Sodrel concedes congressional loss before hometown crowd

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. -- Early cheers turned to tears late Tuesday night at the Republican headquarters in Jeffersonville, Ind., as U.S. Congressman Mike Sodrel conceded to Democratic challenger Baron Hill. \nAs the polls closed and preliminary numbers came in favoring Sodrel, spirits in the crowd were high. Sodrel walked around the downtown square of his hometown sharing hugs and smiles with the hundreds of locals who came out in his support. Silently showing his authority to return to Washington, Sodrel wore a denim shirt bearing the official U.S. House of Representatives embroidery.\nGiven the close margin of the race, his demeanor seemed calm and confident.\nFor Dee Dee Benkie, District 9 vice chairman of the Indiana Republican State Committee, this confidence was justified as early results began coming in. \n"I think we worked hard to promote the base," Benkie said. "Mike is a perfect fit for this district." \nSodrel spent the day traveling throughout the district, meeting voters at polls all along the way. \n"He feels like there was a good turnout," said Sodrel's press secretary Alison Aikele. "Voters were very receptive." \nBut by 10 p.m., The Associated Press announced that voters had chosen otherwise. The projection came with only 77 percent of precincts reporting and Hill's lead a mere 2 percent margin. \nThis early decision prompted Clark County Republican Party Chairman Glenn Murphy to refuse concession, noting past precedence. \n"We were in the exact same spot two years ago, and we woke up with Congressman Mike Sodrel," Murphy said, referencing Sodrel's defeat of Hill in the last election. "We've got a long night ahead of us, and we're not going to concede."\nBut by 10:23 p.m., the tides had changed as Sodrel entered the anxious crowd. \n"I really feel bad for you," he said. \n"I feel bad for our country," a woman responded from the crowd, a statement that was met with clapping and chanting to the tune that followed Sodrel throughout his campaign: "We love Mike."\nThe 9th District race became a local race with national implications as Election Day loomed, a point proven by the influx of big-name Republicans visiting the area to rally support for Sodrel, including President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush. \nThe race's drama continued as evening reports circulated that a volunteer within the Monroe County Democratic Party stole absentee ballots.\nIn the end, Sodrel felt the votes in question would not be enough to lead him to victory. \n"We may not know what the legal remedy is besides punishing the people responsible," Sodrel said, referring to the incident involving the stolen ballots.\nHe did, however, see a larger problem at play. "We need to preserve democracy for the future of the nation, and you don't do that by stuffing the ballot box."\nAs he looked out on a crowd of tear-filled eyes, Sodrel ended his run with a positive note. \n"In the end, I've got my wife of 39 years this month, two great kids, their spouses and seven granddaughters, so life is good." \nAs for future plans, Sodrel said: "I still have weeks of work left to complete this term, and I probably need some time to reflect."\nHe didn't, however, rule out the possibility of repeating his opponent's political move and running for the seat again in 2008.