Local congressional candidates in spotlight

EVANSVILLE -- Two of the nation's most-watched congressional races are playing out in the rolling hills of southern Indiana, where conservative values hold sway and fickle voters make even a five-time incumbent fair game.\nThe 8th Congressional District, long known as the "Bloody 8th" for its close, contentious races, is living up to its nickname as Republican incumbent John Hostettler is being challenged by Jon Jennings, a former Boston Celtics scout and aide to President Clinton.\nThe 9th District race, meanwhile, is on track to be one of the district's most expensive as incumbent Democrat Baron Hill is challenged for a second time by millionaire trucking company owner Mike Sodrel.\nThough no Indiana congressional incumbent has lost in a decade, both Hostettler and Hill are seen as vulnerable because of their narrow margins of victory in 2002.\nAnd with Republicans holding a slim 229-206 edge in the U.S. House of Representatives, each district is being closely watched by the national parties.\n"In the nation at large, there are very few seats that are really worth the time and the attention of the national parties. It just so happens that two of them are down here by the Ohio River," said Robert Dion, who teaches American politics at the University of Evansville.\nThe national Republican Party has tried to give Sodrel the exposure he needs to unseat Hill, a three-time incumbent.\n"Mike Sodrel is one of our top challenger candidates anywhere in the country and has the full support of President Bush and the party," said Bo Harmon, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.\nThe 9th District consists of Louisville, Ky., suburbs, Ohio River counties in the south and rural counties to the north. It has historically been Democratic but has become more Republican in recent years.\nA victory for Sodrel would give Republicans another ally for President Bush.\nHill, who campaigns by walking the district, was a high school basketball star and a state legislator first elected in 1998 in a tight race for the seat held by Democrat Lee Hamilton for 34 years. \nAl Cox, a Libertarian, is also competing in the race.\nThomas Wolf, a political science professor emeritus at IU Southeast, predicts a close race. While Hill is well known in the party and district, Wolf said Sodrel is a more experienced candidate this time and could benefit from a strong turnout in Indiana for President Bush. No Democratic presidential candidate has won the state's electoral votes since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.\nThe 8th District, which encompasses Evansville and Terre Haute, could be just as close, due largely to voters' willingness to shift allegiance.\nStacy Kerr, press secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said the election is one of the party's best opportunities to oust a Republican incumbent.\n"Jon Jennings has been in the race for over a year. He has consistently out-raised Hostettler and is running a very organized field organization not seen in this district by a Democratic candidate," Kerr said.\nHostettler, a Christian fundamentalist who opposes gay marriage, has shown a willingness to buck the Republican Party. He was one of only six House Republicans to vote against authorizing force against Iraq. He also, in 2000, was one of three congressmen to vote against the Violence Against Women Act, which funds services to help victims of domestic and sexual violence.\nIn April, he was arrested at the Louisville, Ky., airport after being caught with a loaded gun at a security checkpoint. He pleaded guilty, receiving a 60-day jail sentence in August. He will avoid jail time if he has no criminal troubles for two years.\nIn 2002, Hostettler defeated Democrat Bryan Hartke, an engineer, by about 10,000 votes. Dion said that margin is low for a five-time incumbent and could leave Hostettler vulnerable on Nov. 2.\nMark Garvin, an Independent, is also in the 8th District race.