New Polling in the Governor's Race

[IndianaGreen]

To: Friends of Jill Long Thompson

Fr: Travis Lowe, Campaign Manager

Re: What the new polling results mean

As many of you may have seen, the Indianapolis Star and WTHR Channel 13 in Indianapolis released a new poll this past weekend regarding next year's race for Governor. The results are great for Democrats and even better for Jill's candidacy.

The poll shows half of likely voters disapprove of Mitch Daniels' job as Governor.

Rising property taxes, their personal finances, the lease of the Indiana Toll Road and the state's switch to daylight saving time all contributed to Daniels' disapproval rate, the poll of 600 Hoosiers found. (Indy Star, 11/25/07)

That's great news for Indiana Democrats. Hoosiers are tired of the bad policies and failed leadership of the Daniels Administration and they want change. These are all policies which Jill has been criticizing since the first day of her campaign last July.

The poll also shows that in a head-to-head match-up, Jill beats Mitch Daniels 44-43.

This is the second public poll showing Jill beating or within striking distance of Mitch Daniels. With a year to go and without spending a dime on campaign ads, Jill is in great shape to win in November 2008. And, the only independent poll to gauge the Democratic primary match-up, a poll commissioned by WISH-TV 8 Indianapolis, shows Jill with a 31% lead over her primary opponent.

But most importantly, the poll reinforces what we found out a month ago during the municipal elections: the property tax issue is the single biggest issue on the minds of Hoosier voters.

Jill has the best record on taxes among the candidates in this race - Democrat or Republican.

During her three terms in Congress, Jill never once voted to raise taxes or for a new tax. She is the only Democratic candidate with the credibility on taxes to talk to Hoosiers about fixing the property tax crisis and can actually run to the right of Mitch Daniels on this issue. While the other candidates have explaining to do regarding their records on property taxes, Jill can explain to Hoosiers how she'll fix this crisis and she can do it credibly. That contrasts with her primary opponent, whose architectural firm regularly lobbies for property tax increases.

Democrats have a golden opportunity in 2008. But in order to capitalize on this great opportunity, we need a candidate whose record on taxes contrasts Daniels' weakness, not a candidate with an Achilles Heel on the issue of property taxes who hands that opportunity back over to the other side. Jill is the clear frontrunner in this race and we look forward to uniting to defeat Mitch Daniels next fall.


Paid for by Hoosiers for Jill Long Thompson.