Northern Indiana, with a mix of Democrats backed by labor unions, Republicans and self-described independents such as Adkison, shows that trend. While unemployment in Elkhart has fallen from almost 20 percent during the recession to less than 5 percent, there are now many fewer jobs that pay what the Studebaker factory in nearby South Bend and other old-line manufacturing jobs did, Hicks said. Older, middle-class Hoosiers with a high school diploma who once were able to raise a family, send kids to college and get a new car every three or four years now find themselves working in jobs paying $15 an hour or replaced entirely by younger, less-costly workers, Hicks said.