Indiana's 8th congressional district

"IN-8" redirects here. For the state road, see Indiana State Road 8.

Indiana's 8th congressional district
Current Representative		Larry Bucshon (R–Newburgh)
Area	7,041.64 mi² (18,237.85 km²)
Distribution	58.10% urban, 41.90% rural
Population (2000)	675,564
Median income	$36,732
Ethnicity	94.2% White, 3.7% Black, 0.6% Asian, 0.9% Hispanic, 0.2% Native American, 0.3% other
Cook PVI	R+8

Indiana's 8th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Indiana. Based in Southwest and west central Indiana, the district is anchored in Evansville and also includes Terre Haute, Vincennes and Washington.

Commonly referred to as "The Bloody Eighth" at the local (and sometimes national) levels (See below for explanation), it is a major swing district.

The district from 2003 to 2013

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 39,750	28 Greene Bloomfield 33,750	42 Knox Vincennes 38,920
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

• 23 Fountain County exists in both the 4th Congressional District and 8th Congressional District. Inside the 8th District, are the townships of Davis, Fulton, Logan, Millcreek, Richland, Troy, and Wabash.

Cities of 10,000 or more people

(2007 Estimate)

• Greencastle - Estimated around 10,100
• Princeton - Estimated around 10,700
• Washington - 11,700
• Vincennes - 21,500
• Terre Haute - 53,100
• Evansville - 131,500

5,000 - 10,000 people

(2007 Estimate)

• Fort Branch - 5,015
• Newburgh - 5,475
• North Terre Haute - 5,025
• Clinton - 5,128
• Sullivan - 5,000
• Boonville - 6,125
• Linton - 5,770
• Mt. Vernon - 7,478
• Brazil - 8,041

History

Indiana congressional districts before and after the most recent redistricting

Based in Evansville, the 8th Congressional District was widened when Indiana lost a seat after the 2000 U.S. Census to include much of the former 5th and 7th Congressional Districts. At that time, Bloomington (the home of former U.S. Representative Frank McCloskey) was moved into the 9th Congressional District, while the 8th Congressional District was extended northward to include much of the former 7th Congressional District in west-central Indiana, including Terre Haute. As a result of this expansion, the district is the largest in area in Indiana with all or part of 18 counties.

The district has been nicknamed "The Bloody Eighth" because of a series of hard-fought campaigns and political reversals. Unlike most other districts in the state, which frequently give their representatives long tenures in Washington, the 8th Congressional District has a reputation for frequently ousting its incumbents. Voters in the district ousted six incumbents from 1966 to 1982. The election in 1984 was so close that it was decided in Congress. Although Southern Indiana is ancestrally Democratic, the Democrats in this area are nowhere near as liberal as their counterparts in the rest of the state. The district also has a strong tint of social conservatism.

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."

The district was previously represented by Brad Ellsworth, a moderate 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. Ellsworth ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2010 and was succeeded by Republican Larry Bucshon in the same election cycle.

List of representatives

Representative	Party	Years	District home	Notes
District created March 4, 1843
John Pettit	Democratic	March 4, 1843 - March 4, 1849
Joseph E. McDonald	Democratic	March 4, 1849 - March 4, 1851
Daniel Mace	Democratic	March 4, 1851 - March 4, 1855
	Opposition	March 4, 1855 - March 4, 1857
James Wilson	Republican	March 4, 1857 - March 4, 1861
Albert S. White	Republican	March 4, 1861 - March 4, 1863
Godlove S. Orth	Republican	March 4, 1863 - March 4, 1869		Redistricted to the 7th district
James N. Tyner	Republican	March 4, 1869 - March 4, 1875		elected in special election to fill vacancy due to death of Rep-elect Daniel D. Pratt
Morton C. Hunter	Republican	March 4, 1875 - March 4, 1879		Redistricted from the 6th district
Abraham J. Hostetler	Democratic	March 4, 1879 - March 4, 1881
Robert B. F. Peirce	Republican	March 4, 1881 - March 4, 1883
John E. Lamb	Democratic	March 4, 1883 - March 4, 1885
James T. Johnston	Republican	March 4, 1885 - March 4, 1889
Elijah V. Brookshire	Democratic	March 4, 1889 - March 4, 1895
George W. Faris	Republican	March 4, 1895 - March 4, 1897		Redistricted to the 5th district
Charles L. Henry	Republican	March 4, 1897 - March 4, 1899		Redistricted from the 7th district
George W. Cromer	Republican	March 4, 1899 - March 4, 1907
John A. M. Adair	Democratic	March 4, 1907 - March 4, 1917
Albert H. Vestal	Republican	March 4, 1917 - April 1, 1932		Died
Vacant		April 1, 1932 - March 4, 1933
John W. Boehne, Jr.	Democratic	March 4, 1933 - January 3, 1943		Redistricted from the 1st district
Charles M. La Follette	Republican	January 3, 1943 - January 3, 1947
E. A. Mitchell	Republican	January 3, 1947 - January 3, 1949
Winfield K. Denton	Democratic	January 3, 1949 - January 3, 1953
D. Bailey Merrill	Republican	January 3, 1953 - January 3, 1955
Winfield K. Denton	Democratic	January 3, 1955 - December 30, 1966		Resigned
Vacant		December 30, 1966 - January 3, 1967
Roger H. Zion	Republican	January 3, 1967 - January 3, 1975
Philip H. Hayes	Democratic	January 3, 1975 - January 3, 1977
David L. Cornwell	Democratic	January 3, 1977 - January 3, 1979
H. Joel Deckard	Republican	January 3, 1979 - January 3, 1983
Frank McCloskey	Democratic	January 3, 1983 - January 3, 1985
Vacant		January 3, 1985 - May 1, 1985		Election contested from January 3 to May 1, 1985. Congress refused to seat anyone.
Frank McCloskey	Democratic	May 1, 1985 - January 3, 1995		Final recount won by McCloskey, taking seat May 1, 1985 in disputed election.
John Hostettler	Republican	January 3, 1995 - January 3, 2007
Brad Ellsworth	Democratic	January 3, 2007 - January 3, 2011
Larry Bucshon	Republican	January 3, 2011 – Present		Incumbent

Election Results

2002

Indiana's 8th Congressional District Election (2002)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	John Hostettler*	98,952	51.31%
	Democratic	Bryan Hartke	88,763	46.02%
	Libertarian	Pam Williams	5,150	2.67%
Totals			192,865	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

2004

Indiana's 8th Congressional District Election (2004)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	John Hostettler*	145,576	53.37%
	Democratic	Jon P. Jennings	121,522	44.55%
	Libertarian	Mark Garvin	5,680	2.08%
Totals			272,778	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

2006

Indiana's 8th Congressional District Election (2006)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Brad Ellsworth	131,019	61.02%
	Republican	John Hostettler*	83,704	38.98%
Totals			214,723	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic gain from Republican

2008

Indiana's 8th Congressional District Election (2008)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Democratic	Brad Ellsworth*	189,109	64.75%
	Republican	Greg Goode	102,940	35.25%
Totals			292,049	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic hold

2010

Indiana's 8th Congressional District Election (2010)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Larry Bucshon	117,259	57.55%
	Democratic	Trent Van Haaften	76,265	37.43%
	Libertarian	John Cunningham	10,240	5.03%
Totals			203,764	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican gain from Democratic

2012

Indiana's 8th Congressional District Election (2012)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Larry Bucshon*	151,533	53.36%
	Democratic	Dave Crooks	122,325	43.07%
	Libertarian	Bart Gadau	10,134	3.57%
Totals			283,992	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

References

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

External links

• Congressman Larry Bucshon Official House Site

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