Hankins Denies Involvement in Push Polling

Responding to a recent column in the Courier-Journal noting him as the last remaining suspect for the push polling that has targeted Mike Sodrel and Todd Young, Travis Hankins denies any involvement:

Today Travis Hankins condemns push polling and reverse push polling. A single supporter of Travis Hankins emailed the campaign with the message that he has received a "push poll."

Hankins since has had two inquiries from reporters asking if he is aware of this “polling” and if he is aware of “Central Research of New York” and here is Travis Hankins’ response:

”I have no knowledge of that poll or that company.“ Hankins continues “My campaign has never hired a pollster nor would we do so. No one on the campaign or any volunteer has ever conducted any survey-related calls to any voter, ever.”

Hankins continues, “Polling in primaries is for political establishment campaigns that don’t have the presence on the ground and want to take shortcuts. We don’t do that. “Push polling” is for campaigns who are simply losers and deceitful. We do not do that. Reverse push polling is something that makes those doing a push poll look like angels. We obviously do not do reverse push polling.”

Hankins continues, “Again, I, my campaign, my volunteers and my whole team had nothing to do with this reverse push polling. If it is to be found out that I or my team, had anything to do with this then I will withdraw from the race and never run for office again. I urge the other candidates to take the same pledge.”

Since the initial media inquiries, one column was published in the Courier Journal newspaper hinting that it was very possible that the Hankins campaign was behind this reverse push polling.

Hankins comments “I would urge the good people at the Courier Journal to get to the bottom of these dirty tricks . Since they brought this issue out into the public, and at the same time named me as a ‘suspect,’ then I believe they are obligated to see this thing through to the end.”

“As for my opponents, after the primary we are all to be a “team” again and after the primary we are all going to get together to find out who made these push calls. Unless someone comes clean then I will never work with, or support, any of the campaigns on their future political endeavors until we get this solved. Nor will I accept their help as I beat Baron Hill.”

To repeat the applicable part of the aforementioned Courier-Journal article:

[O]ne of the emails the Young campaign received about the push polls claims that Sodrel also was being smeared.

“As the survey progressed it became clear to me that this person was clearly against Todd Young and Mike Sodrel,” the voter writes. “They also seemed to have a highly favorable opinion of Travis Hankins.”

One can accept Hankins' denial at face value, I suppose, and I'll do so.

But Sodrel and Young are unlikely to have done push polling smearing themselves. And people receiving the push polling indicate that Hankins was referenced favorably.

So if Travis Hankins isn't engaging in push polling, then who is?

As Sherlock Holmes once said, when you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains--however improbable--must be the truth. There are three actors here. Two were targets (and neither would target themselves because it is not in their interest to lose voters). The third denies involvement.

If we take Hankins' denial as sincere and honest, where does that leave us?

Who else would have an interest in the outcome of the Republican primary in the 9th Congressional District of Indiana?

Who could such a person be...


Yeah, him.

And we do know that there are rumors that the Democrats are quietly encouraging their own version of Operation Chaos to get a favorable (i.e. more easily defeated) candidate in the 9th District race to make Baron Hill's chances of retaining "his Congressional office" a bit better.

There's no evidence, of course. Just a theory that happens to fit the facts:

There has apparently been push polling.

Both Mike Sodrel and Todd Young have been targeted by this push polling.

Mike Sodrel and Todd Young are not going to push poll against themselves.

Travis Hankins, another candidate, denies engaging in push polling and the fourth candidate is unemployed and has no resources to do so.

There is talk that the Democrats want to impact the Republican primary to get a nominee to emerge that will be more beatable in the current hostile political environment by doing a reverse Operation Chaos.

Hankins is potentially such a candidate, as the district has handed crushing defeats to similar candidates before.

Baron Hill, thus, has both the means and the motive to engage in such a thing. He also gets the added benefit of it causing the Republicans to engage in sniping at each other over it, even getting some threats about potential post-primary divisiveness out of one particular candidate (Hankins).

Did he? We'll probably never know. But that's the scenario that is left if you accept Hankins' denial and logically look at who might be engaging in push polling.