To endorse, or not to endorse?

Asked in a follow-up if this means the freshman congressman will base his decision on the will of Hoosier Democrats as a whole or the voters in just his district, Ellsworth press secretary Liz Farrar said he will “likely” support the candidate who wins his district, but added he may choose otherwise if “he believes there is a compelling reason.”

This ambiguity buys Ellsworth some time before he must explain his choice to voters in his district, who gave President Bush 62 percent of the vote in 2004. But should the race go to the convention, he will be expected to make a public endorsement.

“Mr. Ellsworth is not in an enviable position right now,” said Republican Greg Goode, who will be challenging Ellsworth in November.

“He knows that if he comes out and supports either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, that it will serve as a political liability to his own chances to get re-elected in this district,” continued Goode, the former chief public affairs officer at Indiana State University in Terre Haute.

“Given the makeup of our state — a state that hasn’t supported the Democrat candidate for president since 1964 — as well as given the very conservative nature of the 8th Congressional District, he’s in a bit of a bind,” he added.

Video Bayh: Race ultimately up to the people May 1: Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., discusses the battle for superdelegates, stressing that if Sen. Barack Obama clinches more, Sen. Hillary Clinton must make sure she wins the popular vote. Morning Joe

But despite the conservative leanings of his district, Ellsworth, a former sheriff here in Vanderburgh County, won comfortably in the 2006 Democratic congressional takeover, garnering 61 percent of the vote.

In addition, his campaign war chest, at just over $1 million in contributions, outweighs Goode’s by nearly tenfold.

And Hill is even in better shape financially, reporting nearly $1.5 million at the close of the first quarter of 2008.

Given both candidates' financial comfort heading into the summer, it remains a mystery why one has endorsed and another rarely even comments on the presidential election.

This illustrates the questions in the political calculation of superdelegates who are up for election themselves: when or if to voice support for their candidate of choice.

But despite the enhanced media attention on the presidential race here, both candidates — if their campaign finance is any indication — are in solid shape. This remains a remarkable feat in this conservative stronghold.

Picking the president: The candidates Click to visit that candidate's MSNBC page or click the XML symbol for an RSS feed. John McCain                Barack Obama

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