FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — Gov. Mitch Daniels logged about 85 percent as many flights in state aircraft in the first seven months of this election year as he did all of last year, a newspaper study found.

Daniels used state aircraft — primarily two state police airplanes and a Department of Transportation helicopter — 52 times in the first seven months of this year, compared with 61 flights during 2007, a review of state records by The Journal Gazette found.

Many of the flights are related to duties of office, including job announcements or damage assessments following tornadoes or flooding, while other trips are taken to push Daniels' legislative agenda.

However, the mix includes some trips that seem political, including appearances at local parades and festivals and at least five speeches at Lincoln Day dinners, a traditional Republican event, the newspaper reported Sunday following a review of 113 trips over the past 19 months.

Daniels' spokeswoman Jane Jankowski said the campaign pays for trips if Daniels is traveling "solely" to attend a political event. But she said Daniels' political speeches occurred on days he had other state business in the area.

The campaign manager for Daniels' Democratic opponent in the November election questioned the governor's travel practices.

"There are legitimate questions about whether they are going above and beyond what they do on a regular basis," said Travis Lowe, campaign manager for Jill Long Thompson.

By comparison, The Journal Gazette reported that then-Gov. Frank O'Bannon used state aircraft 29 times in about a year and a half. The total cost for O'Bannon's travel from January 2002 to May 2003, including flying and driving, was about $32,000.

O'Bannon was not campaigning for re-election during that period, however, and the price of fuel has risen considerably since then.

According to data supplied by the Indiana Department of Administration, the cost of fuel for the aircraft used by Daniels has varied from $118 an hour up to $734 an hour in recent months. Overall, the state has spent $107,000 on fuel alone for Daniels' trips around the state in 19 months.

State police often drive Daniels on shorter trips, and sometimes he even rides on his motorcycle.

"I've been traveling nonstop for five years. The mix of modes does change, I guess, but the pattern and the approach to the job has not," Daniels said. "You just pick the means of travel that gets you to the most places the fastest. This is my approach to the job. I do it for accessibility and advocacy."

Indiana residents differ on the meaning and importance of the governor's travel.

"I think it's important for him to be on a budget of some type and to try to save us money," said Bill McEvoy, a Fort Wayne metal fabricator. "He's just pulling the wool over our eyes like the first time. But this time ... he's using taxpayer money to campaign."

Others, however, don't see a problem.

"I would say the governor needs to travel within the state, and I would certainly hope that he would take the most economical way of doing it," said New Haven resident Jeffrey Olsen. "If the plane is the best way to go and the most efficient, then I can't fault him."