Latest news with #Messmer
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wanted: Democrat to run for Congress in the Eighth
The Democratic Party is seeking a qualified, viable candidate to run in next year's Indiana 8th District Congressional race. And yes, it's an uphill battle in a heavily Republican-dominated region. "We are trying to find the most qualified, most appealing candidate — someone who has been a face in the district and has a track record they can run on. They've got the time, the focus, the energy," said Dave Crooks, chairman of the 8th District Democratic Party. And, it will take a lot of money. Crooks has reached out to media outlets in an effort to seek that candidate. Much of that candidate's time would be spent raising money for a campaign. It's important the candidate has availability during the day to talk to donors and potential donors, Crooks said. "You have to give it every hour you can every day," he said. The 8th District includes 21 southwestern Indiana counties and sprawls from the Ohio River to Interstate 74 in Fountain County. It's solidly Republican — one of the most Republican congressional districts in the nation, according to the Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index, as reported by the Evansville Courier & Press. Sixty-five percent of 8th District voters backed Donald Trump for president, compared to 33% for Joe Biden, in 2020, when Trump lost the presidency by 7 million votes nationwide. In the 2024 8th District race, Republican Mark Messmer won with 68% of the vote, while Democrat Erik Hurt had 29.5%. Richard Fitzlaff, Libertarian, had 2.6%. Messmer won the seat previously held by seven-term Congressman and Republican Larry Bucshon, who decided not to seek re-election. "It's a tough district, there's no question," Crooks said. It's the largest geographic district in Indiana and has about 750,000 people. A candidate may need to generate millions in campaign funds to compete in the Evansville and Terre Haute media markets, the Courier & Press reported. Mass communication is critical, Crooks said, and that takes fundraising. Crooks does believe that as a first-term congressman, Messmer is vulnerable. A Democrat winning the seat may be possible if enough voters have concerns about Republican budget and policy decisions, both at the state and federal level. "I think the Republicans will be in trouble next year" when people, especially lower income, feel the results of federal and state budgets cuts, fewer services, and federally-imposed tariffs, Crooks said. People "are not seeing relief in prices for the most part; these tariffs are basically a tax on the consumer," he said. The last time a Democrat was elected as the 8th District congressman was in 2006 and 2008, when former Vanderburgh County Sheriff Brad Ellsworth won the seat by margins of 61% and 65%. Looking toward the 2026 election, while one individual has filed as a Democrat, Crooks said he wasn't sure the individual would qualify to run as a Democrat in the district. That individual is Rosedale resident Daniel George, who has filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. The Tribune-Star has attempted to contact George. Potential candidates must be able to show they voted in two consecutive Democratic primaries, Crooks said. To be elected, a representative must be at least 25 years old, a United States citizen for at least seven years and an inhabitant of the state he or she represents. For those Democrats interested in running in the 8th district race, Crooks can be contacted by email at Indems8chair@ Matt Bergbower, Indiana State University professor of political science, believes Democrats ought to have a good year nationwide in 2026. "Traditionally, the party in power at the White House loses seats in mid term elections," Bergbower said. Also, President Donald Trump's agenda "is not overwhelmingly seeing approval." That being said, "The 8th district will be tough to win for a Democrat," according to Bergbower. Democrats should put forward a candidate who is serious and try to win the seat, he said. The 2026 general election is 17 months away and "you never know what could happen," Bergbower said. But in counties that make up the 8th district, the numbers don't seem like they could add up to a Democratic victory right now, Bergbower said.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Indiana Democrats hold People's Town Hall in Terre Haute
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)— On Friday, the Indiana Democratic Party and local leaders are gathering at the Vigo County Public Library to host a People's Town Hall. According to the news release, this town hall is intended to discuss the real-world impacts of Republicans' cuts to Hoosier healthcare, nutrition benefits, and more. This event is in response to GOP Rep. Mark Messmer not holding his own in-person town hall due to the Republican mandate. According to Politico, this mandate was put in place after the backlash of in-person town halls with Republican lawmakers. Some members in attendance for the panel include State Representative Tonya Pfaff and Indiana Democratic Party Chair Karen Tallian. The former state representative Dave Crooks will be moderating the town hall. 'Extremists in D.C., including Rep. Messmer, voted to rip away health care coverage and food assistance from Hoosiers in order to fund tax cuts for their wealthy donors. Voters in Indiana are demanding to be heard,' said Indiana Democratic Party Spokesperson Sam Barloga. 'Rep. Messmer has been a cheerleader for Trump and Musk's dangerous tariff agenda. He is sitting idly while Hoosier jobs are at risk. Our first People's Town Halls in Bloomington, Lafayette, and New Albany showed the anger and frustration Hoosiers are feeling. They want to be heard, and their Republican representatives are hiding from them. If Rep. Messmer refuses to hold a public, in-person town hall and answer to Hoosiers' pressing concerns, voters will look to leaders who will.' The event for the voters in Indiana's 8th District will be held at the library's main branch located at 640 Poplar Street. It will take place from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and those who wish to participate can RSVP at this link. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Representative Mark Messmer to host town hall by phone
