IN-01: Pete Visclosky retiring

[Gass3268]

https://twitter.com/RepVisclosky/status/1192103783217553408?s=20

[Zaybay]

That was certainly unexpected

[Lisa's voting Biden]

Sorry to see him go, but Safe D.

[Oryxslayer]

One of the older and at the same time most senior dems. His retirement opens up a seat that for 2020 is safe dem, and will probably an interesting primary considering the varying communities up here along the lakeshore.

Now, come 2021, this seat has the potential to get carved up making Indiana 8-1. It's by far the easier one to cut, since Gary is shrinking while Indianapolis is growing and making the surrounding suburbs more blue. However, I wouldn't be surprised is that 8-1 map never comes because no GOP rep wants to have Gary and her environs in their district, the place is just that Toxic. So maybe it will just end up as another 'snake by the lake,' stretching out to Buttigieg's turf in South Bend, which is actually getting more blue.

[Lambsbread]

Indiana's other Pete

[Orser67]

This would be a good opportunity for Buttigieg (South Bend is outside the district, but not super far away) if he wasn't currently in fourth place in the presidential primary.

[libertpaulian]

This is my district.  WOW!

But anyway, Safe D.

[Lambsbread]

This would be a good opportunity for Buttigieg (South Bend is outside the district, but not super far away) if he wasn't currently in fourth place in the presidential primary.

I (jokingly) just thought that Pete could move to this district and run. But I don't think he would do that; South Bend is as much a part of his identity as it is his home.

[Gracile]

This would be a good opportunity for Buttigieg (South Bend is outside the district, but not super far away) if he wasn't currently in fourth place in the presidential primary.

I (jokingly) just thought that Pete could move to this district and run. But I don't think he would do that; South Bend is as much a part of his identity as it is his home.

Yeah, I agree. South Bend is too much a part of Buttigieg's political brand that it wouldn't make sense to run in a district that includes none of it (not that he would ever consider running for this seat anyway).

[Zaybay]

So what possible candidates are there for this seat?

[DrScholl]

I'd imagine that this seat goes to a black state legislator considering that it has some heavily black areas in it.

[Gracile]

Looks like the mayor of Hammond, Thomas McDermott Jr. (D) will jump in:

https://twitter.com/kirk_bado/status/1192108180060463109

[VPH]

Two of the top potential candidates are already running for statewide office--Sen. Karen Tallinan for AG and Sen. Eddie Melton for Governor.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

McDermott was already likely to run against Visclosky - who has had some scandals IIRC - and I suspect internals showed a competitive race.

[n1240]

I thought he'd try to go a few more terms before he retired, but I'm not surprised at all that McDermott Jr. is running

[Landslide Lyndon]

Isn't McDermott considered too moderate for such a safe seat?

[😥]

Sadly that such great Congressman decided to retire

[Mr.Phips]

Isn't McDermott considered too moderate for such a safe seat?

McDermott is basically the textbook definition of a Fox News Democrat.

[Frenchrepublican]

This would be a good opportunity for Buttigieg (South Bend is outside the district, but not super far away) if he wasn't currently in fourth place in the presidential primary.

I (jokingly) just thought that Pete could move to this district and run. But I don't think he would do that; South Bend is as much a part of his identity as it is his home.

Yeah, I agree. South Bend is too much a part of Buttigieg's political brand that it wouldn't make sense to run in a district that includes none of it (not that he would ever consider running for this seat anyway).

Well, I guess that it's possible that South Bend will be put in IN-1 after the next census

[Horus]

McDermott sounds horrible, hopefully someone better comes along.

[Donerail]

Chris Chyung is someone to watch — born in the region to Korean immigrant parents, graduated with a degree in engineering from Columbia, came back to Indiana and started his own real estate company, and won a seat in the State House at age 25 by knocking off an entrenched GOP incumbent. If the party cared at all about developing young talent, he'd be at the top of the list to replace Visclosky. As it is, though, I assume it'll be some old Dem hack who's paid his dues — like McDermott, for instance.

[Brittain33]

Jackie Walorski is from South Bend which would complicate putting part of that city into IN-1. Where would her district go to make up the population?

[Oryxslayer]

Jackie Walorski is from South Bend which would complicate putting part of that city into IN-1. Where would her district go to make up the population?

