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 1968, with the exception of 2008. 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]

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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

United States presidential election results for Indiana [2]
Year Republican  /  Whig Democratic Third party(ies)
No. %No. %No. %
2024 1,720,34758.61%1,163,60339.64%51,3161.75%
2020 1,729,86356.91%1,242,50540.87%67,4132.22%
2016 1,557,28656.42%1,033,12637.43%169,9636.16%
2012 1,422,87254.04%1,154,27543.84%55,9962.13%
2008 1,345,64848.81%1,374,03949.84%36,9711.34%
2004 1,479,43859.94%969,01139.26%19,5530.79%
2000 1,245,83656.65%901,98041.01%51,4862.34%
1996 1,006,69347.13%887,42441.55%241,72511.32%
1992 989,37542.91%848,42036.79%468,07620.30%
1988 1,297,76359.84%860,64339.69%10,2150.47%
1984 1,377,23061.67%841,48137.68%14,3580.64%
1980 1,255,65656.01%844,19737.65%142,1806.34%
1976 1,183,95853.32%1,014,71445.70%21,6900.98%
1972 1,405,15466.11%708,56833.34%11,8070.56%
1968 1,067,88550.29%806,65937.99%249,05311.73%
1964 911,11843.56%1,170,84855.98%9,6400.46%
1960 1,175,12055.03%952,35844.60%7,8820.37%
1956 1,182,81159.90%783,90839.70%7,8880.40%
1952 1,136,25958.11%801,53040.99%17,5360.90%
1948 821,07949.58%807,83348.78%27,3021.65%
1944 875,89152.38%781,40346.73%14,7970.88%
1940 899,46650.45%874,06349.03%9,2180.52%
1936 691,57041.89%934,97456.63%24,3531.48%
1932 677,18442.94%862,05454.67%37,6892.39%
1928 848,29059.68%562,69139.59%10,3330.73%
1924 703,04255.25%492,24538.69%77,1036.06%
1920 696,37055.14%511,36440.49%55,2304.37%
1916 341,00547.44%334,06346.47%43,7806.09%
1912 151,26723.11%281,89043.07%221,31733.82%
1908 348,99348.40%338,26246.91%33,8714.70%
1904 368,28953.99%274,34540.22%39,5515.80%
1900 336,06350.60%309,58446.62%18,4472.78%
1896 323,75450.82%305,57347.96%7,7921.22%
1892 255,61546.17%262,74047.46%35,2586.37%
1888 263,36149.05%261,01348.61%12,5752.34%
1884 238,48948.15%245,00549.46%11,8382.39%
1880 232,16449.33%225,52247.91%12,9862.76%
1876 208,01147.39%213,52648.65%17,3743.96%
1872 186,14753.00%163,63246.59%1,4170.40%
1868 176,55251.39%166,98048.61%00.00%
1864 150,42253.60%130,23346.40%00.00%
1860 139,03351.09%115,50942.44%17,6016.47%
1856 94,37540.09%118,67050.41%22,3869.51%
1852 80,90144.17%95,34052.05%6,9293.78%
1848 69,90745.77%74,74548.93%8,1005.30%
1844 67,86748.42%70,18150.07%2,1061.50%
1840 65,30255.86%51,60444.14%00.00%
1836 41,28155.97%32,47844.03%00.00%

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

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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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