Talk Elections

In light of Mike Pence announcing that he's not running for president, I'd like to experiment with this

Who would win in these possible Governor's races

Pence vs Joe Donnelly
Pence vs Baron Hill
Pence vs Andre Carson
Pence vs Greg Goodnight
Pence vs Brad Ellsworth

Pence in all scenarios.

Pence would win all of them.

Realistically, the only Dem who could have made this race 50-50 was Bayh, and he pussied out.

That seems to be a recurring theme with him lately.

So you guys think Pence beats the strongest of Democrats?

I know Carson loses because Indiana wouldn't elect a Muslim for governor.
Silent Joe loses because the Tea Party backing Pence would have
Hill might make it close
Goodnight is a strong Conservative Democrat mayor who'll likely be reelected
Ellsworth I see trying to challenge for the IN-8 seat he gave up to run for senate.

If Ellsworth does anything, I think he'll try and win his seat back in Congress. 2010 proved he won't be able to win a statewide office, the same with just about anyone the Democrats put up. If I had to guess who will challenge Pence, I'd say Weinzapfel, as he seems to be looking towards a higher office. Donnelly could end up doing it as well to avoid getting embarassed by Walorski.

I still wish Skillman ran. :(

Weinzapel.... Haven't heard of him.

Mayor of Evansville. Considered running in the 8th last year but ultimately decided against it.

Ellsworth could make it close.

Ellsworth is a great candidate on paper, but after the beating he took from Coats(a weak candidate) I question how strong of a campaigner he is.

Pence vs Joe Donnelly 54-45
Pence vs Baron Hill 56-43
Pence vs Andre Carson 58-41
Pence vs Greg Goodnight 67-21
Pence vs Brad Ellsworth 52-48

He has already been Governor, and held for the dems what would almost certainly been a GOP senate seat. So I think you can find a better way of saying he's not running than "pussied out"

I don't think anyone of us would cry for Evan Bayh.

I agree with this, more or less. but I don't think that goodnight would only carry 21% of the vote. alvin greene got more in a more conservative state hahaha

Pence vs Joe Donnelly 56-40
Pence vs Baron Hill 55-42
Pence vs Andre Carson 60-35
Pence vs Greg Goodnight 65-30
Pence vs Brad Ellsworth 53-42
Pence vs Weinzapfel 54-42

I think the bolded match-up will be the actual match-up. Weinzapfel is showing all the signs that he's gearing up for a run - fundraising, making some stops around the state, and announcing he won't be running for reelection in 2011. He's only 45.

Pence vs Joe Donnelly 53-45
Pence vs Baron Hill 54-43
Pence vs Andre Carson 57-41
Pence vs Greg Goodnight 56-40
Pence vs Brad Ellsworth 51-47
Pence vs Weinzapfel 52-46

I agree with most of these, more or less, except that I think Hill would lose by something like 53-47.  I think he's a very strong candidate in general who lost because of the national environment.  It may seem like his margin of defeat was too big to be explained simply by a wave election and in many places that would be true.  However, Indiana is one of those states that always swings really hard during wave elections (New Hampshire is another example).

Pence vs Joe Donnelly 54% to 44%
Pence vs Baron Hill 53% to 45%
Pence vs Andre Carson 56%to 40%
Pence vs Greg Goodnight 67% to 29%
Pence vs Brad Ellsworth 56% to 41%
Pence vs Weinzapfel 55% to 44%

Carson would do the worst of any of the Democrats listed.

I'd say Pence is probably gonna be the nominee, and the next Governor.  The only person who could beat him is Bayh, and Bayh isn't gonna run.

That's a rather silly statement - it's like saying that, because John McCain lost in 2008, McCain could never have won the Presidency in 2000, 2004, etc.

Touche, I understand your reasoning. Coats was a terrible candidate, and Ellsworth should have made this race close. Many on both sides were expecting the race to tighten up, and the fact that it didn't shows that the Democratic party will struggle.

On a related note, Democrats do have a shot at kicking Tony Bennett out of Superintendent of the Schools. A lot, including myself, are extremely upset with the job he's doing. He seems to be more focused on keeping his "tough guy" image than he is actually doing his job right. He seems to be completely ignoring the will of his constituents. My hopes is that Dan Tanoos, Superintendent of Vigo County Schools, runs against him.

What is holding Pence back from running? It seems like he's actually considering something else instead of running for Governor, why wouldn't he run? He has a clear easy path to 8 years as Governor and then becomming a front runner for president.

It all comes down to whether you think either 2008 or 2010 was an anomaly, rather looking at the big picture, and this goes for either side. Democrats aren't wiped out in Indiana but it has significant Republican tendencies throughout most of the state.

Indiana Secratary of State arrested on fraud charges.

See foxnews.com for more details.

Who says Indiana isn't known for corruption?

You've got to read the B.S. article about it that px (naturally) put up.  ::)

In light of the coming shutdown, I predict Pence is going to lose this race.

Haha, no.

It's official. Pence is in:

http://www.indystar.com/article/20110505/NEWS/110505004/Pence-starts-2012-race-Indiana-governor?

Former Speaker of the House John Gregg is running as well:

http://photos.indystar.com/galleries/12926-democrat-john-gregg-running-for-governor

A piece in my local paper said that Pence could lose to Gregg because Pence is a federal official and so has been focusing on national issues instead of statewide issues. Also, Pence is very conservative and most Indiana governors have been centrists (Bayh, O'Bannon, Daniels, candidate Gregg, etc).