Over at CQPolitics, political analyst Stuart Rothenberg eulogizes Mike Sodrel’s political career:

Mike Sodrel has been in my life forever. Or maybe it just seems that way.

Every two years for almost a decade, the Republican businessman has been on the ballot in Indiana’s 9th district, either trying to oust Rep. Baron Hill (D) from Congress or, once, seeking re-election to the House.

But with his bizarre primary defeat earlier this month, Sodrel, a 64-year-old trucking company owner, probably ends a political run that featured more downs than ups.

[...]

Of course, as Sodrel found out, there is a difference between being known and being liked.

Apparently, 9th district Republican voters knew Sodrel but were ready for a change.

I think Rothenberg might be overstating the case here – I don’t think Sodrel is capable of knowing (or caring) what the voters in the 9th think of him. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him back for another run in 2012.

This is, after all, a man who claimed that young people would rather have "color televisions" than health insurance. When I offered to trade in my 20-year-old 13" TV, he naturally turned me down. This is a man who dismissed the possibility that 9th District Republicans would support either Todd Young or Travis Hankins. A man who, despite his own history of dubious negative advertising, threatened to sue Todd Young over his campaign ads this time around. A man who, in an astonishing show of preschool pettiness, all but shut down constituent services after his 2006 loss.

On the other hand, I hope Rothenberg is right. The people of Indiana’s 9th District have rejected Sodrel’s ideas of leadership since he managed to eke out a win in the 2004 election. Maybe after yet another loss, he’ll take his ball and go home for good.

(Crossposted from BlueIndiana)