Daniels recalls 2-year RV campaign journey across counties of Indiana

Sixteen months of visiting Hoosiers around the state ended Monday for Republican gubernatorial candidate Mitch Daniels. The journey began July 7, 2003, in the parking lot of Butler University's Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis with a promise by Daniels to visit all 92 counties in the state in 100 days. He did it in the first 91 days. \nDaniels traveled the state in an RV, nicknamed RV1, that was lent to him by a family friend. He journeyed non-stop for almost two years, visiting almost every county in Indiana four times. Now, RV1 can be seen with thousands upon thousands of signatures scrawled on every facet of the vehicle.\nWith over 75,000 miles on the odometer, the RV campaign for governor ended in West Baden, Ind., on the last trip in his home away from home.\nDaniels said in a statement that he enjoyed his journey through Indiana and all the people he met along the way. He added that it's going to be hard to stop saying he will be back to check up on everyone.\n"I think it hit me somewhere between Salem and West Baden on (Oct. 18): I have to stop saying, 'I'll be back.' Daniels said. "Those have been my parting words everywhere for 16 months with total confidence that in fact we would be back, but suddenly I realize that, with the days dwindling, in most places, we're visiting for the last time. Or, I should say, 'for the last time as a candidate."\nRV1 has had a busy 16 months. It has visited all 92 counties in Indiana at least three times and has visited Lake, St. Joseph and Vanderburgh Counties more than 15 times. \nEllen Whitt, deputy campaign manager for the Daniels campaign, worked on the first lap of the Daniels' tour and said working on the campaign at that early stage was a learning experience. \n"I think we learned a lot in those first days," Whitt said. "Essentially Mitch wanted to be on the road five to six days a week, and he wanted (to) stay overnight several days a week and not stay in a hotel (but) stay in family homes. (He) also said he was going to hit 92 in 100 days, and actually he did it in 91 days and exceeded his goal."\nWhitt also said the first place Daniels wanted to go was Scottsburg.\n"Initially there were just a few people on staff headed to Scottsburg because Mitch heard from someone that no candidate ever came there, and he wanted to make sure that was the first place he visited," Whitt said. \nWhitt said if Daniels wins the election, he still plans to travel throughout Indiana and talk to Hoosiers, but RV1 probably won't be his mode of transportation.\nWhitt said many people are asking about post-election plans for RV1. She said there have been many ideas thrown out about what to do, but right now, no definite plans have been made. \n"I don't know yet. People have talked about all kinds of things," Whitt said. "There's a possibility of donating it to an RV museum if Mitch wins or the possibility of putting it into a state museum. I don't know. I think the guy who loaned it to us probably won't want it back since it's pretty beat up."\nIU freshman Maggie Daniels, Mitch Daniels' daughter, said RV1 has been her dad's second home for the last 16 months.\n"The RV has turned into my dad's home away from home, and in a way, the whole family's," Maggie Daniels said. "I personally thoroughly enjoy it. It's so interesting meeting all the Hoosiers around the state and learning about their lifestyles."\nMaggie Daniels said she isn't sure what is in store for RV1 after the election but could see her family keeping it or giving it to a museum.\n"After the election, if we win, some museums might want it, but I could see us hanging onto it. After the election, if we win, that does not mean (by any means) that the traveling stops there," Maggie Daniels said. "If we won on Nov. 2, that would just be the beginning of our journey. The thing is ... if we won, we would not only be responsible for the people who voted for us, but for every single Hoosier." \nRV1 has symbolized Daniels' commitment to visiting not only every county in the state, but trying to meet as many Hoosiers as possible. In a statement on the first anniversary of RV1 traveling through Indiana, Mitch Daniels emphasized the importance of touring the state.\n"The main purpose of our travel is to prepare myself to be the best governor I can be to six million Hoosiers," Daniels said. "My travels have taken me to places no candidate for governor has visited in many years. But wherever we go, people of every background share our conviction that, with a fresh start and a new direction, Indiana can come back strong."\n-- Contact senior writer Lindsay Jancek at lmjancek@indiana.edu.