Democrat Andre Carson and Republican Jon Elrod were featured speakers at their respective events, which drew about 1,000 of each party’s faithful. Democrats gathered at the State Fairgrounds, Republicans at the Wayne Township fire training facility.

 

While Republicans marveled at how far they had come since last year, signs of intraparty strife were visible at the Democratic event.

 

A year ago, Elrod said, Republicans had a brand new party chairman and no candidate for mayor to take on incumbent Bart Peterson. Despite predictions that Democrats might win 20 seats on the City-County Council, Republicans took control, and Greg Ballard scored a major upset.

 

“From those inauspicious beginnings, we had a revolution,” Elrod said.

 

Elrod faces Carson in a March 11 special election to complete the remainder of the term of Julia Carson, Andre’s grandmother, who died in December.

 

The Indianapolis Star

We have a great chance of picking up this Congressional seat from the Democrats. Jon Elrod has proven to be capable of winning in Democratic districts as he won a seat on the Center Township Advisory Board and on to a State House seat in heavily Democratic areas. The GOP has come close in the past few races for the Seventh Congressional District of picking off the late Julia Carson and with it now being an open seat coming off of a huge Republican wave in Indianapolis this past November and a young, well known challenger, we might finally grab the brass ring on this one.