About Indiana

Indiana is called the Hoosier State, though nobody agrees on where the word "Hoosier" comes from. It may derive from "husher" (a frontier brawler), from a contractor named Hoosier who employed workers from Indiana, or simply from the backwoods greeting "Who's here?" Whatever the origin, Hoosier has become one of the most fiercely proud state identities in America.

Indiana sits at the intersection of the industrial Midwest and the agricultural heartland. Its flat northern plains produce corn, soybeans, and popcorn; its Lake Michigan shoreline once anchored one of the world's greatest steel-producing regions; its limestone quarries have supplied building material for America's greatest structures; and its capital city hosts the world's most famous motor race every Memorial Day weekend.

The state is reliably Republican in statewide elections and has been for most of its recent history. It is deeply tied to manufacturing, agriculture, and a working-class political identity that has only strengthened as deindustrialization hit surrounding states harder. Indiana retains more manufacturing jobs per capita than any other state, a source of both economic strength and ongoing vulnerability.