Indiana's 8th congressional district

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 Jasper, Princeton, Terre Haute, Vincennes and Washington.

"IN-8" redirects here. For the state road, see Indiana State Road 8.
Indiana's 8th congressional district
Indiana's 8th congressional district - since January 3, 2013.
Representative
  Larry Bucshon
R–Evansville
Area7,041.64 sq mi (18,237.8 km2)
Distribution
  • 58.10% urban
  • 41.90% rural
Population (2019)716,924
Median household
income		$54,326[1]
Ethnicity
Cook PVIR+15[3]

Commonly referred to as "The Bloody Eighth" at the local (and sometimes national) levels (See below for explanation), it was formerly a notorious swing district. However, due to a political realignment similar to contemporary realignment happening in the Deep South and Appalachia, it has in recent elections become a safe Republican district.

Election results from presidential races
Year Office Results
2000 President George W. Bush 57% - Al Gore 42%
2004 President George W. Bush 62% - John Kerry 38%
2008 President John McCain 50.6% - Barack Obama 48.1%
2012 President Mitt Romney 58.4% - Barack Obama 39.6%
2016 President Donald Trump 64.6% - Hillary Clinton 30.9%
2020 President Donald Trump 65.1% - Joe Biden 33.1%

Counties located in Indiana's 8th Congressional District

As of 2013.

#
County		 #
County		 #
County		 #
County		 #
County
11
Clay
Brazil
26,556		 13*
Crawford
English
10,713		 14
Daviess
Washington
30,726		 19
Dubois
Jasper
41,889		 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
62
Perry
Tell City
19,332		 63
Pike
Petersburg
12,845		 65
Posey
Mt. Vernon
27,500		 74
Spencer
Rockport
20,952		 77
Sullivan
Sullivan
21,750
82
Vanderburgh
Evansville
191,220		 83
Vermillion
Newport
16,790		 84
Vigo
Terre Haute
105,900		 87
Warrick
Boonville
59,700

Cities of 10,000 or more people

(2010 Census)

2,500 - 10,000 people

(2010 Census)

History

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 tend to give their representatives long tenures in Washington, the 8th Congressional District has a reputation for frequently ousting incumbents from both parties.[4] Voters in the district ousted six incumbents from 1966 to 1982. The election in 1984 was so close that the House of Representatives itself determined which of two candidates to seat, accepting the recommendation of a Democratically controlled House task force sent to Indiana to count the ballots, with the winner, Democrat Frank McCloskey, holding a margin of four votes out of 233,000 cast.[5] After that, McCloskey was reelected four more times before losing to Republican John Hostettler in 1994, amid the Republican Revolution. Hostettler represented the district for six terms before being defeated in a landslide by moderate Democrat Brad Ellsworth in 2006. It was the first district picked up by the Democrats that year, and was one of thirty nationwide that they gained while regaining control of the House.[6] Ellsworth ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2010 and was succeeded by Republican Larry Bucshon in the same election cycle. 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. Historically, it had a character similar to Yellow Dog Democrat districts in neighboring Kentucky. 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."[7]

In 2013, the district shifted and was pushed southward toward Evansville, losing Fountain and Warren Counties, and gaining Dubois, Perry, and Spencer Counties, and a portion of Crawford County, uniting southwestern Indiana under one district.

List of members representing the district
Representative Party Years Cong
ress		 Electoral history
District created March 4, 1843

John Pettit		 Democratic March 4, 1843 –
March 3, 1849		 28th
29th
30th		 [data unknown/missing]

Joseph E. McDonald		 Democratic March 4, 1849 –
March 3, 1851		 31st [data unknown/missing]
Daniel Mace Democratic March 4, 1851 –
March 3, 1855		 32nd
33rd
34th		 [data unknown/missing]
Opposition March 4, 1855 –
March 3, 1857

James Wilson		 Republican March 4, 1857 –
March 3, 1861		 35th
36th		 [data unknown/missing]

Albert S. White		 Republican March 4, 1861 –
March 3, 1863		 37th [data unknown/missing]

Godlove S. Orth		 Republican March 4, 1863 –
March 3, 1869		 38th
39th
40th		 Redistricted to the 7th district.

James N. Tyner		 Republican March 4, 1869 –
March 3, 1875		 41st
42nd
43rd		 Elected to the term left vacant by the resignation of Representative-elect Daniel D. Pratt.

Morton C. Hunter		 Republican March 4, 1875 –
March 3, 1879		 44th
45th		 Redistricted from the 6th district.

Abraham J. Hostetler		 Democratic March 4, 1879 –
March 3, 1881		 46th [data unknown/missing]

Robert B. F. Peirce		 Republican March 4, 1881 –
March 3, 1883		 47th [data unknown/missing]

John E. Lamb		 Democratic March 4, 1883 –
March 3, 1885		 48th [data unknown/missing]

James T. Johnston		 Republican March 4, 1885 –
March 3, 1889		 49th
50th		 [data unknown/missing]

Elijah V. Brookshire		 Democratic March 4, 1889 –
March 3, 1895		 51st
52nd
53rd		 [data unknown/missing]

George W. Faris		 Republican March 4, 1895 –
March 3, 1897		 54th Redistricted to the 5th district.

