Two DePauw Professors Discuss State's "Closest Congressional Race" with Indianapolis TV Station
September 19, 2006
September 19, 2006, Greencastle, Ind. - 
[Download Video: "Prof. Bruce Stinebrickner on WISH-TV" - 622kb] "Everyone says this is the year where the Democrats are going to do better in the congressional elections than they've been doing," Bruce Stinebrickner, professor and chair of political science at DePauw University, said on Indianapolis CBS television affiliate WISH's 5 p.m. newscast today. "Presumably that's going to have some flow down effect here."
But Stinebrickner added, "I think the national wave is what's going to be what determines Hostetler's fate, not what happens here in the district."
The station's political reporter, Jim Shella, has spent the day on campus preparing stories on the hotly-contested race in Indiana's 8th congressional district, where a WISH poll finds Democratic challenger Brad Ellsworth leading Republican 
incumbent John Hostetler by four percentage points. Shella presented live reports at noon, 5 and 6 p.m.
In the longest piece, which aired at 6, Stinebrickner appeared again, as did David Bohmer (seen at right), director of the Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media and DePauw's Media Fellows program. Voters today are feeling [Download Video: "Prof. Dave Bohmer" - 772kb] "discontent with the Iraq war, gasoline prices -- even though they're going down, concern with the economy in general, even though some of the barometers are good." Of the reports suggesting the economy is healthy, Bohmer, a 1969 graduate of the University, added, "A lot of folks aren't sure they believe that that's the case."
WISH describes the Hostetler-Ellsworth contest as "the closest congressional race in the state. Standing in front of historic East College, Shella told viewers, [Download Video: "Jim Shella at DePauw" - 792kb] "This is one of three Indiana districts targeted by both Republicans and Democrats in Washington. It is one of the places where Democrats need to win if they are to take back control of Congress."
Visit WISH online by clicking here.
Back