indiana in 08

[jman123]

Why did obama win Indiana in 08?  Indiana is a republican state.

[sg0508]

Very, very strong youth turnout, minority turnout and general GOP disinterest for McCain. 

[Person Man]

It seems like something that couldn't be proven with logistics because Romney wasn't able to do sh**t on the East Coast.

[memphis]

Obama promised to keep ethanol subsidies. McCain (rightly) said they should be ended. The results from the farm belt were predictable.

[pbrower2a]

Indiana has a large RV (recreational vehicle) industry. Indiana got the economic triple whammy of tight money, high interest rates, and high gas prices that caused people to buy expensive vehicles whose fuel consumption is measured almost in gallons per mile. That is the economic cause.

The political cause is that Obama campaign headquarters during the primary season were in nearby Chicago, and Senator Obama could campaign there more easily than any Republican. He had a primary campaign apparatus in Indiana and as the state seemed to offer a lead he kept campaigning there. Add to that, some parts of Indiana have media from Chicago or have media that penetrate significantly (Terre Haute, Evansville) into Illinois, so Barack Obama was well known there. Michigan was a swing state for much of 2008, and Ohio was a swing state throughout 2008. The Obama campaign had to buy into the South Bend market to reach certain parts of Michigan and in Fort Wayne to reach parts of Ohio, and media from Cincinnati and Dayton bleed into Indiana. When Michigan became a sure thing, the Obama campaign kept placing ads in South Bend, but this time largely for the Indiana side of its TV market. Indianapolis along with such college towns as Bloomington and Lafayette were always good markets for potential voters for Obama.

In 2012 the economy was better, and the focus of many Americans had shifted from the gross uncertainty of income (which helps Democrats) to concern for taxes (which helps Republicans).

For most of 2012 the Presidential campaign boiled down to a sure 263 electoral votes for the President and six states that in theory could decide the Presidential election for him -- Colorado, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, and Virginia; any one of those would win the election for him. Missouri of course dropped out. Arizona was going to President Obama only if he won Colorado; Georgia was going to President Obama only if he also won Florida and North Carolina; Indiana was going for him only if he also won Ohio. Arizona, Georgia, and Indiana became irrelevant. Thus no ad buys, no GOTV effort, and no campaign appearances.         
 

[tmthforu94]

Obama had offices all over the state, visited several times in both the primary and general, and was on the air almost non-stop. In contrast, McCain never visited the state and spent almost nothing here. Palin came to Indy once, but that was it. They knew that if they lost Indiana, they had lost the election, so there was no real point in spending here. Had they spent a little time, it would have been held, I'm sure.