Indiana's 8th congressional district

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.

Previously referred to as "The Bloody Eighth" at the local (and sometimes national) levels, it was formerly a notorious swing district. However, due to a political realignment, it has become a safe Republican district and, with a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of R+18, is now the most Republican district in Indiana.

Recent election results from statewide races Year Office Results2008 PresidentMcCain 50% - 48%2012 PresidentRomney 60% - 40%2016 PresidentTrump 64% - 30% SenateYoung 54% - 41% GovernorHolcomb 53% - 45% Attorney GeneralHill 66% - 34%2018 SenateBraun 58% - 38%2020 PresidentTrump 65% - 33% GovernorHolcomb 65% - 25% Attorney GeneralRokita 61% - 39%2022 SenateYoung 68% - 30% TreasurerElliott 67% - 33% AuditorKlutz 67% - 30% Secretary of StateMorales 63% - 33%2024 PresidentTrump 67% - 31% SenateBanks 66% - 31% GovernorBraun 62% - 33% Attorney GeneralRokita 67% - 33%

Composition For the 118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties and townships:https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/cong_dist/cd119/cd_based/ST18/CD119_IN09.pdf

Clay County (11)

All 11 townships

Crawford County (9)

All nine townships

Daviess County (15)

All 15 townships

Dubois County (12)

All 12 townships

Fountain County (7)

Cain (part, also 4th), Fulton, Jackson, Millcreek, Troy (part, also 4th; includes Covington), Van Buren, Wabash

Gibson County (10)

All 10 townships

Greene County (15)

All 15 townships

Knox County (10)

All 10 townships

Martin County (6)

All six townships

Orange County (10)

All 10 townships

Owen County (13)

All 13 townships

Parke County (13)

All 13 townships

Perry County (7)

All seven townships

Pike County (9)

All nine townships

Posey County (10)

All 10 townships

Spencer County (9)

All nine townships

Sullivan County (9)

All nine townships

Vanderburgh County (8)

All eight townships

Vermillion County (5)

All five townships

Vigo County (12)

All 12 townships

Warrick County (10)

All 10 townships

History

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 tend to give their representatives long tenures in Washington, the 8th congressional district has a reputation for frequently ousting incumbents from both parties. Since 1983, no one has held the seat or its predecessors for longer than 12 years. Voters in the district ousted six incumbents from 1966 to 1982. The election in 1984 was so close that the House of Representatives itself determined which of two candidates to seat, accepting the recommendation of the Democratic-controlled House task force sent to Indiana to count the ballots. Democratic incumbent Frank McCloskey ultimately won by a margin of four votes out of 233,000 cast. After that, McCloskey was reelected four more times before losing to Republican John Hostettler in 1994, amid the Republican Revolution. Hostettler represented the district for six terms before being defeated in a landslide by moderate Democrat Brad Ellsworth, former sheriff of Vanderburgh County, in 2006. It was the first district picked up by the Democrats that year, and was one of thirty nationwide that they gained while regaining control of the House. Ellsworth ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2010 and was succeeded by Republican Larry Bucshon in the same election cycle and has since become the first representative of the district to surpass six terms. 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. Historically, it had a character similar to Yellow Dog Democrat districts in neighboring Kentucky. The district also has a strong tint of social conservatism.

In 2000, a New York Times reporter said of the district: "With a populist streak and a conservative bent, this district does not cotton to country club Republicans or to social-engineering liberals," and also said, "More than 95 percent white and about 41 percent rural, the region shares much of the flavor of the Bible Belt."Dirk Johnson, "The 2000 Campaign: An Indiana Race; Conservatives Face Off in Quirky Populist District", New York Times, October 10, 2000

In 2013, the district shifted and was pushed southward toward Evansville, losing Fountain and Warren Counties, and gaining Dubois, Perry, and Spencer Counties, and a portion of Crawford County, uniting southwestern Indiana under one district.

In 2023, the district regained some its former territory, pushing back into Fountain County, but also gained the remainder of Crawford County and the entirety of Orange County from the 9th District.

