November elections to have local focus

By: Peter Hoffman and Casey Miller

MUNCIE -- Hoosiers will be looking, and voting, local this election season. With no
gubernatorial or national Senate races in the upcoming midterms, Indiana may get a break
from the usual barrage of campaign ads.
The same is true of Delaware County where one former member of the state
house says that when it comes down to it, nothing affects us more than the politicians we
elect who live right down the street.
Former Indiana House District 34 representative and current Delaware County
Democratic Party volunteer Mike White sees the importance of community politics as
opposed to what get the national spotlight.
Theres an old saying and it is absolutely true; all politics is local, White said.
White points to specific examples that residents of Delaware County have
experienced. He notes that in 2010, while Republicans were winning in many places,
Delaware County continued to elect mostly Democrat candidates.
White was elected to succeed Dennis Tyler after Tyler was elected mayor of
Muncie. He served one term in the state house before returning to Muncie to continue his
work and volunteer within the party. Sue Errington now represents the 34
th
District.
White also describes this years elections in Delaware County as a culmination of
the communitys wariness of partisanship.
The one thing that anybody from either political party sees is the disconnect
between the public and party affiliations thats been happening for several years.
White says that Indiana elections that dont have national implications like they
did last year with the U.S. Senate race, the people are forced to view local candidates as
more important, which isnt a bad thing.
Errington is running against challenger, Stuart Keenan. Keenan is a local
candidate who knows how difficult it can be to be a red candidate in a largely blue
district.
Delaware County and the 34
th
is an example of district that does not vote like the
rest of the state. While President Barack Obama lost Indiana by more than 10 percentage
points, Delaware County voted Democrat. It was only one of nine counties in the entire
state to vote in favor of Obamas reelection.
Keenan says that anything can happen on election day and the possibility of
representing this community is what made him want to run. He also says that rallies and
other forms of participation are great ways to get involved in the political process.
White, who supports Errington, says that November 4
th
is the climax of all the
hard work and effort that has been put forth by both parties.
Ive had phone banks and walking crews going for the last two and a half
months, White said.
While Delaware County continues to go against the statewide grain, both parties
continue to make a push in the place that apparently matters the most: the Muncie
community.