JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. Although Indiana voters have long been big-time backers of Republican presidential candidates, there are growing signs that GOP presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain may not be able to keep them in his corner in next months general election.

And to most political observers, that would seem to spell trouble for Republican Mike Sodrel, the long-time motorcoach operator who is trying to regain the 9th Congressional District seat he held two years ago.

But, they could be wrong.

According to statewide polls, McCain has lost substantial ground in recent weeks to Sen. Barack Obama, a surprising drop off that is turning Indiana into a battleground state and threatening the Hoosier States string of 10 consecutive Republican victories in presidential elections.

At the same time, Sodrel, who has been counting on a strong McCain showing in Indiana to help send him back to Washington D.C., trails his Democrat opponent, according to the latest independent and internal polls.

Still, Sodrels camp remains upbeat, contending that the southern Indiana district that Sodrel calls home is so conservative and dislikes Obama so much that tightening of the presidential race likely will not have much of a negative impact on the congressional race.

"In our district, no matter what McCain and Obama do in the state, it wont really matter to us," said campaign spokesman Ryan Reger.

To support his optimism, he emphasized that in the states primary election, Obama won only one of the 20 counties in the district and lost to Sen. Hillary Clinton by a whopping 34-point margin. His only win in the district was in Monroe County where Bloomington and Indiana University are located. Across the country Obama did well in college towns much like Bloomingdale.

"With Obama at the head of the Democratic ticket, it will help us for sure," said Reger.

Sodrel, the former owner of the Free Enterprise System motorcoach company is attempting to oust Rep. Baron Hill, a political foe he has faced on three other occasions and who unseated him in the 2006 election. Sodrel won the district seat from Hill in 2004 after losing to him in 2002.

Early on in this years match up, Sodrel was given a good chance of winning back the seat.

"Hill is the incumbent and has the early edge, but the likelihood that McCain will significantly outpace Obama in the conservative-leaning territory has kept the GOP hopeful that Sodrel can benefit from presidential coattails in much the same way that Sodrels winning campaign in 2004 was aided by (President) Bushs strong victory among district voters," the Congressional Quarterly reported in August.

Since then, however, McCain has dipped in the polls and voter support for Sodrel faded some, too. An independent poll by SurveyUSA conducted last month showed Hill with a comfortable 11-point margin, 50 percent to 39 percent. A third candidate, Libertarian Eric Schansberg, drew 5 percent.

And early this month, newspapers and television newscasts across the state began reporting that Obama had surged and the state appeared to be slipping away from Republicans.

"Indiana Becomes Battleground State" the headlines declared as the media began noting new polling results that gave McCain just a three-point lead over Obama. A WSBT/South Bend Tribune poll even had it tighter with McCain leading by just a single point.

The Evansville Courier & Press, one of several newspapers that headlined the battleground issue, was quick to note that the Republican National Committee was taking the issue seriously and almost immediately began running a series of television ads for McCain.

Because the state had been considered safe for so long Bush beat Sen. John Kerry by a 21-point margin four years ago and the state has not voted Democrat in a presidential election since 1964 when it went for Lyndon Johnson the party had planned to spend very little advertising money there.

Despite the turn of events in the statewide picture, Sodrel still likes his chances of winning in the district.

"The campaign is going very well," he said. "Were hearing great things from all over the district."

He said many Democrats in the district were unhappy with Hill endorsing Obama in the primary election in May and have said they plan to vote for him (Sodrel) in the congressional race. "If that holds true, were very optimistic," he added.

New polling, too, has boosted his optimism.

He said a poll taken for him by Wilson Research Strategies in late September gave Hill just a three-point advantage, 44 percent to 41 percent, a big turnaround from the SurveyUSA poll that was done two weeks earlier.

"Despite a growing drumbeat of doubts about Sodrels chances in a horrendous political climate for Republicans, the Wilson poll gives Sodrel a reason for hope," noted Howey Politics Indiana, the Internet site of syndicated columnist Brian A. Howey.

Sodrel said he also is looking forward to increasing his numbers in a long-awaited debate with Hill planned for Oct. 21 in Jasper.

"The Jasper debate very well could be the only debate we have so it will be a good opportunity for voters to compare and contrast the candidates," he said.

The debate was finalized after Hill, who had refused numerous invitations from Sodrel for a face-off, dropped a demand that Sodrel apologize to district constituents for the way he handled his offices transition to Hill two years ago.

Hill claims that Sodrel failed to send letters to residents of the district seeking permission to transfer their casework to Hill. Sodrel has repeatedly denied the charge.

"Conventional wisdom says that an incumbent has nothing to gain from debating a challenger," Sodrel said in a statement. "Congressman Hill must be seeing the same poll numbers that we are or he would not be agreeing to any debates."

Hill told the Louisville Courier-Journal that he dropped his call for an apology because he did not want to commit a disservice to voters by not taking part in a debate.

Although Sodrel is high on the outcome of the election, he has been outpaced by Hill in campaign contributions.

As of the latest reporting period in June, Sodrel had raised $635,830.78, less than half of the $1,740,250.06 that Hill collected. A new report is due the middle of this month.

"We are ahead of where Mike was in any other challenger race he's had," said Reger, adding that the campaign is comparing contributions to the 2004 race because it was the last presidential contest and the last time Sodrel was a challenger. "Compared to 2004, we are doing very well and 2004 was the last time Mike won."

Meantime, Sodrel said his top three priorities are: economy, energy independence and jobs. And, he stressed, he will be a strong advocate for issues that matter most to the motorcoach industry.