Hill gets revenge, defeats Sodrel

By Lesley Stedman Weidenbener
lstedman@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

INDIANAPOLIS -- Voters in Indiana's 9th District ousted Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Sodrel after just one term yesterday, returning former Democratic congressman Baron Hill to office.

Sodrel conceded at 10:25 p.m. when totals showed he was down by about 3,000 votes with 87 percent of precincts reporting.

Unofficial totals showed Hill with 48.6 percent of the vote, Sodrel with 46.9 percent and Libertarian Eric Schansberg with 4.4 percent.

"The people of the 9th District are going to get the change they deserve," Hill said last night at a celebration party in Seymour. "I want to thank the people … for giving me a second chance."

The win is sweet revenge for Hill, who served three terms before Sodrel knocked him from the seat in 2004 by fewer than 1,500 votes.

That thin margin meant national Republicans and Democrats keyed on the race early this year, and the pair waged a bitter battle.

Read more on the Congressional Victory at the Courier - Journal.