October 25, 2016 Comments 0 Indiana Talks

Oct. 25, 2016 HPI Daily Wire sponsored by Associated Builders & Contractors

THIRD AND FINAL GOVERNOR DEBATE TONIGHT: The third and final gubernatorial debate begins tonight at 7 p.m EDT (6 p.m. CDT) at the University of Southern Indiana (Howey Politics Indiana). Howey Politics Indiana will be on the scene and reporting from Evansville tonight.

LAWSON, ISP PROBING ‘TECHNICALITY’:
Earlier this month, just ahead of Indiana’s voter registration
deadline, state police executed a search warrant at the office of an
organization that had set out to register black voters in a state with
the worst voter turnout in the country (Huffington Post). It
seems the extraordinary investigation is likely to find no more than
potential technical violations of obscure regulations for third-party
voter registration groups.

LAWSON, ISP PROBES SEPARATE:
Lawson’s office and the Indiana State Police insist that their
investigations are separate. Valerie Warycha, deputy chief of staff and
communications director for Lawson, said the office had no prior
knowledge of the police action on Oct. 4 (Huffington Post). “At
the onset of the state police investigation they told her they were
going to conduct an investigation. They will not brief us on the details
of their investigation until the end,” Warycha said.

NO LOCAL VOTER FRAUD FOUND, DECATUR COUNTY CLERK SAYS:
As the Indiana State Police investigation into possible voter fraud
continues, the Decatur County Clerk said she doesn’t believe the issue
will impact local voters and is urging anyone planning to vote on
Election Day to keep tabs on their registration (Brown, Greensburg Daily News).

DAVIESS COUNTY VOTES EARLY; NO FRAUD EVIDENT:
The November 8 general election is two weeks away but for hundreds of
Daviess County residents its already over except for the counting
(Grant, Washington Times Herald). Local election officials say
that so far they have found no problems. “We had been checking the date
of birth and addresses and we’ve had no problems come up that I am aware
of,” said Williams. “We received a letter about it early on, but not
much detail.”

CNN, NBC POLLS HAVE CLINTON UP 5%:
Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by 5 points as the presidential
campaign heads into its final two weeks, with the Democratic nominee’s
support just shy of the 50% mark, according to a new CNN/ORC poll. An NBC/Survey Monkey Poll has Clinton leading Trump 46-41%

HARWOOD CITES GOP SOURCES SAYING INDIANA IS TIED: “Senior GOP Senate strategist: Trump now tied in Indiana. down 11 in PA and 14 in NH. Going down hard.” – CNBC and New York Times analyst John Harwood in a tweet on Sunday.

PENCE URGES REPUBLICANS TO ‘COME HOME TO TRUMP’:
Mike Pence is pushing a new message for the final two weeks of the
campaign, and it’s aimed squarely at Republicans wavering on support for
Donald Trump: “It’s time to come home” (Politico).

THE 281 PEOPLE, THINGS TRUMP INSULTED ON TWITTER: The New York Times’ Upshot
column has compiled a comprehensive list of insults Republican
presidential nominee Donald Trump has used on Twitter. You can read it
by clicking here.

RYAN WHITE’S MOM THINKS TRUMP IS A BULLY:
While bullying is not new, social media has exacerbated the problem,
and now Jeanne White Ginder, Ryan White’s mother, worries that today’s
toxic political climate has further eroded the values that parents and
schools try to teach children (Glimer, IndyStar). She tiptoes
into the presidential minefield and sums up her opinion of Republican
candidate Donald Trump, whom she has met on several occasions. “Kids are
going to grow up and think it’s OK to say the things he does. It’s
wrong, it’s bullying, and it’s what we’re trying so hard to stop. We
need to teach our kids to be respectful to everybody.”

REP. SMALTZ SAYS METH LAB BUSTS DOWN 36% IN 3RD QUARTER:
Indiana State Police (ISP) statistics indicate statewide meth lab
seizures have declined 36 percent during the third quarter of 2016,
according to State Rep. Ben Smaltz (R-Auburn) (Howey Politics Indiana).

2 HISTORIC BASEBALL DROUGHTS CLASH TONIGHT:
It might as well be a matchup from a movie: the two teams with the
longest title droughts in baseball paired in the same World Series. No
wonder, then, that Joe Maddon has watched “Field of Dreams” since his
Chicago Cubs clinched the National League pennant (New York Times).
“I cry easily,” said Maddon, the Cubs’ manager. “So the connection to
the past is very important.” Kyle Schwarber, the former Indiana
University hitter, is expected to be added to the World Series roster
today after playing just two minor-league games since a knee injury allegedly ended his season in April (Chicago Sun-Times).

HPI DAILY ANALYSIS:
Here is what faces Hoosier voters today. They’ve watched their
Governor, and the Republican presidential nominee, spend the last month
talking about a “rigged” election system, citing corruption and
widespread voter fraud. We now have two “voter fraud” investigations in
our state, where the Republican Party maintains most of the levers of
power, both at the state and county levels. There is a bipartisan quilt
of earnest Republican and Democratic officials who act as stewards of a
check and balance system that, while not perfect, has served us well for
decades. We have no reason to doubt the integrity of either Secretary
Lawson or Supt. Carter. The fact is, however, that in this environment,
Hoosier voters need transparency and answers. At this point, there is
neither. We don’t know how “thousands” of first names and birth dates
have been changed, as Secretary Lawson informed us last week. We don’t
know if the Patriot Majorities group has conducted widespread voter
fraud, or, perhaps technical violations. To continue the integrity of
this system, we need answers and we need them prior to Election Day. To
conduct this particular election under these political and legal
circumstances under current mist of doubt would be poor stewardship. – Brian A. Howey