Indiana became the 19th state in 1816. Prior to the prior to the Civil War, Indiana citizens help run the Underground Railroad for slaves fleeing the country. It is known as the Hoosier state. Each year at Memorial Day, the nation focuses on Indianopolis and the Indy500.
Introduction
The 2006 population was 6.3 million. Indiana is not as multicultural as the nation on average: it is 88.3% white (80.1% nationally) and 8.9% black (12.8% nationally). It's most famous city is probably Indianapolis (783,000), home of the Indy500. It has a smaller percentage of poor people than the national average (11.1% v 12.7%). In 2000, the rural population was 1.39 million (23%).
Registered Voters: No party registration.
Registered Voters: No party registration.
Presidential Politics
Democrats are not historically competitive in Indiana; the election of 1964 (LBJ) is the only Presidential race since 1936 (FDR) where the state voted Democratic.Indiana has 11 electoral votes.
- 2004: Bush (60%), Kerry (39%)
- 2004-D: Clark (5%), Dean (7%), Edwards (11%), Kerry (73%)
- 2000: Bush (57%), Gore (41%)
- 1996: Clinton (42%), Dole (47%), Perot (11%)
Federal Representation
- Sen. Richard Lugar (R)
- Sen. Evan Bayh (D)
State Government
- Gov. Mitch Daniels (R). Elected: November 2004. Term expires: January 2009
- Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman (R)
Economy
Indiana has the nation's highest percentage of workers in manufacturing (20%) and its economy ranks second in percentage of gross product attributable to manufacturing. Its top five agricultural products are corn, soybeans, hogs, dairy products, and cattle and calves.