Indiana governor's race heats up

While the summer frequently provides a lull and a vacation for many, the race for Indiana's governor's mansion has continued at high speed and is becoming one of the most closely watched races in the 2004 election.\nGov. Joe Kernan, 58, is the Democratic nominee who took over the office after Gov. Frank O'Bannon died of a stroke in September 2003. Kernan, a former three-term mayor of South Bend and lieutenant governor under O'Bannon, is seeking a full term of his own.\nBut it won't happen without a fight from Republican challenger Mitch Daniels, 55, the former director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush.\nDaniels, who served as Indiana Senator Dick Lugar's chief of staff and a senior advisor and liaison for President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, defeated conservative activist Eric Miller in May for the GOP nomination.\nBoth candidates are making strides to connect with young people.\n"Our campaign staff is a very young staff. Two-thirds of the people working on the full-time staff are 30 or younger," said Ellen Whitt, Daniels' deputy campaign manager.\nWhitt also said the campaign has many young people who volunteer, both in the field and in the office.\nThe scene is similar at the Kernan campaign.\n"A large majority of the campaign staff is under 30," said Tina Noel, spokeswoman for the Kernan campaign. "All over the state, young people are in the field contacting voters of all ages and backgrounds to spread the campaign's message."\nKeeping college affordable is a priority for Kernan, Noel said. In July, Kernan named a task force of 13 Hoosiers to recommend ways to keep college affordable in Indiana.\nWhitt said Daniels' approach to the race, which she described as "enthusiastic, very positive and issues-oriented," may be attracting young people to his campaign.\n"I think he's done things in a way that is a little unconventional -- our Web site, e-mail contact, the way that he's out on the road," Whitt said. "He's gone to every county at least twice, and he's gone to a lot of places that haven't seen a candidate for governor -- or a candidate, period -- in a lot of years."\nDaniels may stop by the IU campus occasionally in the weeks heading up to the Nov. 2 election, but not necessarily for political reasons -- his youngest daughter begins her freshman year here this fall.\n"Mitch did several tailgates before football games (around the state), and he's doing that again this fall," Whitt said. "We'll be taking RV1 -- the traveling office -- to grill out. It just gives him an opportunity to chat with a lot of students."\nBoth campaigns say they're focusing on eliminating the Indiana "brain-drain," the tendency for many Indiana college graduates leave the state to find jobs.\nWhitt said Daniels wants to make Indiana is "the kind of place students will want to stay in when they graduate."\n"By creating good jobs, a good quality of life and affordable, accessible education, Gov. Kernan believes Indiana will continue to be a place where college graduates call home," Noel said.\nThe Kernan campaign said it is working closely with Indiana Young Democrats and said the IU College Democrats have been heavily involved in the governor's Bloomington-area campaign.\nSophomore Mandy Carmichael, president of the IU College Democrats, will be interning with the campaign.\n"I feel that the campus outreach for the (Kernan) campaign will be awesome," Carmichael said. "I have been working on several initiatives to bring the Kernan campaign to IU students, and obviously (the College Democrats) will be working very closely with all local and state campaigns."\nHer counterpart, IU College Republicans President Angel Rivera, will be working as studiously for his party's candidate.\n"Mitch is the man," Rivera said. "We need Mitch in Indiana."\nRivera, also the chairman of IU Students for Mitch Daniels, said the College Republicans will be working for Daniels, as well as working on voter registration and "get-out-the-vote drives." There are also plans for a local tailgate with Daniels.\nWhile Carmichael and Rivera are working for a similar goal from different sides, they both agree the race for governor is important for the state's future.\n"The gubernatorial race will be crucial in shaping Indiana in the years to come, and I feel that the outcome of this race will directly impact all students in Indiana," Carmichael said. \nSuch an impact, Rivera said, will likely surround jobs "because Mitch's economic plan is about jobs, quality jobs," Rivera said. "Our quality of life and our future depends on the quality of jobs. Joe Kernan and the Democratic Party have proven they are unable to do that."\nNo matter who wins Nov. 2, the race will be historic for the state: Indiana will have its first elected female lieutenant governor. Kernan appointed Indianapolis City Controller Kathy Davis as lieutenant governor in October 2003. Daniels has chosen state Sen. Becky Skillman, R-Bedford, as his running mate.\n-- Contact senior writer Tony Sams at ajsams@indiana.edu.