Free Republic

TERRE HAUTE, Indiana—On the first Saturday of Donald Trump’s presidency, as protesters and marchers stormed the nation’s capital and cities around the country, Dick and Jane Ames threw a party. Four days earlier, they visited a Party Mania store and purchased two big red balloons, $11 apiece, one in the shape of the number 4 and the other in the shape of a 5. For $50, they purchased a cardboard cutout of the guest of honor. Jane, 74, prepared a tantalizing, if at first blush random, spread of food. She whipped up a tamale casserole, a tossed salad with tomatoes,...

Some political “experts” insist “Bellwether” counties like Vigo, Indiana aren’t “bellwether” counties but just statistical coincidences. “After all, what can an unsophisticated bunch of Midwestern hay seeds know about politics that we don’t know?” they might smugly suggest. The ironic answer to that question is: Not much, except who will win the presidency every four years. What makes Vigo County so unique is that since 1888 the voters there have voted for the winner of each presidential election, except in 1908 and 1952. That means they have been right 14 elections in a row and 29 of the past 31...

This county is a national bellwether. Its sided with the winner in all but two presidential elections since 1892. We'll see tonight who wins this pivotal county. It should tell us who'll win the White House. From Wikipedia: "The county is one of the best bellwether regions for voting U.S. presidential elections; it has voted for the winning candidate in every election since 1956 and in all but two elections since 1892. It continued the trend in 2008, voting for Illinois Senator Barack Obama by a 16-point margin. Holmes is part of Indiana's 8th congressional district, which is held by...