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – Indiana 8th District Congressman Mark Messmer has scheduled a town hall to take place this week, but it will not take place face-to-face. A release from his office says the town hall will take place over telephone at 5 p.m. on Tuesday. Before the town hall begins, participants will be able to call a toll free phone line in order to take part. Earlier this year, hundreds of protesters gathered in protest over Messmer's 'refusal to hold a town hall' and not engaging with constituents. Indivisible Evansville, a group led by former Democrat City Council Member Wendy Bredhold, say they are not happy that the event is being held by phone. The group plans to hold an event at the McCollough Library to attempt to get through to the town hall. Constituents can sign up to be a part of the event by registering on Messmer's website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Messmer has no apparent plans for public events during two-week recess
EVANSVILLE — Members of Congress are back in their districts for a two-week recess — but if 8th District Rep. Mark Messmer is planning a mobile office hours event or a town hall, he's not publicizing them. Messmer's congressional Facebook page is replete with messages celebrating such events as Air Force Reserve Day, National Gold Star Spouses Day, Palm Sunday and Passover. There are well wishes for families affected by severe weather in Princeton, photos of Messmer with a delegation of Japanese visitors to Toyota, an offer to help constituents navigate federal agencies and a call-out for high school students to compete in the Congressional Art Competition. But there was no mention on Wednesday morning of any public events in the next two weeks. Same deal on Messmer's X account and congressional website. No shortage of content, but also no mention of looming public events. More: Anti-Messmer rally in Evansville targets Trump and Musk Emails and phone messages from the Courier & Press to Messmer aides in Washington, D.C. and Evansville went unanswered on Monday. Messmer, a Republican elected last year to succeed longtime Rep. Larry Bucshon, is not alone among Republicans in Congress, although he may stand out in the way one of his recent mobile office hours events blew up. Messmer's staff asked employees at the Boonville Public Library to call the police on constituents during a mobile office hours event — even though the mostly older attendees weren't breaking any rules, the library said. If not holding town halls were the only accessibility issue swirling around Messmer, he wouldn't be so unusual among House Republicans. Saying rowdy Democratic activists are packing town halls held by Republican House members in order to make GOP policies look unpopular, House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested in March that tele-town halls would be a good alternative for Republican members to hear from constituents. NBC News reported Monday that, "according to press releases and publicly posted event notices, the majority of town halls and town hall-style events taking place over the congressional recess will be hosted by Democrats." Messmer also has refused to speak to the Courier & Press, which serves by far the largest county in his 21-county district. Why? He sent the newspaper an email saying it reported he didn't debate his 2024 election opponents when he did. More: Messmer revisits 2024 campaign to explain his silence Messmer cited a single joint public appearance with his two opponents, an Aug. 25 Posey County Farm Bureau event that they called a candidate forum lacking any opportunity for rebuttal among candidates. Other than that event, which occurred three weeks after the Indiana Farm Bureau's political action committee endorsed Messmer, he would not appear on the same stage with his opponents. It all baffles Robert Dion, a University of Evansville political scientist who says Messmer could blunt vocal opposition from opposition activists and reassure other constituents by biting the bullet and appearing in public often — not going radio silent. "It's kind of surprising that there's been this much unhappiness about his performance, but he's not helping," Dion said. "He could run a charm offensive if he wanted to." Dion, who moderated two of Bucshon's town hall meetings, said Messmer could refute the perception that he hides from the public by engaging with constituents and media and by holding frequent town hall meetings. "Even if there were a few testy exchanges, if you make frequent visits to the district, including open town halls — if you make those a routine occurrence, then they lose any sort of novelty or power," Dion said. "The more you do it, the easier it gets." Messmer could ask attendees to write down their questions and have a moderator read them aloud, a tactic the UE political scientist said shaved several decibel points off the more