CQ Risk Rating: Safe Republican 
| GENERAL ELECTION: NOVEMBER 7, 2000 |
|
| Brian Kerns (R) | 135,869 | 65% |
| Michael Graf (D) | 66,764 | 32% |
| Bob Thayer (LIBERT) | 7,032 | 3% |
| PRIMARY ELECTION: MAY 2, 2000 |
|
| | Votes | Percentage | | Democratic |
| Michael Graf | 7,891 | 32% |
| Jeffrey L. Clapper | 7,131 | 29% |
| Samuel "Dutch" Hillenberg | 5,266 | 22% |
| Daniel Scott Grinestaff | 3,998 | 16% |
| | Republican |
| Brian Kerns | 22,766 | 39% |
| Bob Griffiths | 18,792 | 32% |
| Alex Gatzimos | 7,233 | 12% |
| Bryan L. Donaldson | 2,869 | 5% |
| Anthony W. "Tony" Duncan | 2,079 | 4% |
| Douglas E. Hess | 1,458 | 3% |
| John W. Timm | 933 | 2% |
Source: Congressional Quarterly. To suggest updates and corrections: politics.feedback@cq.com
Major Industry | Population | Cities | People | Race | Median Household Income | Unusual Features
INDIANA 7
:
West - Terre Haute; Lafayette
Rural farmland stretching west from Indianapolis to the Illinois border
occupies the bulk of the 7th's land and serves as the base for the
district's Republican leanings. Lafayette and Terre Haute, the district's
two urban centers, grew up along the Wabash River. Lafayette adds to the
district's conservative base with engineering-centered Purdue U. A few
Democrats are elected locally in Lafayette, bolstered by blue-collar
manufacturing workers, but those candidates generally win by downplaying
party affiliation.
Terre Haute, the district's largest city and its only source of union
strength, is the real source of power for Democrats. Once a hotbed of
populist activism, Terre Haute's Democratic leanings have been cemented by
economic hard times. At the northern end of Indiana's coal country, the city
suffered as the coal industry went under. Although the economy is steadied
somewhat by Indiana State U. and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, an
engineering college, Terre Haute's manufacturing base continues to struggle
with chronic industrial decline that began in the early 1980s.
A third population center is growing in the district as Indianapolis
suburbs continue to spread across once-rural Hendricks, Boone and Morgan
counties, depositing wealthy suburbanites who are faithful GOP voters.
Major Industry
Higher education, manufacturing, agriculture
Population
554,500 (1990)
Cities
Terre Haute, 54,585; Lafayette, 44,344; West Lafayette, 27,177 (1996)
People
48% rural; 12% age 65+ (ranks sixth of 10 in state; middle third
nationally); 62% married couples, 29% married couples with children; 17%
college educated (ranks second of 10 in state; middle third nationally); 53%
white collar (ranks fourth of 10 in state; middle third nationally), 30%
blue collar (ranks eighth of 10 in state; top third nationally) (1990)
Race
96% white, 2% black, 1% Asian; 1% Hispanic origin (1990)
Median Household Income
$28,080 (ranks fifth of 10 in state; middle third nationally) (1990)
Unusual Features
Amelia Earhart taught at Purdue U. and helped establish its school of
aeronautical engineering; Terre Haute was home to five-time Socialist
presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs; Kermit the Frog named after a Purdue
philosophy professor; DePauw U., former Vice President Dan Quayle's alma
mater.
Source: Congressional Quarterly (Updated April 1999)
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District 7
