I’m a little late with a list of Indiana Winners and Losers from Election night but that won’t stop me.

BIG WINNERS

Barack Obama.  No more references to 1964. 

Kip Tew, Jonathan Swain, Evan Bayh and everybody else who got on the Obama bandwagon.

Mitch Daniels.   He has a mandate.

Pat Bauer.  His majority grew.

Beth White.  No disasters.

BIG LOSERS

Early voting opponents.

Jennifer Hallowell.  McCain’s regional coordinator came off a failed Guiliani campaign for this.

Mike Montagano.  All those upset predictions were way off.  Time to find a job.

Brian Bosma.  He needs to win the majority in 2010 and can’t think about higher office till he does.

All the township assessors who lost their jobs.

Indiana House Minority Leader Brian Bosma dodged a challenge to his post in a private caucus today and a red-faced Bosma declined to discuss matters further with reporters.  However, Bosma’s teammates in GOP leadership each faced an opponent from caucus members upset about their continued minority status.

Randy Borror of Fort Wayne took on Floor Leader Bill Friend after a nomination by Rep. Bill Davis and Jackie Walorski of Lakeville challenged Kathy Richardson of Noblesville following a nomination from Rep. Dan Leonard of Huntington. 

The northern Indiana attempt to win influence was unsuccessful and apparently misguided.

Here are my predictions (first presented on Indiana Week in Review but with further explanation here) for the 2008 Election in Indiana:

President: Leans Obama. This is still a Republican state and John McCain’s last minute visit may still make a difference but I think the Obama organization carries the day.

Governor: Mitch Daniels, hands down, double digits. Tune in to WISH-TV on Election night for details on the mistakes Jill Long Thompson made pursuing a Republican governor who should have been vulnerable in a Democratic year. (He hasn’t even been forced to run a negative ad!)

Attorney General: Greg Zoeller. Did I say it’s still a Republican state? Steve Carter helps Zoeller, so does Mitch Daniels and, while Linda Pence is a good candidate, she did too little TV to pull this off.

Superintendent of Public Instruction: Tony Bennett. Republican.

Congress: Rep. Mark Souder is the most the vulnerable and sounds like a loser in TV interviews so let’s call him one. All of the other 8 incumbents hold on.

Indiana House of Representatives: Democrats hold control. Brian Bosma and the Republicans tried to sneak up on some old-timers including Bill Cochran, Bob Bishoff, and Dennis Avery. That tells me they need gains in places that aren’t readily apparent. Remember, though, if Daniels wins the Republicans need just 50 to win the Speaker’s chair. Democrats need 51.

Bonus Prediction: The referendum to do away with township assessors passes.

Indiana House Minority Leader Brian Bosma is confident he can be Speaker again.  He declared this morning that, if the election were held today, there would be 50 Republicans, 49 Democrats, and one race up for grabs in the House.

In that scenario, a Mitch Daniels win in the race for governor would give Bosma the Speaker’s chair even if the one race up for grabs went to the Democrats.

“That is their dream situation,” says Justin Moed, field director of House campaigns for the Democrats.  Moed says he expects the Democrats to win 53 or 54 seats.

More staff changes for Rep. Brian Bosma to deal with… 

Leslie Hiner is about to depart as Staff Director for the Indiana House Republicans.  She took a job with the Friedman Foundation.

Julie Halbig, former staff attorney, returns from the law firm Hall Render to replace her.

Staff and lobbyists in the Statehouse have begun counting down the last days of the 2008 General Assembly.  There are ten business days remaining after today.

But what about Session Days?

It may take an insider to understand the Session Day concept but I’ll try to explain.  Session days are the only days when legislation can be acted on by the Indiana House or the state Senate.  The short session is limited to 29 session days to be held by March 14th.  The two bodies keep separate counts. 

When Speaker Pat Bauer recessed last Thursday instead of adjourning, and then didn’t publish the number of the Session day on Monday he sparked confusion that Minority Leader Brian Bosma believes could be serious (as in, the basis for a lawsuit to nullify action.)

Bosma believes just two Session days remain and one is scheduled for Tuesday.  That would leave just one day (presumably Friday the 14th) to pass most of the remaining legislation. 

Of course, the House could always vote to suspend rules and act on yet another day.  

Maybe its not that serious.  

Greg Lubsen is the House Republican staff member who appears helping Rep. Jon Elrod in the Democratic Party videotape showing Elrod signing campaign letters on the House floor.

Minority Leader Brian Bosma calls it a “teaching moment.”  He says Lubsen will be punished for a policy violation and the punishment will be twofold.

First, all House Republican staffers will take part in a training seminar regarding staff policy.  Lubsen will lead it.

Secondly, he will receive “appropriate internal discipline.”   It won’t be severe.   Bosma says Lubsen’s violation lasted three minutes and the undisclosed punishment will be commensurate.

• Brian Bosma taking Greg Ballard in to see House Speaker Pat Bauer.  Ballard returned about a minute later, alone, saying the Speaker was polite.
• Greg Porter deflecting questions about a possible run for Congress in the 7th District.  “I have a Congresswoman,” said Porter.
• Carolene Mays deflecting the same question.
• A full gallery in the House with lots of auto workers, motorcyclists and Farm Bureau members in attendance.
• A new refrigerator holding soft drinks for House Members complete with a sign telling staffers to stay away.
• Farm Bureau handing out clocks to lawmakers as a reminder that its time for property tax reform, supporters of the Hoosier Heartland highway handing out coffee cups.
• Bob Kuzman working as a lobbyist for the first time.