Hill calls off recount in contested state election

Congressman Baron Hill called off the recount in the race for Indiana's 9th Congressional District Wednesday and conceded defeat to Republican Mike Sodrel.\nAfter votes in six counties had been recounted, Hill said he was satisfied that major irregularities did not occur.\nThe recount in six of the 20 counties in the 9th District had given Hill only about 30 additional votes, far short of the 1,500-vote margin he needed to overtake Sodrel. In Monroe County, Hill gained about a dozen new votes. \nHill is expected to file his formal concession with the Indiana Secretary of State's office within the next two days. \n"It is now clear that major irregularities did not occur and votes cast have been counted properly," Hill said in a statement. "I thank the people of the 9th District for their patience and extend my best wishes to the incoming Congressman."\nJim Bopp Jr., the attorney representing Sodrel in the recount, said he agreed Wednesday to drop the counter-petition investigating whether ineligible voters cast ballots in Monroe County. \nOfficials finished the Bartholomew County recount Wednesday afternoon, with Hill picking up six votes. The Indiana Recount Commission was preparing to move on to the next county today.\nDean O'Neal, Sodrel's press secretary, said Republicans were confident from the start that Sodrel's victory would withstand scrutiny. \n"We felt like the clerks and the Recount Commission were going to be fair, and the system that they had brought forth would work," O'Neal said. "We felt like the (first) count was accurate, and it was."\nHill was the incumbent in the 9th Congressional District.\nKate Shepherd, spokesperson for the Indiana Secretary of State's office, said the recount has cost taxpayers in the tens of thousands of dollars. \nStefan Bailey, Hill's spokesperson, said maintaining the district's electoral integrity was worth the cost.\n"The point of the recount is to ensure that all votes are counted properly, and I think that's a legitimate and worthwhile reason to initiate a recount," Bailey said.\nMonroe County Democratic Party Chairman Dan Combs said it was unlikely Hill could have picked up the necessary votes unless there had been widespread voting equipment malfunctions. \n"I'm not surprised," Combs said. "The best that could be said for that recount request is that it was a forlorn hope." \nCombs said he hopes Hill will campaign again in 2006. \nBailey said Hill is spending time with his family.\n"Certainly his interest is in making people's lives better, and he will take that into account when deciding his future plans," Bailey said.\n-- Contact senior writer Adam VanOdsol at avanosdo@indiana.edu.