Former Congressman Mark Souder named NewsChannel 15's political analyst for primary election

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Former U. S. Representative, Mark Souder, will serve as NewsChannel 15's political analyst for the 2012 primary election.  Souder, a Republican, served in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2010.

Beginning Tuesday, April 10, Souder will be discussing the primary election, and several of the key races such as the Indiana U. S. Senate seat and the Republican presidential primary.

Souder will be live every Tuesday night during NewsChannel 15's 6 o'clock newscast, leading up to the primary election on May 8.

"We have three basic points coming into the Indiana primary in early May," said Souder.  "One is on the most focused Senate race in the country, between Richard Lugar and Richard Mourdock. 

"We have a presidential primary, that while the convention on the Republican side won't probably be open, in the sense that [Mitt] Romney is likely to be near or over the top, it is still very significant.  Is it going to impact the conservative influence at the convention and if [Rick] Santorum stays in the lead, Indiana will continue to play a role there.

"Third is, we have more contested primaries and open state legislative Senate seats in our region than we've had in a long time, which will reshape, possibly, the political landscape of northeast Indiana."