Rep. Welch faces potentially tough reelection in more Republican district

State Rep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, will face a new and more Republican political landscape when she runs for reelection in 2012.

Welch’s current district, District 60, includes parts of Bloomington and rural areas surrounding the city in Monroe County, and stretches into small swathes of Greene and Brown counties. Originally elected in 1998, she was reelected in 2006 and 2008 when she ran unopposed and won reelection with almost 60 percent of the vote in 2010.

But Republicans in the statehouse had complete control in redistricting Indiana’s 100 House districts and 50 Senate districts, and many of them, including District 60, now have more Republican areas than previously.

The new District 60 includes about half of highly Republican Morgan County, including the cities of Martinsville and Mooresville, as well as rural areas in the northern and eastern portions of Monroe County. A small area of eastern Bloomington is included in the new district.

The new District 60 includes much more politically conservative terrain than the old one. In 2010, Monroe County voted 66 percent for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. In contrast, Morgan County voted 63 percent for Republican candidate John McCain.

To further illustrate the political divide that separates the two counties, no Democrats currently hold an office in Morgan County, and only a handful of Republicans are elected in Monroe County.

But Welch, a moderate Democrat, may have gotten a breath of hope when Martinsville GOP Rep. Ralph Foley announced he would not seek reelection in Welch and Foley’s newly combined district. His announcement leaves Welch without an incumbent challenger.

Regardless, the more Republican terrain could pose a significant political challenge to Welch.

— Zach Ammerman