24Liberty.com: 24 Races For Liberty, Part XVI: IN-9 Incumbent Baron Hill

“Indiana’s 9th congressional district is a district of the United States Congress in south-central and south-eastern Indiana. The district is represented in the 111th United States Congress by Baron Hill (D). The chief candidates in 2006 were the Republican candidate and the then serving 9th District Congressman Mike Sodrel, Democratic candidate and previous (1999-2005) 9th District Congressman Baron Hill, and Libertarian candidate/Indiana University Southeast professor Eric Schansberg. This was the third time Sodrel and Hill have faced each other; Hill beat Sodrel by 9,485 votes in 2002 and Sodrel beat Hill by 1,425 votes in 2004. Hill beat Sodrel in 2006 and 2008, and is currently serving in the 111th United States Congress.”

Baron Hill is winding down his 5th term in this House seat, though he sat OUT 2 years because of having lost his re-election bid in ’04. He was IN-9 Rep. from ’98-’04, and then again from ’06 until now. Wiki Tells us Hill is a “Blue Dog” and that “in December 2003, Hill was named communication co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition.” Hill, like so many other so-called “Blue Dogs” has a voting record which doesn’t align very well with the ideology he claims to espouse:

The Blue Dog Coalition describes itself as a group of moderate-to-conservative Democrats committed to financial and national security, favoring compromise and bipartisanship over ideology and party discipline.

Let’s take a closer look at Hill, and the details of the race for this House seat in 2010.

Thank goodness for cut-n-paste…it makes things a lot easier for summarizing the voting records of all these Democrats: Hill voted yes on Health Care, yes on the Stimulus, yes on Cap & Trade, and yes on TARP. YES on increasing the debt limit, yes on the Unemployment Benefits extension, and yes to override Bush’s Farm Bill veto. I could go on, but why bother?

Indiana had their Democrat primary on May 4th. Hill won out over 4 other contenders. On the GOP side, Todd Young won out over 3 others. The exciting news in the GOP primary was the defeat of Sodrel, a long-time opponent of Hill’s who actually WON that seat in ’04 (only to lose it BACK to Hill in ’06)…exciting because with Sodrel gone, we might be able to actually field a candidate with a better than even chance of taking Hill out for good.

Let’s start with CQ Politics (now calling this one a “Toss Up”):

Hill, a former state Representative and basketball standout, is the definition of a seasoned campaigner, but in 2010 he’s facing a different opponent for the first time in almost a decade.

Over the past four cycles Hill has faced Republican businessman Mike Sodrel. Sodrel won in 2004 but lost the other three times. Sodrel’s bid for yet another rematch failed, and Republicans nominated Bloomington lawyer Todd Young instead.

Young, who has the support of the anti-tax Club for Growth, has worked to tie Hill to Democratic leaders and highlighted the Blue Dog Congressman’s votes for cap-and-trade and the new health care law.

Now, DC Political Report’s polls are mixed…but the Wiki House races page has every major poll indicating that this race is a “clean” Tossup. WaPo is calling this one a “Race to Watch” and even Real Clear Politics (calling this a “Toss Up” as well) has good things to say about Young’s chances:

Sodrel sought a fifth matchup with Hill, but the Republican primary voters demurred, opting instead for attorney Todd Young. Expect this episode from a town hall meeting (YouTube link to a Hill breakdown there) to receive frequent airtime in the fall. Hill will try to draw attention to his numerous breaks with the national Democratic Party in previous years, though Young will argue that these breaks became less frequent in the recent Congress, and will point to Hill’s votes on the health care bill and cap-and-trade legislation, as well as raising the national debt limit.

This one looks to go down to the wire, but all indicators suggest that Young can win this one. His DONATE page will give you the chance to send a little help his way…donate now, donate often…there’s only 2 weeks to go!

[Note: this article originates at Liberty.Com]