Baron Hill re-elected

A fight between two long-time rivals ended in a landslide Tuesday.

Democratic incumbent Baron Hill soundly defeated Republican challenger Mike Sodrel to claim the 9th Congressional District seat. 

With 96 percent of precincts reporting, Hill captured 57 percent of the vote while Sodrel, a former one-term congressman, won 39 percent. Libertarian candidate Eric Schansberg won 4 percent.

Hill was first elected in 1998 and was re-elected in 2000 and 2002. In 2004 Sodrel defeated Hill for his only term, but Hill regained the seat in 2006. 

Two years ago, the margin of Hill’s victory was only 4 percent. In that election, Schansberg also claimed 4 percent.

Sodrel conceded the race at about 9 p.m. Tuesday.

“I’m grateful to my family, friends and great volunteers that have supported me in this race,” Sodrel said in a statement. “I have known victory, and I have known defeat. I am at peace with the outcome.”

Hill said in a press release that he was grateful to be chosen again.

“It is with deep and heartfelt gratitude that I thank the people of southern Indiana for allowing me to continue serving in Congress,” Hill said in the statement.

Schansberg, an economics professor at IU-Southeast New Albany, said he thought campaigning in a presidential year made the race more difficult for him. While voters seem worried about the economy, Schansberg said a lack of overwhelming support made him doubt their true concern.

“People say they want change, but they have an economics professor in a time when that kind of expertise would seem to be pretty welcome,” Schansberg said. “It’s odd people don’t vote for that more often.”

Hill’s vote against Congress’ $300 billion bailout, Schansberg said, was a key factor in his victory. Despite getting his issues out there, Schansberg said he expected a higher percentage of support.

“It’s a platform to talk about things that don’t get talked about if I wasn’t in there,” Schansberg said. “I’m not disappointed in the sense we did everything we could do. I am disappointed in the numbers.” 

As the country faces an economic crisis, Hill promised to be an “independent voice.”
“This is a critical point in our nation’s history,” Hill said in a release, “and while we face very difficult problems, I am eager to get back to Washington and address those issues head on.”