The presidential primary in 2008 was a rarity for Indiana. The Democratic contest was still undecided by the time of our too-late-to-matter primary in May, so Hoosier votes were actively courted by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Could the same thing happen this year on the Republican side?
"There's a good change that Indiana could matter," said RTV6 political analyst Abdul Hakim-Shabazz. "If there's no clear front-runner by Florida or by South Carolina, then we could definitely see a situation in 2012 like we saw back in 2008."
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"The difference this time for the Republicans, which they haven't done before, is they've gone to proportional representation for delegates," said RTV6 political analyst Kip Tew. "So, if you receive 30 percent of the vote in a certain state, you get 30 percent of the delegates. Whereas before, it was winner take all."
That means Hoosiers voting in the Republican primary might actually have to deal with the same dilemma Iowans have been wrestling with for months now: Choose the most electable Republican or the most nearly conseravtive purist?
