Election day is still months away, but Rep. John Hostettler (R) and and his opponent in the 8th congressional district race, Sheriff Brad Ellsworth, have already started airing negative television ads directed at each other. The Courier-Press reports that Hostettler, through the National Republican Congressional Committee, is airing an ad which features a mug shot of an accused child molester who was accidentally released from jail while Sheriff Ellsworth was in Washington, D.C. tending to his political campaign. "Can you imagine a suspected child rapist being captured in Vanderburgh County, but then mistakenly released by Brad Ellsworth's Sheriff's Department?" an announcer says.
Ellsworth is defending his department's actions. He says he could have been sitting in the next room and the suspected child molester would have still been released. He's hitting back against Hostettler with an ad accusing Hostettler of distorting his record and casting votes against public safety. "The Ellsworth ad calls Ellsworth a 'decorated hero' and points out that in 1996, the Sons of the American Revolution gave then-Chief Deputy Ellsworth its 'Officer of the Year' award. Hostettler's people are unimpressed. A spokesman says "Ellsworth is trying to change the subject from 'the incredible incompetence demonstrated by his office in the case of Matthew Long.'"
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