Chelsea Schneider

Chelsea.Schneider@indystar.com

Days from Indiana’s primary election, Hillary Clinton finds herself in a familiar spot — vying for votes in a tight Democratic contest reminiscent of 2008 when she narrowly defeated her then-primary challenger Barack Obama in Indiana.

Any similarity ends there.

Eight years ago, Clinton was in a much closer race, requiring her to fight for every delegate. The possibility still existed that she could overcome Obama.

This go-around, Clinton is campaigning in Indiana with a wide lead against her opponent, Bernie Sanders, and is increasingly being seen as the presumptive nominee. The stakes for the former secretary of state aren’t as high.

But amid those advantages, she’s facing tough competition from Sanders in adding Indiana to her list of 2016 wins. Polls indicate he's within striking distance.

In Indiana, Sanders, a Vermont senator, finds one of his last chances to slow Clinton’s momentum — to deny her the nomination outright. He’s spent most of his time in Indiana focusing on the loss of manufacturing jobs and the role he feels free trade agreements have played in those jobs going overseas. It’s a sore topic for Hoosiers, and one where Sanders feels Clinton is vulnerable because her husband, former President Bill Clinton, signed the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Even if Sanders does well in Indiana, Democrats are “coming around to the idea that she’s on a glide path to the nomination,” said Robert Dion, political science professor at the University of Evansville.

“This time around, Indiana is going to have a big say in the Republican nomination,” Dion said. “The Democratic contest doesn't matter nearly as much in 2016. She may get a few extra delegates, or Sen. Sanders may upset her narrowly and get a few extra delegates, but the big picture will remain the same.”

Clinton: 'Indiana has so much potential'

On Sunday, Clinton expressed confidence in her ability to carry the state in a sit-down interview with IndyStar after she spoke to hundreds of supporters at a rally at a recreation center on Indianapolis' east side.

Clinton said she wants to be a president that “brings manufacturing back” to the country.

“I really would very much like to do well here in Indiana because I feel like I've got the best plans and the best understanding about how to implement those plans to make sure that we do have a manufacturing renaissance,” Clinton told IndyStar.

“We have to enforce all the international rules, including those in trade agreements,” Clinton said. “We've got to change the tax code so that we incentivize more investments in our country — put people to work. We need to make sure we got people ready and skilled to do that work.”

She spoke of her love of Indiana’s economic diversity with its manufacturing and agricultural roots.

“Indiana has so much potential for the future and I want it to be part of the kind of positive, confident future I’m offering in this election,” Clinton said.

But she also didn’t shy away from acknowledging the race in the Hoosier state is close.

A new poll released Sunday — hours before her first public rally ahead of Tuesday’s primary — showed Clinton with a narrow four-point lead over Sanders, similar to what other polls have shown. The poll by NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist had Clinton leading 50 percent to 46 percent — within its margin of error.

Sanders rallied supporters in South Bend on Sunday night and has stops planned in Indiana on Monday in Evansville, Fort Wayne and Indianapolis.

Sanders told the crowd that other states have proven when voter turnout is high, he wins.

"So I hope, I hope very much, that all of you will help make Tuesday the biggest voter turnout in Indiana Democratic primary history," Sanders said.

But Andy Downs, director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics, said Clinton likely is too far ahead for Sanders to catch up. Before both candidates turned their sights on Indiana, Clinton trounced Sanders in his birth state of New York.

“She does not have to do all that well here or anywhere else to find her way to the nomination,” Downs said.

Although Sanders has performed well in less racially diverse states such as Indiana, Downs said that culturally, Indiana has a lot in common with the southern states that supported Clinton.

“In some respects, we are the northern-most southern state,” he said. “…We’re kind of like a southern state without the diversity.”

Voter: Decision between Clinton and Sanders difficult

At her rally on Sunday, Clinton said there is “no more consequential election” facing the country. She promised to work against what she called the divisive rhetoric of GOP front-runner Donald Trump and to strengthen the middle class.

Clinton then turned to what she described as an “assault” on rights that has played out across the country and in Indiana. Clinton said she would stand up for marriage equality, women’s reproductive health rights and workers’ rights to organize.

She criticized Republican Gov. Mike Pence and the Republican-controlled Indiana General Assembly for enacting stricter abortion restrictions this past legislative session. She also decried the state’s passage of a right-to-work law.

“I worry very much, and I don’t mean this to be partisan or political, but if you look at what built the American middle class, it really had a lot to do with the rise of the American labor movement,” Clinton told IndyStar after the rally. “So all the efforts you are seeing in Republican-dominated states to erode (and) undercut unions, I think makes it harder for us to raise middle-class wages, to raise the opportunity for people to go further, to really rebuild the middle class.”

She said decisions based on ideology, and not economic considerations, are counterproductive.

“When people make decisions based on ideology,” Clinton said, “they often make the wrong decision, and I feel the same way about these restrictive provisions that have been passed about women.”

Clinton's current delegate count, including unpledged superdelegates, is at 2,165 and Sanders is at 1,357, according to the Associated Press. A candidate needs 2,383 delegate votes to win the Democratic nomination. In Indiana, 92 delegates are at stake.

Last week, Clinton toured Munster Steel Co. Inc. in Hammond and the AM General Plant in Mishawaka, where she spoke to factory workers about her desire to grow manufacturing jobs.

On Sunday morning, Clinton surprised diners at Lincoln Square Pancake House near Downtown Indianapolis.

Peggy Campbell, 38, of Indianapolis, was holding her 18-month-old son when Clinton walked in.

“It’s really, really amazing,” Campbell said. “I wouldn’t even call myself a huge Hillary fan, but I’m so in admiration of what she’s doing.”

Campbell said it’s a hard choice between supporting Clinton and Sanders — and it’s a decision she’s still making.

“It’s going to come down to that day, I think.”

IndyStar reporter Brian Eason contributed to this story.

Call IndyStar reporter Chelsea Schneider at (317) 444-6077. Follow her on Twitter: @IndyStarChelsea.​