Indiana Primary Election Brings Many Surprises and Positive Outcomes
Well, its finally over. Now, the morning after, the Indiana political pundits can review and explain the views of Hoosier voters and to comment on the strategies of the various campaigns. This is my quick take on last night.
There will be some new faces in the Indiana General Assembly next year, which is always AFA of Indiana’s primary focus. Here are a few of the race outcomes that we were closely watching last night and will be monitoring in November.State Representative Jackie Walorski won with over 60% of the primary vote last night to challenge Democrat Congressman Joe Donnelly in what will be one of the most closely watched federal contests in Indiana this fall. The race for her open seat in State House District 22 placed a city councilor against a young man who many have compared to current Fort Wayne City Councilor Mitch Harper. Mitch was quite possibly the youngest person in the last 50 years to serve in the Indiana General Assembly when he burst onto the scene in his early 20’s and served effectively for a decade. Though a year older than Harper, Timothy Wesco is similarly turning heads at his huge victory, achieving nearly 70% of the primary vote last night with a well-executed and hard working campaign.
In the House Seat held for many years by State Senator Jim Buck, Heath VanNatter defeated State Representative Jacque Clements with nearly 60% of the vote in House District 38. Like Timothy Wesco, AFA of Indiana’s PAC also endorsed Heath for his conservative values.
Heath also has a unique distinction of actually having been a State Representative, but never having served a day in the legislature even though he was sworn in with the legislative license plate and all the official trimmings. When Rep. Buck filled the Senate vacancy left by Sen. Jeff Drozda’s move out of state, Heath was chosen to fill out his term. In a weird move, however, the precinct committeemen then voted to put Jacque’s name on the November ballot. Heath became a State Representative for about five months, but it was largely symbolic and never involved a day in session with Indiana’s part-time legislature.
The area around Greensburg witnessed a huge battle to fill the seat that has been held by retiring Rep. Cleo Duncan for many years. In a seven-way primary, Randy Frye won the nomination by just 197 votes over his closest challenger with 28% of the vote. This is one of those reminders that every vote counts.
In the Indiana State Senate races, AFA of Indiana PAC endorsed candidate Jim Banks came out of a challenge from a strong opponent to still emerge with 63% of the vote. The winner of this race in November will fill this open seat previously held by Gary “Doc” Dillon who is also retiring.
In Senate District 49 near Evansville Jim Tomes emerged from a close race with 52% of the vote. Jim is well known to many AFA-IN supporters as one of the organizers of the 2nd Amendment Patriots, a large group of citizens concerned about gun control threats and gun sports and safety issues.
Last night was not without its disappointments too. In House District 22, covering Wabash and Kosciusko counties, State Representative Bill Ruppel, a consistent conservative vote, narrowly lost to a challenger who had family ties to the Indiana State Chamber of Commerce. That business group reportedly dropped around $50,000 to defeat Ruppel in spite of his conservative voting record. AFA of Indiana’s PAC had endorsed Representative Ruppel.
Indiana US Senate Race Takes Shape
I want to congratulate former Senator Dan Coats for his solid victory in the primary last night. Coats took 40% of the Republican primary vote, with Marlin Stutzman taking 29%, John Hostettler with 23%, Don Bates, Jr. with 4% and Richard Behney with 1,652 fewer votes than Bates, but still holding 4% of the vote with 100% reporting. I know Hostettler, Stutzman and Bates very well and know they (and Richard) gave their all and brought many important issues to the forefront and made this election one of the most interesting non-presidential year primaries Indiana has seen in decades.
Each Senate candidate can hold their head high for their performance in a 92 county race that is extremely difficult and demanding. Every vote is hard earned and represented by a lot a miles on the car odometer, long days and many hours away from your family. Each of these individuals in this and every race yesterday, deserves our apprecation and thanks for their sacrifices to serve the state of Indiana.
It will be interesting to watch and see how this statewide race shapes up in the fall and what issues emerge between Dan Coats and Congressman Brad Ellsworth.
Many Voters Not Interested in Congressional Rematches in Close Swing Districts
There will be a rematch in the US House race in Northeast Indiana with Congressman Mark Souderfacing Tom Hayhurst again this fall. Yet, voters in Southeast Indiana’s 9th District didn’t want to have the Baron Hill / Mike Sodrel rematch again with the former Congressman coming in a surprise third place finish (30%) to Travis Hankins (32%) and the nominee, Todd Young (35%).
A familiar set of names will create another Carson/Scott race for Congress in Indianapolis this fall.Marvin Scott surprised many with a seven-point win over the newcomer and hard working, party-slated candidate Carlos May. Marvin will face freshman Congressman Andre Carson in November. Marvin has previously run against Andre’s grandmother, Julia, and her predecessor, Andy Jacobs in moderately close contests.
Indiana Congressional District 8 may be the sleeper race in Indiana this fall that has not received a whole lot of statewide media attention. Last night, Dr. Larry Bucshon held off a strong challenge from Kristi Risk, a home school mom with a strong grassroots network to win the nomination with 33% in a field of eight candidates. In the fall he will face Democrat State Rep. Trent Van Haaften to see who will represent the seat being vacated by Brad Ellsworth’s run for US Senate.
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