The (now) red bits of IN-01. Swapping the city for the southern bits of IN-01 ups her seat R% and locks it in as safe, the downside is that IN-01 becomes a true snake like OH-09 next door. She no longer leaves in the city, and if she gets enough of the rest of the county and its suburbs, Walorski probably doesn't raise a huff. It also allows IN-02 to drop some red bits from the southern end of the seat to IN-05 as part of the collective effort to reestablish that seat as safe R.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Wow, figured he’d be a lifer.

[Clarko95 📚💰📈]

McDermott was already likely to run against Visclosky - who has had some scandals IIRC - and I suspect internals showed a competitive race.

Local from Lake County chiming in here on all of this for some background:

Lake County is one of the few places in the country that still has an old-school Democratic Machine. It's basically a low-key extension of Chicago, with none of the really affluent reformist neighborhoods (so imagine the south and west sides of Chicago + the south suburbs and some rural areas).

McDermott has effectively been the closest thing to the boss of the Lake County Democrats since Rudy Clay retired and Karen Freeman-Wilson said she was going to focus primarily on her city than on county politics. This transfer of the political center of power from Gary's city hall to Hammond's city hall was almost perfectly timed with Hammond's population surpassing Gary's in the 2010 Census.

McDermott, to his credit, has been a very effective mayor. He has made many tangible improvements to the city during his tenure; even if Hammond's population has continued to decline, it is nowhere near as bad as the losses of the 1970s and 80s, or Gary's continued plunge into the abyss. Hence his strong electoral record: winning 52% - 48% in both 2003 and 2007, to winning 82% in 2011 and 78% in 2015 (can't find 2019 because I am GDPR-ed out of the Times of Northwest Indiana, tragically).

However, he has a very abrasive and somewhat authoritarian personality. He is very used to getting his way, and often plays the shadowy, indirect, nasty low-down politics. He's nice when you are on his side, but if you cross him, you are in for a really bad time.

I have met McDermott many times as a member of the Lake County Democrats, and he knows my face but not my name since I was just a precinct captain and student at Purdue Northwest. His chief of staff, Africa Tarver, was the boss of my boss when I worked at the Hammond Development Corporation. Again: nice guy if you're on his side, but can be incredibly nasty and aggressive if you cross him. Also has some...questionable ties to the business community with projects that have been undertaken while he has been mayor.

Also not sure about the competitive polling assertion. We've known for the past decade or so that Visclosky has been getting tired and worn out; he never stuck me as a lifer. I expected he would have retired in one of the past few election cycles, so it's surprising he stayed on this long. McDermott is also probably getting bored of being Mayor and de facto boss of the Lake County Democratic Party, and wants to move up since he has secured his legacy and there is no serious opposition to him in the County (Gary's new mayor, Jerome Prince, also looks to follow Freeman-Wilson's path of focusing on Gary and its problems).

When May 5th comes around, I am voting for Mara Candelaria Reardon, state rep from Indiana's 12th House district (Munster, Highland, northern parts of Dyer and Schererville, and a large chunk of southern Hammond). She's is a much more solidly liberal candidate and a true friend of labor. She also has legislative experience and is personally a much nicer person.

Right now it seems that this race is going to come down the McDermott versus Candelaria Reardon. McDermott is wildly popular in Hammond and has a lot of goodwill across the Lake County Democrats, but also has his enemies. Candelaria Reardon is much more consistently liked, even if not as well known (but still well known). Her representing the densely-populated southern parts of Hammond for 14 years (save 2015-2017) also negates some of McDermott's home-turf advantage, but to what extent remains to be seen.

You may also remember her as the one of was part of a group of women (Democrats and Republicans) who accused IN AG Curtis Hill of sexual harrassment at a party in 2018.

I wouldn't really be mad if McDermott ended up being the Representative, but he fulfills a lot of the worst stereotypes about Lake Country Democrats and his abrasive style and his being used to getting what he wants means he would not be a very productive or constructive Representative. Considering how bad things have been in Lake County for the past 40 years, we can't afford that; we need our Representative to be able to do everything they can for us and not waste time and resources on petty feuds. I would vote for him for Mayor but never for U.S. Representative.

Candelaria Reardon is definitely the preferable choice here, without a doubt.