How many Democrats are there in Hamilton County anyway?

I am a little sick of hearing jokes about the number of Democrats in Hamilton County.  Things like "Do you have meetings in a phone booth?" or "I bet there are about two Democrats there".  Then there are the truly sad statements by supposedly pro-Democratic voters who apparently never do an internet search, that go, "But I thought I was the only one!" 

Hamilton County is one of Indiana's five most populous counties.  And while it traditionally has been a strong Republican area, there are a lot of people here willing to vote for the right Democrat.

In 2008, 49,704 people cast ballots for Barack Obama in the general election.  In 2004, 47,999 votes were cast for Evan Bayh for Senate.  No matter how you look at it, that is a LOT of votes.

Even in bad years, with poor candidates, or an indifferent electorate, Democratic candidates get between 25-30% of the vote.  Senator Bayh got 46% in 2004.  President Obama got just under 40% in 2008. 

Are there more of the other guys than us?  Yep.  But there are a LOT more people here willing to vote for Democrats than most people think. Thousands of them.  We just have to give them decent candidates, and work as hard as we can.  There are more Democrats in Hamilton County than there are total numbers of voters in many counties.  That makes us important to statewide candidates.

The silly jokes can stop now.