Posted on 02/07/2007 9:31:11 PM PST by Clintonfatigued
The 8th District includes 18 counties covering much of Southwestern and west-central Indiana. Vanderburgh County is home to about 25 percent of the district's voters.
One Republican candidate already has said he is considering running for Ellsworth's seat in 2008.
Gibson County Prosecutor Rob Krieg, a former aide to Rep. John Hostettler, who lost his seat to Ellsworth, told reporters that assembling a campaign organization strong enough to mount a credible campaign requires him to make up his mind within two months.
Any potential challenger to Ellsworth likely would need time to raise enough money to compete with him. The Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that tracks money in politics, reports Ellsworth spent more than $1.7 million on his 2006 challenge to Hostettler.
(Excerpt) Read more at courierpress.com ...
Well, this one may not be written off after all.
One thing for sure - Krieg will likely be able to raise more money than Hostettler ever did.
Heck, where do I send a check?
He's going to need serious money, and without a GOP majority to help him raise the $$, it still is going to be an uphill battle. However, whatever else, and even if Ellsworth is a strong 'Rat candidate, that is still a Republican-leaning district.
Ellsworth is probably the strongest D candidate they put up last year, so he'll be difficult to dislodge, but he's in a very Republican district, and especially if someone like Hillary is nominated, he'll have a chance. A county prosecutor, if he's seen as a 'tough guy', is probably a good background for that race.
They don't call it the "Bloody Eighth" for nothing!
President Bush got 56% in the IN-08 in 2000 and a whopping 62% in 2004. Ellsworth will have to vote as conservative as he talked in order to have a chance, and in 2008 it will be he will face a presidential/gubernatorial turnout so it won't be easy for him even if he votes conservative on social issues.
Two things in 2008 in Indiana:
1. If SJR-7 is put on the ballot - this is the gay marriage constitutional amendment. This will bring out the Right that stayed home in 2006.
2. If Hillary is on the ballot - same applies.
What if both were to happen?
"What if both were to happen?"
SJR-7 and Hillary will bring out ALL voters on both sides IMO.
Krieg won't seek 8th District seat
Posted: Friday, Mar 02, 2007 - 02:37:36 am EST
See: http://www.tristate-media.com/articles/2007/03/03/pdclarion/news/news2.txt
PRINCETON-In a statement released Thursday night, Gibson County Prosecutor Rob Krieg announced that he will not be a candidate for Indiana's 8th Congressional District seat in the 2008 election.
Krieg confirmed last month that he was considering mounting a Republican challenge in next year's election against current U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth, D-Evansville, for the state's 8th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
But despite having received “great” encouragement for a possible run, Krieg - who was elected to a second four-year term in 2006 - said it is his intention to fulfill the full duration of his term as prosecutor, which runs through 2010.
“I am very humbled by the number of Gibson County citizens, both Democrats and Republicans, who have asked me to stick around a little while longer as prosecutor,” he said. “I think that says a lot about what we've been able to accomplish in the last four years, particularly in the fight against methamphetamines.”
Pathetic.
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