Indiana House Democrats are hoping to link their Republican opponents to Governor Mitch Daniels:
There's no doubt that Daniels has irked many people through some of his initiatives.
Statewide daylight-saving time has been an emotional and divisive issue in Indiana for years — a reason that numerous attempts to pass it failed over three decades. Daniels said it would eliminate confusion and improve commerce, and he twisted enough Republican arms to get it done. ... All House Democrats voted against the bill that led to a 75-year lease of the toll road in northern Indiana for $3.8 billion. Daniels says the money will help fund hundreds of highway projects, but Democrats said it was a bad financial deal and argued that a major state asset should not be run by a foreign entity. ... Whether the strategy works remains to be seen. Legislative races often boil down to personalities and local issues, McCann noted. But it's possible Daniels could hurt some Republicans.
He has certainly turned off Dale Shake of Washington, Ind., who said he was a lifelong Republican who voted for Daniels in 2004. He said he received a poll call that asked him to rate the governor's performance between one and five.
"I came back and said, 'Do you have anything below that one?"' said Shake, 65. He said he was upset about the northern Indiana toll road lease — even though he lives in Daviess County in southwest Indiana — and the time switch.
He said he had known and liked Crooks' Republican opponent, Ron Arnold, for years. But because of Daniels, he's going to vote for Crooks.
Daniels said Democrats were misrepresenting his record and making some claims that were outright false.
Daniels touted his record, saying a budget deficit he blamed on Democrats had been erased; many inefficiencies and wrongdoing in state government had been eliminated; and a huge transportation funding gap had been filled by money from the toll road lease.
"Indiana was sitting still. I thought that was a mistake so we've acted," he said.
Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma said it is "a concern to us when the governor's numbers are not what he wants and the president's numbers are not what we want, but both are great leaders nonetheless."
"But this election is not about that," he said. "It's about who can lead at the local level, and the Republicans out there are way ahead in that regard," he said.
