Politics of Indiana

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Indiana is one of fifty U.S. states. The state is considered a stronghold for the Republican Party and is rated R+11 on the Cook Partisan Voting Index. The state has supported the Republican candidate in every presidential election since 2012. Republicans also currently hold supermajorities in both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly and have dominated the governorship since 2005. Indiana was once a swing state in the 19th century and early 20th century, voting for the national winner from 1852 to 1912, with the exception of 1876.[1]

Indiana has elected several Democrats to the U.S. Senate in recent years, with Joe Donnelly serving as a senator until 2019. Certain cities, too, tend to favor Democrats; Gary, Indiana has had a Democratic mayor for the last 77 years. While only five Democratic presidential nominees have carried Indiana since 1900, 11 Democrats were elected governor during that time. Democrats also generally held control of the Indiana House of Representatives during the 1990s and 2000s as well.

Federal elections

Presidential elections

See also: United States presidential elections in Indiana
United States presidential election results for Indiana[2]
Year Republican / Whig Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 1,729,863 56.91% 1,242,505 40.87% 67,413 2.22%
2016 1,557,286 56.42% 1,033,126 37.43% 169,963 6.16%
2012 1,422,872 54.04% 1,154,275 43.84% 55,996 2.13%
2008 1,345,648 48.81% 1,374,039 49.84% 36,971 1.34%
2004 1,479,438 59.94% 969,011 39.26% 19,553 0.79%
2000 1,245,836 56.65% 901,980 41.01% 51,486 2.34%
1996 1,006,693 47.13% 887,424 41.55% 241,725 11.32%
1992 989,375 42.91% 848,420 36.79% 468,076 20.30%
1988 1,297,763 59.84% 860,643 39.69% 10,215 0.47%
1984 1,377,230 61.67% 841,481 37.68% 14,358 0.64%
1980 1,255,656 56.01% 844,197 37.65% 142,180 6.34%
1976 1,183,958 53.32% 1,014,714 45.70% 21,690 0.98%
1972 1,405,154 66.11% 708,568 33.34% 11,807 0.56%
1968 1,067,885 50.29% 806,659 37.99% 249,053 11.73%
1964 911,118 43.56% 1,170,848 55.98% 9,640 0.46%
1960 1,175,120 55.03% 952,358 44.60% 7,882 0.37%
1956 1,182,811 59.90% 783,908 39.70% 7,888 0.40%
1952 1,136,259 58.11% 801,530 40.99% 17,536 0.90%
1948 821,079 49.58% 807,833 48.78% 27,302 1.65%
1944 875,891 52.38% 781,403 46.73% 14,797 0.88%
1940 899,466 50.45% 874,063 49.03% 9,218 0.52%
1936 691,570 41.89% 934,974 56.63% 24,353 1.48%
1932 677,184 42.94% 862,054 54.67% 37,689 2.39%
1928 848,290 59.68% 562,691 39.59% 10,333 0.73%
1924 703,042 55.25% 492,245 38.69% 77,103 6.06%
1920 696,370 55.14% 511,364 40.49% 55,230 4.37%
1916 341,005 47.44% 334,063 46.47% 43,780 6.09%
1912 151,267 23.11% 281,890 43.07% 221,317 33.82%
1908 348,993 48.40% 338,262 46.91% 33,871 4.70%
1904 368,289 53.99% 274,345 40.22% 39,551 5.80%
1900 336,063 50.60% 309,584 46.62% 18,447 2.78%
1896 323,754 50.82% 305,573 47.96% 7,792 1.22%
1892 255,615 46.17% 262,740 47.46% 35,258 6.37%
1888 263,361 49.05% 261,013 48.61% 12,575 2.34%
1884 238,489 48.15% 245,005 49.46% 11,838 2.39%
1880 232,164 49.33% 225,522 47.91% 12,986 2.76%
1876 208,011 47.39% 213,526 48.65% 17,374 3.96%
1872 186,147 53.00% 163,632 46.59% 1,417 0.40%
1868 176,552 51.39% 166,980 48.61% 0 0.00%
1864 150,422 53.60% 130,233 46.40% 0 0.00%
1860 139,033 51.09% 115,509 42.44% 17,601 6.47%
1856 94,375 40.09% 118,670 50.41% 22,386 9.51%
1852 80,901 44.17% 95,340 52.05% 6,929 3.78%
1848 69,907 45.77% 74,745 48.93% 8,100 5.30%
1844 67,867 48.42% 70,181 50.07% 2,106 1.50%
1840 65,302 55.86% 51,604 44.14% 0 0.00%
1836 41,281 55.97% 32,478 44.03% 0 0.00%

