Indiana's 7th congressional district special election of 2008 took place March 11, 2008 to fill the seat in the United States House of Representatives left vacant by the death of 7th district representative Julia Carson (D) on December 15, 2007. The election determined who would fill the vacancy for the rest of the

110th United States Congress The 110th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the Presidency of George W. Bush. It was composed of ...

. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels set the date for the special election.Executive Order 08-01
Mitch Daniels. January 7, 2008. Both political parties had previously agreed to this date.Special election confuses candidates
Brendan O'Shaughnessy January 6, 2008. '' The Indianapolis Star'' Democrat André Carson won the election with an 18.17% voter turnout.

Candidates

On January 11, the Democratic caucus chose André Carson to run in the March 11 special election.Andre Carson is Democratic nominee for 7th Congressional seat
WISH-TV, January 12, 2008. On January 12, the Republicans chose

Jon Elrod Jonathan "Jon" Robert Elrod (born May 3, 1977) is an American attorney and politician. He is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives from District 97. He was the Republican Party candidate in the Indiana's 7th congressional distr ...

as their candidate7th District race getting crowded
Kevin Rader. January 9, 2008. and the Libertarian caucus nominated Sean Shepard.The Green Papers: Indiana 2008 General Election
Green Papers, January 21, 2008.

Democratic

* André Carson – Indianapolis City-County Council member, District 15, and Julia Carson's grandson *Ran for Nomination **

Carolene Mays Carolene Mays is the executive director of the White River State Park (WRSP) Development Commission. She was appointed by Governor Eric Holcomb having first been appointed in 2016 by Governor Mike Pence (later vice president). She is also co-ho ...

–

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

, District 94 ** David Orentlicher –

, District 86 **Randle Pollard – Attorney **Michael Rodman – Marion County Treasurer **Joanne Sanders – Indianapolis City-County Council Minority leader, At-Large **Jeff White – John Marshall Middle School Principal **Frances Nelson Williams – Methodist Hospital Chaplain *Declined to Run **

Frank J. Anderson Frank J. Anderson (1938 – April 30, 2022) was an American politician who served as Sheriff of Marion County, Indiana, from 2003 until 2011. He was the first black individual to serve in that post and the second black Sheriff in Indiana after Oa ...

– Marion County SheriffRace for seat could divide Dems
Brendan O'Shaughnessy. December 16, 2007. ''The Indianapolis Star''. **Carl Drummer – Center Township Trustee **Woody Meyers – Former State Health Commissioner **

Bart Peterson Barton "Bart" R. Peterson (born June 15, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician who served as mayor of the United States, U.S city of Indianapolis, Indiana. He is also a past president of the National League of Cities. A Democratic Party (Unit ...

– Former Indianapolis Mayor ** Greg Porter –

, District 96 **Robin Winston – Former State Party Chairman

Libertarian

*Sean ShepardLPIN selects Sean Shepard for District 7 Congressional special election
/ref> – Small business owner

Republican

–

, District 97Republicans chose State Representative for 7th Congressional seat
January 13, 2008. '' WISH-TV'' *Ran for Nomination4 Republicans enter race to replace Carson
Dan McFeely January 11, 2008. '' The Indianapolis Star'' **Gabrielle Campo – Social worker **Thomas Rose – Radio talk show host and aide to former Mayor Stephen Goldsmith **Greg Stroude – Real estate broker *Declined to Run ** Eric Dickerson – Businessman, Julia Carson's 2006 challenger

Environment

The district, which covers most of Marion County, is considered difficult for Republicans. It includes most of what was the city of Indianapolis before the creation of Unigov in 1970, and includes most of the more Democratic areas of the county. John Kerry won the 7th district in 2004 with 58%, but after the November 2007 upset of Indianapolis Mayor

by Republican Greg Ballard, the race was assumed to be competitive. However, in the precincts of the 7th District Democrat Bart Peterson still received 54% of the votes.

Results

External links

André Carson for CongressJon Elrod's campaign siteSean Shepard's campaign site

References

{{2008 United States elections Indiana 2008 07 Indiana 2008 07 2008 07 Special Indiana 07 Special United States House of Representatives 07 Special United States House of Representatives 2008 07