Indiana's 8th congressional district
| Indiana's 8th congressional district | |
|---|---|
Indiana's 8th congressional district - since January 3, 2013.
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| Current Representative | Larry Bucshon (R–Newburgh) |
| Area | 7,041.64 sq mi (18,237.8 km2) |
| Distribution |
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| Population (2000) | 675,564 |
| Median income | 36,732 |
| Ethnicity |
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| Cook PVI | R+8 |
Indiana's 8th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Indiana. Based in Southwest and west central Indiana, the district is anchored in Evansville and also includes Jasper, Princeton, Terre Haute, Vincennes and Washington.
Commonly referred to as "The Bloody Eighth" at the local (and sometimes national) levels (See below for explanation), it was formerly a notorious swing district. However, due to rampant gerrymandering by Republicans, a Democratic victory in the district is nearly impossible.
As of 2013.
(2010 Census)
(2010 Census)
Based in Evansville, the 8th Congressional District was widened when Indiana lost a seat after the 2000 U.S. Census to include much of the former 5th and 7th Congressional Districts. At that time, Bloomington (the home of former U.S. Representative Frank McCloskey) was moved into the 9th Congressional District, while the 8th Congressional District was extended northward to include much of the former 7th Congressional District in west-central Indiana, including Terre Haute. As a result of this expansion, the district is the largest in area in Indiana with all or part of 18 counties.
The district has been nicknamed "The Bloody Eighth" because of a series of hard-fought campaigns and political reversals. Unlike most other districts in the state, which frequently give their representatives long tenures in Washington, the 8th Congressional District has a reputation for frequently ousting its incumbents. Voters in the district ousted six incumbents from 1966 to 1982. The election in 1984 was so close that it was decided in the House of Representatives. Although Southern Indiana is ancestrally Democratic, the Democrats in this area are nowhere near as liberal as their counterparts in the rest of the state; most of them are Blue Dogs. The district also has a strong tint of social conservatism.
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