Former governor and U.S. Senator Evan Bayh announced in 2006 his plans for a presidential exploratory committee.[3] His father was a three-term senator who was turned out of office in the 1980 Reagan Revolution by conservative Republican (and future Vice President) Dan Quayle, a native of Huntington in the northeastern portion of the state. However, Bayh announced that he would not be seeking the Presidency on December 16, 2006.

In the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama carried the state by 1.03%,[4] which was the first time in 44 years that a Democrat won Indiana's electoral votes, and to date, the last.

Congress

Seven of the districts favor the Republican Party according to the CPVI rankings; there are currently seven Republicans serving as representatives and two Democrats. Historically, Republicans have been strongest in the eastern and central portions of the state, while Democrats have been strongest in the northwestern part of the state. Occasionally, certain counties in the southern part of the state will vote Democratic. Marion County, Indiana's most populated county, supported the Republican candidates from 1968 to 2000, before backing the Democrats in the 2004 and 2008 elections. Indiana's second most populated county, Lake County, is a strong supporter of the Democratic party that has not voted for a Republican since 1972.[5]

The state's U.S. Senators are Sen. Todd Young (Republican) and Sen. Mike Braun (Republican). In 2006, then-senior Sen. Richard Lugar (Republican) won reelection to a sixth term with 87% of the vote against no major-party opposition. In 2010, Sen. Coats won reelection to a third non-consecutive term with 55% of the vote against Democratic Congressman Brad Ellsworth and Libertarian business owner and teacher Rebecca Sink-Burris.

Senator Lugar lost in the 2012 Republican primary to the state treasurer of Indiana, Richard Mourdock, who had been favored by the Tea Party movement.[6] Joe Donnelly defeated Mourdock in the general election.[7] He later lost re-election in 2018 to former state representative Mike Braun.

Indiana's delegation to the United States House of Representatives is not completely Republican either. Instead, it has generally served as a bellwether for the political movement of the nation. For instance, Democrats held the majority of seats until the 1994 Republican Revolution, when Republicans took a majority. This continued until 2006, when three Republican congressmen were defeated in Indiana; (Chris Chocola, John Hostettler and Mike Sodrel), giving the Democrats a majority of the delegation again.[8]

Historically, Republicans have been strongest in the eastern and central portions of the state, as well as the suburbs of the state's major cities. Democrats have been strongest in the northwestern and southern parts of the state along with the major cities. However, outside of Indianapolis, the Chicago suburbs, and Bloomington, the state's Democrats tend to be somewhat more conservative than their counterparts in the rest of the country, especially on social issues.[citation needed]

Federal representation

Indiana currently has 9 House districts. In the 118th Congress, two of Indiana's seats are held by Democrats and seven are held by Republicans:

Indiana's two United States senators are Republicans Todd Young and Mike Braun, serving since 2017 and 2019, respectively.

Indiana is part of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana in the federal judiciary. The district's cases are appealed to the Chicago-based United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Indiana Presidential Election Voting History - 270toWin".
  2. ^ Leip, David. "Presidential General Election Results Comparison – Indiana". US Election Atlas. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  3. ^ "Officials: Bayh to take first step in 2008 bid next week". CNN.com. Archived from the original on 2006-12-06. Retrieved 2006-12-11.
  4. ^ "2008 US Presidential Election Results - Indiana". USA Today. 2008-11-05.
  5. ^ "Presidential General Election Map Comparison". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
  6. ^ Davey, Monica (2012-05-08). "Lugar Loses Primary Challenge in Indiana". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Wald, Matthew L. (2012-11-06). "Donnelly Wins Indiana Senate Race Over Mourdock". The New York Times.
  8. ^ "Democrats Take House by a Wide Margin". NPR.org. NPR. Retrieved 2006-12-11.
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