IN-08 and 09 have been on the radar since before the cycle really started, even.
IN-02 has developed into an exciting race, thanks to our candidate stepping up his game this cycle, and the Club for Growth taking over fund-raising for Count Chocola as the NRCC pulls its support to shore up other breaking levees. The blog-friendly campaign of Barry Welsh has drawn our attenton toward
IN-06. But the other districts have attracted very little attention this cycle, so it may interest some to learn that the newspaper that dominates
Indiana's Third District, the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, while acknowledging that Republicans normally control electoral politics in the area, has drawn some favorable attenton to the Democratic candidate running against
lacklustre incumbent Congressman Mark Souder:
Mark Souder has little to show for 12 years in Congress.
Fort Wayne City Councilman Thomas Hayhurst is the best Democrat yet to face Souder since the incumbent beat Jill Long in 1994. There is much good to say about Hayhurst: He is undoubtedly intelligent, he cares about people, he is a physician who knows more than most about the major issue of health care, he has name recognition in the district's biggest city, he is running a well-planned campaign and, importantly, he has enough fundraising muscle to get his message out. Souder stands solidly behind the failing Iraq war and has supported Bush's head-first dive into an ocean of red ink. And Souder is reneging on his pledge to a six-term limit.
Perhaps even more astounding is the newspaper's suggestion that Democrat Tina Taviano might deserve to win the race for Allen County Sheriff. Allen County has not elected a Democratic Sheriff for more than 50 years.
Taviano won a resounding victory in the Democratic primary despite being an out lesbian. The Journal-Gazette doesn't outright endorse her, but they give her a good write-up in their coverage of Democratic prospects in the district:
http://www.fortwayne.com/...
We don't normally talk about county sheriffs on Daily Kos, but this would be as remarkable a victory as the election of Lupe Valdez in Dallas County in 2004.