewhere on campus, the wait was an hour.
The enthusiasm was evident throughout the fall elsewhere in the 9th CD. Hill said that he witnessed 20 to 30 youthful volunteers working the phones at campaign offices in Clark and Floyd counties. One week day, he walked into an office in Columbus in the middle of the afternoon, expecting it to be empty. Instead, there were six twentysomethings making calls.
“The torch has been passed to these young people,” Hill said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
In backing Obama, Hill wanted to ensure that his own brand appealed to a new generation of voters as well as an older swath of the electorate that was inspired by Obama to participate in politics for the first time.
“I wanted to embrace those kids and a whole lot of people who have never been involved in a campaign before,” Hill said.
In prevailing over Republican nominee Mike Sodrel for the third time in four elections, Hill had more going for him than a youth movement. He also bested Sodrel, who won the seat in 2004, in traditional areas like outreach and money.
Hill’s and Obama’s campaigns shared voter information. Obama’s extensive Hoosier office operation helped him win three 9th CD counties–Monroe, Spencer and Perry. Hill also was strong on the ground.
“Our GOTV effort was as good as I’ve ever seen,” Hill said. “My staff did a wonderful job. We didn’t make any mistakes. We had the right message.”
Hill raised $2 million and spent $1.5 million through Oct. 15, according to the Federal Election Commission. Sodrel raised $893,554 and spent $818,792. Sodrel, the owner of a New Albany bus and trucking company, stuck to his pledge not to use any of his personal wealth in the race.
But this year, the National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm of the House Republicans, wasn’t able to help Sodrel because it had severe fundraising problems.
The financial advantage allowed Hill to go up earlier and more often with television ads. Hill’s first spot hit the air in late August. Sodrel didn’t begin advertising until Oct. 7. One twist this year was that Hill and Sodrel20ran positive spots–something that might be due to the fact that defining each other is moot when they each have high name identification throughout the district.
Another advantage for Hill was the climate. Sodrel, like all Republicans, suffered from voter anger about a faltering economy and their rejection of the Bush administration.
Even through Hill voted against the $700 billion bailout of financial markets and Sodrel opposed it as well, Sodrel couldn’t overcome the economic downturn.
Sodrel’s predicament probably contributed to one of the farcical moments of the campaign when 9th CD Republicans tried to get Hill to agree to use a lie detector machine during the Jasper debate in late October.
It was a sign that the campaign was slipping away from Sodrel, who did not respond to two HPI interview requests. After engaging in close races with Hill the first three times, one of which went to a recount, this year’s contest was a blowout. Hill won 58 percent to 38 percent.
“I’m very satisfied and humbled by the large margin this time around,” Hill said.
It has convinced Hill that he has the right approach to staying in touch with voters. He now travels around the district differently. When he has an event in North Vernon, for instance, he stays for at least half a day to meet with local leaders and constituents rather than rushing off to the next to wn on his schedule.
“People had the impression I wasn’t listening,” Hill said. “I’ve changed the way I’ve managed my time, and it’s worked.”
It also may have closed out Sodrel’s political career. He issued an elegiac concession statement Election Night.
“I have known victory and I have known defeat,” Sodrel said. “I am at peace with the outcome.”
Tags: Baron Hill, Mike Sodrel
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This entry was written by and posted on November 13, 2008 at 3:24 pm and filed under HPI Weekly. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.
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