There is some unrest in the air, making this a busy primary season. The Lafayette Journal & Courier has a list of people who will be on local ballots.
SENATE
Don Bates, Jr., Richard Behney, Dan Coats, John N. Hostettler, Marlin A. Stutzman
Coats is a former Hoosier, lobbyist, and very retro – I don’t think he captures the mood of the Republicans. Behney has come off as a blowhard, talking about playing with his guns if he doesn’t get his way. Hostettler is a wingnut. I don’t know much of anything about Bates. Stutzman has been a state legislator, giving him a veneer of respectability, who has a reputation as very conservative, which will play well in the primary.
IN-01
D: Peter J. Visclosky*, Woody Wilcox
R: Adam A. Dombkowski, Ric Holtz, Mark Leyva, Peter Lindemulder III, Eric L. Olson, Robert Pastore, Michael Petyo, Jayson Reeves
Visclosky has some ethics issues dogging him, but, so far as I know, it’s just investigatory at this point. He has to be regarded as a heavy favorite at this point.
IN-02
D: Joe Donnelly*
R: Martin A. Dolan, Jack Edward Jordan, Jackie Walorski, Tony Zirkle
Any primary fight that involves Wacky Jackie battling with a disbarred (pdf) Illinois Nazi supporter should be one to watch. I don’t know anything about Dolan and Jordan – they might be credible challengers.
IN-04
D: Tara E. Nelson, Mark Powell, David Sanders
R: Jon Acton, Cheryl Denise Allen, Mike Campbell, Daniel L. Dunham, James T. (Jim) Hass, Brandt Hershman, LaRon Keith, Todd Rokita, Mark Seitz, Ed Soliday, Phillip J. (PJ) Steffen, Phil J. Thorpe, Eric L. Wathen, R. Michael Young
David Sanders is a Purdue professor and a great guy, but has not, historically, been able to raise the kind of funds necessary to compete against Steve Buyer in this district. He threw his hat in the ring when nobody else was going to, which is good because it would have been a shame if Rep. Buyer had gone completely unchallenged in the wake of his Frontier Foundation shenanigans. Off hand, I don’t know anything about Mark Powell or Tara Nelson who will compete with him in the primary. The real action, at this point, is in the Republican primary. IN-04 is a heavily Republican district and would-be Congressmen came out of the woodwork when Buyer announced he was stepping down. Right now, I’d probably give Hershman and Rokita the edge in this crowded field. Rokita because he has name recognition, and Hershman because the Fourth is his turf probably more than the others, as a state Senator from the Lafayette area and as someone very involved in Buyer’s campaigns. I’m not sure how well the Indianapolis types will fare in this sprawling district.
IN-08
D: Brad Ellsworth*, W. Trent Van Haaften
R: Bud Bernitt, Larry D. Bucshon, Billy J. Mahoney, Kristi Risk, John Lee Smith, John K. Snyder, Dan Stockton, Steve Westell
This one is interesting because Ellsworth is probably going to take a stab at the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Evan Bayh which would leave Van Haaften as the Democratic candidate. Trent is a state representative who has been known to read and even comment on this blog from time to time which automatically makes him a man of discerning tastes. I am not immediately familiar with the Republican candidates.
There are also plenty of state and local races. I won’t comment on the local races because I live and work here and don’t like crapping in my nest, so to speak. But one item of interest, I see that for Indiana House District 15, currently occupied by Don Lehe, there is someone on the Democratic ballot going by the name of, and I quote, “John (The Man) Malan.”
No mention of the 7th CD in Indianapolis? I just checked the official list: the irrepressible Bobby (no-Hidalgo-this-time) Kern has filed to run against André Carson (along with 2 others) in the Primary. Kern was in the slammer last election cycle for bad checks.
A young Latino attorney, Carlos May, just moved to Indianapolis and is running as a Republican against Congressman Carson. He made his announcement in front of the “Plaza Guerrero” in English and then in Spanish. The local Teabaggers may not appreciate that…
Of course, perennial candidate Marvin Scott is also running but oddly enough he has no papers filed with the FEC yet. Considering Scott has been campaigning and fundraising that’s an egregious no-no. You’d think he’d know better by now!
I was just going off the list in the Lafayette Journal & Courier. Guess they don’t have much readership in the 7th District.
So despite the veneer of suave cosmopolitanism of this blog, at heart it’s Tippecanoe-centric…
For the record, I am once again refusing to comment on the tone-deaf Republican filings in the 7th by expressing my mock amazement that “Jack Cottey with Shoe Polish on his Face” isn’t listed.
they already tried that in 2006
At least on paper, the GOP Senate and GOP 9th District primaries look the most interesting.
In the 9th, you have two sorts of establishment candidates vs. an outsider; big name recognition and big baggage (Sodrel) vs. standard campaign (Young) and $300K vs. hard-core grass roots and $100K (Hankins). A contested primary is rare; a three-fold contest is even more rare; add in the context of political discontent and sprinkle in a big name with its baggage– and you have something nearly unique. Any of them could beat Hill in November; Sodrel led him by 8% in the only poll out so far– and arguably, the other two candidates would be more formidable this year.
Not to nit-pick but Tony Zirkle was not “disbarred.” He received a 2 years minimum suspension without automatic reinstatement.
http://www.in.gov/judiciary/orders/atty-discipline/2009/45s00-0812-di-631.pdf
Check out Don Bates, Jr.. Although he’s young, he is a principled conservative whose charisma and common touch will appeal to Hoosiers. His business experienced combined with a deep faith will make him a strong advocate of conservative principles both economically and socially.
I thought that was disbarment. Do they give out a heavier penalty than suspension without automatic reinstatement?
I still hate Illinois Nazis.
They used to order straight out disbarment as the most severe sanction. For an example, see:
http://www.in.gov/judiciary/opinions/previous/archive/08310401.per.html
In theory, in a few years, Zirkle could Petition for reinstatement and claim that he is extremely remorseful for his past misconduct, plus take at least 60 hours of CLE plus have some friends write some letters of recommendation for him that in their opinion he has “reformed” himself concerning being conscientious and trustworthy, and
the Supreme Court would then weigh whether to grant or deny reinstatement.
Zirkle must be careful not to call Randall Sheppard “mein Fuhrer” at the hearing too…
Previously, my campaigns have been made light of by the media. Tomorrow I face a challenge to beig allowed on the ballot. I am confident I will win the challenge. Despite being a convicted felon (and a little flamboyant at times), I care about my fellow Hoosiers. I know what it is like to be homeless, to stand in line at a food pantry, to not have medical insurance, to be discharged from employment and looked down on due to my past. Yet, I am a survivor and am serious about trying to make a difference in our State!