List of members representing the district Representative Party Years Congress Electoral history District created March 4, 1843 John Pettit Democratic March 4, 1843 –March 3, 1849 Elected in 1843.Re-elected in 1845.Re-elected in 1847.Lost renomination. Joseph E. McDonald Democratic March 4, 1849 –March 3, 1851 Elected in 1849.Retired.Daniel Mace Democratic March 4, 1851 –March 3, 1855 Elected in 1851.Re-elected in 1852.Re-elected in 1854.Retired. People's March 4, 1855 –March 3, 1857 James Wilson Republican March 4, 1857 –March 3, 1861 Elected in 1856.Re-elected in 1858.Retired. Albert S. White Republican March 4, 1861 –March 3, 1863 Elected in 1860.Retired. Godlove S. Orth Republican March 4, 1863 –March 3, 1869 Elected in 1862.Re-elected in 1864.Re-elected in 1866.Redistricted to the . James N. Tyner Republican March 4, 1869 –March 3, 1875 Elected to the term left vacant by the resignation of Representative-elect Daniel D. Pratt.Re-elected in 1870.Re-elected in 1872.Lost renomination. Morton C. Hunter Republican March 4, 1875 –March 3, 1879 Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1874.Re-elected in 1876.Lost re-election. Abraham J. Hostetler Democratic March 4, 1879 –March 3, 1881 Elected in 1878.Retired.Robert B. F. Peirce Republican March 4, 1881 –March 3, 1883 Elected in 1880.Lost re-election. John E. Lamb Democratic March 4, 1883 –March 3, 1885 Elected in 1882.Lost re-election. James T. Johnston Republican March 4, 1885 –March 3, 1889 Elected in 1884.Re-elected in 1886.Lost re-election.Elijah V. Brookshire Democratic March 4, 1889 –March 3, 1895 Elected in 1888.Re-elected in 1890.Re-elected in 1892.Lost re-election. George W. Faris Republican March 4, 1895 –March 3, 1897 Elected in 1894.Redistricted to the . Charles L. Henry Republican March 4, 1897 –March 3, 1899 Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1896.Retired. George W. Cromer Republican March 4, 1899 –March 3, 1907 Elected in 1898.Re-elected in 1900.Re-elected in 1902.Re-elected in 1904.Lost re-election. John A. M. Adair Democratic March 4, 1907 –March 3, 1917 Elected in 1906.Re-elected in 1908.Re-elected in 1910.Re-elected in 1912.Re-elected in 1914.Retired to run for Governor of Indiana. Albert H. Vestal Republican March 4, 1917 –April 1, 1932 Elected in 1916.Re-elected in 1918.Re-elected in 1920.Re-elected in 1922.Re-elected in 1924.Re-elected in 1926.Re-elected in 1928.Re-elected in 1930.Died. Vacant April 1, 1932 –March 3, 1933 John W. Boehne Jr. Democratic March 4, 1933 –January 3, 1943 Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1932.Re-elected in 1934.Re-elected in 1936.Re-elected in 1938.Re-elected in 1940.Lost re-election. Charles M. La Follette Republican January 3, 1943 –January 3, 1947 Elected in 1942.Re-elected in 1944.Retired to run for U.S. Senator.E. A. Mitchell Republican January 3, 1947 –January 3, 1949 Elected in 1946.Lost re-election. Winfield K. Denton Democratic January 3, 1949 –January 3, 1953 Elected in 1948.Re-elected in 1950.Lost re-election. D. Bailey Merrill Republican January 3, 1953 –January 3, 1955 Elected in 1952.Lost re-election. Winfield K. Denton Democratic January 3, 1955 –December 30, 1966 Elected in 1954.Re-elected in 1956.Re-elected in 1958.Re-elected in 1960.Re-elected in 1962.Re-elected in 1964.Lost re-election and resigned early. Vacant December 30, 1966 –January 3, 1967 Roger H. Zion Republican January 3, 1967 –January 3, 1975 Elected in 1966.Re-elected in 1968.Re-elected in 1970.Re-elected in 1972.Lost re-election. Philip H. Hayes Democratic January 3, 1975 –January 3, 1977 Elected in 1974.Retired to run for U.S. Senator. David L. Cornwell Democratic January 3, 1977 –January 3, 1979 Elected in 1976.Lost re-election. H. Joel Deckard Republican January 3, 1979 –January 3, 1983 Elected in 1978.Re-elected in 1980.Lost re-election. Frank McCloskey Democratic January 3, 1983 –January 3, 1985 Elected in 1982.Seat left vacant while election contest resolved. Vacant January 3, 1985 –May 1, 1985 Election contested and the House of Representatives refused to seat anyone. Frank McCloskey Democratic May 1, 1985 –January 3, 1995 Re-elected in 1985.Re-elected in 1986.Re-elected in 1988.Re-elected in 1990.Re-elected in 1992Lost re-election. John Hostettler Republican January 3, 1995 –January 3, 2007 Elected in 1994.Re-elected in 1996.Re-elected in 1998.Re-elected in 2000.Re-elected in 2002.Re-elected in 2004.Lost re-election. Brad Ellsworth Democratic January 3, 2007 –January 3, 2011 Elected in 2006.Re-elected in 2008.Retired to run for U.S. Senator.Larry Bucshon Republican January 3, 2011 –January 3, 2025 Elected in 2010.Re-elected in 2012.Re-elected in 2014.Re-elected in 2016.Re-elected in 2018.Re-elected in 2020.Re-elected in 2022.Retired.Mark Messmer RepublicanJanuary 3, 2025–presentElected in 2024.

Election results 2002

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2022

2024

Historical district boundaries

Indiana's 8th congressional district

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