Published: September 05, 2008 05:10 pm         

5 represent Boone County at RNC

With red the dominant color at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., last week, Indiana’s Fourth District delegation featured plenty of Zionsville Eagle green.

Five local Republicans attended the four-day extravaganza to serve as delegates and support the newly-formed John McCain-Sarah Palin Presidential ticket.

Bill Soards, Jim Holden, Jim Longest, Tom Wheeler and Tom Hoback took part in the festivities, and have returned ready to work with less than two months to go before the election.

“As the town continues to grow, to have that kind of involvement from Zionsville is indicative of the type of participation the community has,” Soards, a delegate and Fourth District Republican Chairman, said. This is the third consecutive national covention Soards has attended.

He said this convention stacked up well compared to past years’, and the Wednesday, Sept. 3, speech by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the Vice Presidential nominee, really energized everyone.

Soards and Holden, a first-year delegate, think Palin did a good job of introducing herself to America. Holden said her speech was the highlight of an exciting week at the Xcel Center in St. Paul.

“It’s an outstanding experience for me,” Holden said. “TV doesn’t do justice to it (in order) to appreciate the electricity in the room.”

For the first time in several elections, polling numbers indicate Indiana is firmly in play for both parties in the Presidential race. An Aug. 30 Howey-Gauge poll shows Sen. McCain holding a 45-43 advantage over Sen. Barack Obama. An Aug. 30 survey from Pollster.com, though, has McCain leading 48-44.

Soards said there is no question Republicans have to work harder than usual to promote their candidates in 2008. He is confident Indiana will rally around the McCain-Palin ticket. Holden is even more confident, and believes it’s a strategic mistake for Obama to continue campaigning in Indiana because the state isn’t truly competitive.

Two Zionsville residents served as delegates at the Democratic National Convention from Aug. 25 to 28 in Denver, Colo. Allison Wharry and George Buskirk were selected as delegates from the Fourth District.

Wharry said in June she was excited about how historic this election would be.

“In my mind, the last time something like this happened was when Kennedy was elected, and I wasn’t even born yet,” she said. “There may not be another election like this in my lifetime, so this is a once in a lifetime chance.”

     

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