Dems hope to carry Indiana in November

INDIANAPOLIS, May 11 (UPI) -- Indiana could turn out for the Democratic presidential nominee in November despite being in the Republicans' column for decades, political analysts say.

Democratic operatives are pointing to the massive turnout and new voter registrations brought by last week's presidential primary to make their point that the Hoosier State will back Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton in November,The Indianapolis Star reported Sunday.

The last time Indiana was carried by a Democrat was 1964, when Lyndon B. Johnson won the state as part of a nationwide landslide.

Former Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Robin Winston said a lot has changed in Indiana in the past 44 years.

"There was no $3.70 gas in '64," Winston said. "In '64, if you lived in Anderson, your father was employed by GM and your brother by Ford and your niece by Guide. Everybody was working. In '64, Northwest Indiana had U.S. Steel, and you were employed."

In all, 1.28 million votes were cast in Tuesday's Democratic primary. That's more than 300,000 votes beyond what Democrat John Kerry received in the general election in 2004 and Al Gore in 2000, the newspaper said.