Indiana's 8th congressional district

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Indiana's 8th congressional district
Map of Indiana's Eighth Congressional District (also known as the Bloody Eighth)
Map of Indiana's Eighth Congressional District (also known as the Bloody Eighth)
Area 7,041.64 mi² (18,237.85 km²)
Population (2000) 675,564
Median income $36,732
Ethnic composition 94.2% White, 3.7% Black, 0.6% Asian, 0.9% Hispanic, 0.2% Native American, 0.3% other
Cook PVI R+9

United States House of Representatives, Indiana District 8 is a district of the United States Congress in southwestern Indiana. Based in Evansville, it was widened when Indiana lost a seat after the 2000 Census to include much of the former 5th and 7th Districts. At that time, Bloomington (the home of former representative Frank McCloskey) was moved into the 9th District, while the 8th was extended northward to include much of the former 7th district in west-central Indiana, including Terre Haute. As a result of this expansion, the district is the largest in area in Indiana.

Contents

[edit] Counties located in Indiana's 8th Congressional District

# County # County # County # County # County # County
11 Clay
Brazil
26,556		 14 Daviess
Washington
30,726		 23 Fountain*
Covington
17,954		 26 Gibson
Princeton
38,750		 28 Greene
Bloomfield
33,750		 42 Knox
Vincennes
40,020
51 Martin
Shoals
10,370		 60 Owen
Spencer
21,790		 61 Parke
Rockville
17,250		 63 Pike
Petersburg
12,840		 65 Posey
Mt. Vernon
27,500		 67 Putnam
Greencastle
36,020
77 Sullivan
Sullivan
21,750		 82 Vanderburgh
Evansville
191,220		 83 Vermillion
Newport
16,790		 84 Vigo
Terre Haute
105,900		 86 Warren
Williamsport
8,500		 87 Warrick
Boonville
59,700

[edit] Cities of 10,000 or more people

(2007 Estimate)

[edit] 5,000 - 10,000 people

(2007 Estimate)

[edit] History

The district has been nicknamed the "Bloody Eighth" because of a series of hard-fought tight campaigns and political reversals.[1] It ousted six incumbents from 1966 to 1982. The election in 1984 was so close that it was decided in Congress.

In 2000, a New York Times reporter said of the district: "With a populist streak and a conservative bent, this district does not cotton to country-club Republicans or to social-engineering liberals," and also said "More than 95 percent white and about 41 percent rural, the region shares much of the flavor of the Bible Belt."[2]

[edit] Representative

It is currently represented by Brad Ellsworth, a moderately conservative Democrat. As a result of Ellsworth's landslide defeat of 12-year incumbent John Hostettler, it was the first district picked up by the Democrats on election night, 2006.[3]

[edit] 2006

Main article: U.S. House election, 2006
Party Canadidate Votes  %
  Republican Party John Hostettler 82,271 39
  Democratic Party Brad Ellsworth 128,765 61
  Democratic gain from Republican Party

[edit] Neighboring Districts

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "And They're Off And Running!", U.S. News & World Reports, January 16, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-01-07. 
  2. ^ Dirk Johnson, "The 2000 Campaign: An Indiana Race; Conservatives Face Off in Quirky Populist District", New York Times, October 10, 2000
  3. ^ Democrats pick up key House seat in Indiana. CNN.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-07.

[edit] External Links


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Indiana's congressional districts
Territory At-large 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
The At-large and 10th through 13th districts are obsolete
See also: Indiana's past & present Representatives, Senators, and Delegations
All U.S. districts – Apportionment – Redistricting – Gerrymandering – Maps
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