Charles L. Henry		 Republican March 4, 1897 –
March 3, 1899		 55th Redistricted from the 7th district.

George W. Cromer		 Republican March 4, 1899 –
March 3, 1907		 56th
57th
58th
59th		 [data unknown/missing]

John A. M. Adair		 Democratic March 4, 1907 –
March 3, 1917		 60th
61st
62nd
63rd
64th		 [data unknown/missing]

Albert H. Vestal		 Republican March 4, 1917 –
April 1, 1932		 65th
66th
67th
68th
69th
70th
71st
72nd		 Died.
Vacant April 1, 1932 –
March 3, 1933		 72nd
John W. Boehne Jr. Democratic March 4, 1933 –
January 3, 1943		 73rd
74th
75th
76th
77th		 Redistricted from the 1st district.
Charles M. La Follette Republican January 3, 1943 –
January 3, 1947		 78th
79th		 [data unknown/missing]
E. A. Mitchell Republican January 3, 1947 –
January 3, 1949		 80th [data unknown/missing]

Winfield K. Denton		 Democratic January 3, 1949 –
January 3, 1953		 81st
82nd		 [data unknown/missing]

D. Bailey Merrill		 Republican January 3, 1953 –
January 3, 1955		 83rd [data unknown/missing]

Winfield K. Denton		 Democratic January 3, 1955 –
December 30, 1966		 84th
85th
86th
87th
88th
89th		 Lost re-election, resigned
Vacant December 30, 1966 –
January 3, 1967		 89th

Roger H. Zion		 Republican January 3, 1967 –
January 3, 1975		 90th
91st
92nd
93rd		 Lost re-election

Philip H. Hayes		 Democratic January 3, 1975 –
January 3, 1977		 94th Retired to run for U.S. Senate

David L. Cornwell		 Democratic January 3, 1977 –
January 3, 1979		 95th Lost re-election

H. Joel Deckard		 Republican January 3, 1979 –
January 3, 1983		 96th
97th		 Lost re-election

Frank McCloskey		 Democratic January 3, 1983 –
January 3, 1985		 98th Ran in contested election
Vacant January 3, 1985 –
May 1, 1985		 99th Election contested and the House of Representatives refused to seat anyone

Frank McCloskey		 Democratic May 1, 1985 –
January 3, 1995		 99th
100th
101st
102nd
103rd		 Lost re-election

John Hostettler		 Republican January 3, 1995 –
January 3, 2007		 104th
105th
106th
107th
108th
109th		 Lost re-election

Brad Ellsworth		 Democratic January 3, 2007 –
January 3, 2011		 110th
111th		 Retired to run for U.S. Senate

Larry Bucshon		 Republican January 3, 2011 –
Present		 112th
113th
114th
115th
116th
117th		 Elected in 2010

Election results

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

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

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

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

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

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

2014
Indiana's 8th Congressional District election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Larry Bucshon (Incumbent) 103,344 60.32
Democratic Tom Spangler 61,384 35.83
Libertarian Andrew Horning 6,587 3.84
Total votes 171,315 100
Republican hold

2016
Indiana's 8th Congressional District election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Larry Bucshon (Incumbent) 187,702 63.69
Democratic Ronald L. Drake 93,356 31.68
Libertarian Andrew Horning 13,655 4.63
Total votes 294,713 100
Republican hold

2018
Indiana's 8th Congressional District Election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Larry Bucshon (Incumbent) 157,396 64.4
Democratic William Tanoos 86,895 35.6
Total votes 244,291 100
Republican hold

2020
Indiana's 8th congressional district, 2020[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Larry Bucshon (incumbent) 214,643 66.9
Democratic Thomasina Marsili 95,691 29.8
Libertarian James D. Rodenberger 10,283 3.2
Total votes 320,617 100.0
Republican hold

Historical district boundaries
2003 - 2013
Indiana congressional districts before and after the most recent redistricting

Note: There has been another change since the "most recent" image, reflected correctly on the 'Indiana districts' page.

See also

References
  1. "Congressional District 8, IN - Profile data". Census Reporter. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  2. "Congressional District 8 (116th Congress), Indiana". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  3. "Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  4. Brush, Silla (January 8, 2006). "And They're Off And Running!". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  5. Risen, James (October 29, 1986). "Reagan to Join Bloody House Battle : Indiana District Race, Won by 4 Votes in '84, Turns Into Rematch". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 22, 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  6. "Democrats pick up key House seat in Indiana". CNN.com. Retrieved 2007-01-07.
  7. Dirk Johnson, "The 2000 Campaign: An Indiana Race; Conservatives Face Off in Quirky Populist District", New York Times, October 10, 2000
  8. "Indiana Election Results November 3, 2020". Indiana Election Division. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
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