confrontational questions directed at Bucshon. Dion said any seasoned politician — Messmer served 16 years in the Indiana Legislature — should know how to handle the public confrontations, press scrutiny and harsh criticism that comes with holding elected office. Like most members of Congress, Messmer is regularly trolled on social media by people who — as Dion acknowledged — didn't vote for him and never will. The UE political scientist quoted the Federalist Papers, a collection of essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay in 1787 and 1788: "As it is essential to liberty that the government in general, should have a common interest with the people; so it is particularly essential that the branch of it under consideration, should have an immediate dependence on, & an intimate sympathy with the people," the Federalist Papers state. "The House member is the one member of the federal government who is closest to the people, the most reachable," Dion said. "And Messmer seems to be the opposite of that. He's unreachable." This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Messmer has no apparent plans for public events during two-week recess
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Messmer to hold telephone town hall Tuesday; opponents are ready for it
EVANSVILLE — Under fire from his political opponents for a perceived lack of accessibility, 8th District Congressman Mark Messmer plans to show up Tuesday night. Well, kind of. Messmer isn't going to hold a public town hall, but he does plan to stage a live telephone town hall meeting from 5 p.m. CST to 6 p.m. Tuesday. The purpose: "to discuss the issues most important to YOU," states Messmer's social media. Those who want to participate can sign up to do so here, on a link that offers them the chance to "speak directly to Rep. Mark Messmer" if they will first provide their names, phone numbers and zip codes. More: Dems think they have a shot at winning 8th District in 2026 -- and a possible candidate Messmer would not speak with the Courier & Press when the newspaper asked him by email to discuss his objectives with the event, the points he anticipates making and his counter to political opponents who say he is inaccessible. He did send an email in return. "I look forward to hearing from my constituents and discussing important issues affecting Hoosiers in the 8th District," it stated. Accessibility to constituents and media has emerged as an issue with Messmer. Messmer's staff asked employees at the Boonville Public Library to call the police on constituents during a mobile office hours event — even though the mostly older attendees weren't breaking any rules, the library said. Messmer also has refused to speak to the Courier & Press, which serves by far the largest county in his 21-county district. Why? He sent the newspaper an email saying it reported he didn't debate his 2024 election opponents when he did. Messmer cited a single joint public appearance with his two opponents, an Aug. 25 Posey County Farm Bureau event that they called a candidate forum lacking any opportunity for rebuttal among candidates. Other than that event, which occurred three weeks after the Indiana Farm Bureau's political action committee endorsed Messmer, he would not appear on the same stage with his opponents. In March, hundreds of people attended an anti-Messmer rally in Evansville at which the first-term Republican congressman was pilloried for not having held a town hall meeting three months into his tenure. More: Anti-Messmer rally in Evansville targets Trump and Musk But most of those people are Democratic activists who likely never voted for Messmer and never will, said Khyle Moers, chairman of the Vanderburgh County Republican Party. It doesn't mean voters as a whole are disenchanted with Messmer. "He's certainly visible, and I think members of his office are pretty available," Moers said. "I think some of the people that are really critical of, just all of our elected officials in general — and I'm talking to people that have like, really hyper-critical, very outspoken opinions of our elected officials — it's typically the same folks over and over again. There are people in those groups that you're just not going to make happy with anything that you do." 8th District Democratic Chairman Dave Crooks told the Courier & Press in March that Democrats think Messmer already has made himself politically vulnerable over the accessibility issue. The people who will attend an Indivisible Evansville event at McCollough Public Library to coincide with Messmer's telephone town hall may not be happy with anything he says. Indivisible is encouraging supporters to register to speak with Messmer. They call their event "A Mass Call-In for Real Accountability." "Rep. Mark Messmer is holding a 'tele-town hall' where he controls who speaks, screens out tough questions, and avoids the public eye," Indivisible states on Facebook. "While he hides behind a phone line, we're showing up together to demand answers, speak truth, and make our voices impossible to ignore." More: Messmer has no apparent plans for public events during two-week recess It's not as if Messmer will get no representation at the event. The opposition activists say he will be represented by a large milk carton, a criticism meant to say he is missing and can't be found. "We'll be together in one space, amplifying our concerns and exposing the truth: Messmer is still missing from the communities he claims to represent," their statement said. This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Messmer to hold telephone town hall Tuesday; opponents are ready for it
