Obama clinches Indiana late

President-elect Barack Obama squeaked out a 13,000-vote victory in Indiana on Tuesday, putting the state’s electoral votes in the Democratic column for the first time since 1964.

Indiana became one of at least eight states to go from red in 2004 to blue in 2008.
Though Obama took a commanding lead of electoral votes early in the night, vote-counting in Indiana was a roller coaster of leads and deficits; McCain was up by more than 3 percent at about 10 p.m. By 11 p.m., the candidates were too close to call, with portions of Monroe, Marion and Lake County uncounted, as well as all of Wayne County.

Obama and McCain fought bitterly over Indiana. Obama made several appearances around the state, even stopping by a call center in Indianapolis on election day to drum out every bit of support he could.

“It’s going to be tight as a tick here in Indiana,” Obama told volunteers at the center. “So the question is who wants it more.”

McCain was less visible, making only one stop in the Hoosier state after July 1 - the day before the election. But his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, made three stops in the last two weeks of the campaign and attracted some of the largest crowds of the season.

But how did a state that went so overwhelmingly to President Bush in 2000 and 2004 turn blue? Bush won the state by 16 percent in 200 and more than 20 percent in 2004.

Experts said it was Obama’s campaign strategy that won out in the end. Department of Political Science Professor Gerald Wright said the election’s outcome does not represent a fundamental shift in the Hoosier state.

“Indiana hasn’t changed,” Wright said. “Ohio hasn’t changed. What happened is that Obama just ran an extraordinarily good campaign in a year that was very good for Democrats.”

Obama has also been praised for the hugely effective grassroots campaign his staff organized. Obama had a much bigger presence in Bloomington than McCain; the Democrat even had Dave Matthews stop by for a free concert in April.

“The key for us was his commitment to keep that organizing going all summer and to keep the momentum from that later primary and build on that grassroots effort,” said former Fort Wayne Mayor Graham Richard, a Democrat who supported Obama during the primary.

Out of 92 counties that submitted votes in Indiana, only 15 went for Obama. But the Illinois senator made up for his lack of support in rural counties by amassing huge leads in Marion, Lake and Monroe counties, where he got almost two thirds of the vote.

Indiana’s status was in question until late Tuesday. Votes from several counties were not in as of midnight, and Wayne County did not report any votes until after midnight.

Officials told The Associated Press there were “glitches,” but declined to elaborate.

– IDS reporter Zina Kumok and The Associated Press contributed to this report.