THE MAIN EVENT

U.S. Rep. Baron Hill has gotten used to criticism in the last few years.\nAs soon as he entered Bloomington North High School on a routine campaign stop, he immediately had constituents asking him about campaign advertisements accusing him of misrepresenting the people of the 9th Congressional District. \n"Oh, yeah, I saw that one," the Democrat said with a smile and a chuckle before turning deadpan. "This is the most negative campaign I've ever been in.\n"I mean, if I believed everything he said about me, I'd vote against me. This campaign has gotten so negative, that when I walk into my house my dog growls at me."\nIt's a joke he'd make two more times during his visit to the school last week, and it's a joke he's used to making. With the Republican party arming his challenger Mike Sodrel with nearly $3 million for this election, Hill has been pretty busy fighting to keep hold of his seat.\nOut of the 435 congressional races, 400 incumbents are running for re-election, and only 40 races have been deemed competitive, according to the Rothenberg Political Report. Only a dozen House races are considered toss-ups. Hill and his opponent are one of those races to watch. Sodrel is back for a rematch after his narrow defeat in 2002 with more money to support his campaign and notable politicians supporting him.\nTwo years ago, Sodrel, a New Albany resident and founder of Sodrel Truck Lines, took out $1 million of his own money to take on Hill, a congressman since 1998. Because Sodrel had never held any political office or ran in an election before, not many people expected this businessman to lose with 46 percent of the vote compared with Hill's 51 percent. National leaders took notice and Sodrel was offered a speaking spot at this year's Republican National Convention and has had such big names as Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, Vice President Dick Cheney and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay all come to Indiana on his behalf. He has hit the streets in his decked-out campaign van, pumping Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" for all to hear.\nSodrel's campaign manager Kevin Boehnlein said these two years have just given Sodrel's office more time to tweak the campaign strategy.\n"I think Hill's record has been the major difference in the last two years," Boehnlein said, noting Hill's vote against President Bush's tax cuts, his stance against banning gay marriage and his vote against a bill banning partial-birth abortion.\n"He's just given us more fuel for our campaign," Boehnlein said.\nHill, on the other hand, sees Sodrel's campaign advertisements as a complete distortion of his record.\n"I got a call at my home the other Sunday from a volunteer distorting my record in Washington," he said. "I know it may not be Mike personally leading this, but I know it's his party and I ask him to stop it."\nHe said Sodrel is trying to paint him as a man who is against tax cuts, but Hill contends that he is in favor of tax cuts -- as long as they are paid for. All of this underscores his plan for cutting the deficit, which Hill says proves he's a fiscally responsible and conservative Democrat.\nBut Hill said he's used to hearing these accusations as he's had experience with Sodrel's campaigning.\n"Mike Sodrel is your average boilerplate candidate, putting Republican spin on everything," Hill said. "It's the same lies he said two years ago -- over and over again."\nSodrel says this year is different for one very important reason -- there's a presidential election going on at the same time.\n"Once you have a presidential election, it's a completely different campaign," Sodrel said. "You have what I like to call the 'cicada voters' who only come out once in a while and they're going to make all the difference."\nSodrel's theory is that because most of the district supports President Bush -- 58 to 40 percent in 2000 -- Sodrel will ride Bush's coattails to victory.\nWhether increased voter turnout will help Sodrel is yet to be seen, but Michael Ensley, an IU political science professor who specializes in congressional elections, said it could have an impact.\n"My guess is that this race might be closer than expected because of higher turnout which I would guess would favor Sodrel, but I don't (think) it will be enough to overcome Hill," Ensley said. "Hill is a fairly popular incumbent and I think it would take a strong tide against Democrats in general to unseat him. Clearly, there does not seem to be a significant national tide in favor of either party."\nEnsley noted that although Indiana is rather socially conservative, the state elects quite a few moderate Democrats, including Sen. Evan Bayh, former Gov. Frank O'Bannon and former Rep. Lee Hamilton (whom Hill succeeded upon his retirement). Ensley said one aspect that will play a crucial role is voter turnout among youth.\n"There has been an effort to mobilize young voters and students, which most likely would help Hill as long as the students vote in the ninth district and not their home district," he said.\nStill, Sodrel isn't without his collegiate support in Bloomington. The IU College Republicans flooded the parking lot of WTIU with a sea of blue Mike Sodrel signs as the candidate exited his televised debate last week. Sophomore Andrew Lauck, events director for IU College Republicans, said his group has been excited about the competitive race.\n"Mike created 500 jobs as a small business owner. Imagine what he could do as a Congressman," Lauck said. "The possibilities for Indiana would be endless with a leader who actually cares about his constituents, like Mike Sodrel."\nStill, the IU College Democrats expect Hill to be able to hold on to his seat.\n"Congressman Hill will win re-election because of his ability to work with both parties and because he has clear and legitimate plans to make Indiana stronger," said senior Mandy Carmichael, president of the IU College Democrats.\nDespite both candidates having equal name recognition, which Ensley said is unusual for an incumbent race, he said he has to give the advantage to Hill because of his incumbency.\n"He has probably been in the news much more because he is the current representative," he said. "Further, Hill has had the opportunity to prove himself as a legislator by helping constituents as well actively working in the House on legislation. Thus, overall we would expect that he would have more credibility with the 9th's voters."\n-- Contact Weekend editor in chief Adam Aasen at aaasen@indiana.edu.