A few Election Day takeaways in Tippecanoe County races
With one race still up in the air, here’s a look at some of the winners in Tuesday’s elections. Plus, how Tippecanoe County landed on races for president, governor and more
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A FEW ELECTION DAY TAKEAWAYS IN TIPPECANOE COUNTY RACES
Playing catch-up on some of those local election results Tuesday – or, in Tippecanoe County’s case, Wednesday.
After pulling the plug on the ballot count around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, county election officials processed and ran 186 remaining absentee ballots Wednesday morning from an election that saw 68,032 voters – a 60% turnout in Tippecanoe County.
According to county officials, left are 136 provisional ballots and 25 ballots requiring signature “cures” – both of which include giving voters a chance to follow through with questions about IDs, mismatched signatures another issues at Tuesday’s polls. Those will be reviewed at 1 p.m. Nov. 15 at the County Office Building.
After that, we still have one race in play.
Here are a few highlights from local races Tuesday. (For an initial wrap-up from Tuesday night, check here, too.)
TIPPECANOE COUNTY COUNCIL, 2 OUT OF 3, SO FAR: Barry Richard, a Republican running for his second term on the Tippecanoe County Council, and Ben Carson, a Democrat running for his first, will have two of the three at-large seats up in the election.
The third seat among the field of nine running will come down to incumbent Republicans John Basham and Kevin Underwood. As of Wednesday, Basham led Underwood by 40 votes – with the 161 ballot left to be reviewed Nov. 15.
As for the winners …
“I am very honored by the continued community support that I have received,” Richard said. “I also realize that I never assume or take anything for granted in an election. I am very appreciative for the backing and believe in me to serve our community. I truly feel blessed to represent and give to such a tremendous community we call home.”
Carson, co-founder of an education technology company, scored a rare countywide, at-large candidate victory for Democrats on the council, the fiscal body of county government. Two other Democrats, Ben Murray and Lisa Dullum, represent districts on the county council.
“Tippecanoe County has so many strengths, but there’s also room to keep growing,” Carson said. “Throughout my campaign, I’ve had amazing conversations with people across our community, learning what issues are most important and exploring how the council can best put its resources to work. I think that those conversations are a major part of why I got elected. People appreciate when their representatives are willing to take the time out of their day to go directly to them and have a genuine conversation that puts ‘party politics’ to the side.”
INDIANA HOUSE, INCUMBENTS WITH COMFORTABLE WINS: Four Indiana House seats with districts in Tippecanoe County went to incumbents.
House District 27: That included state Rep. Sheila Klinker, a Lafayette Democrat running for her 22nd two-year term in the Indiana House District 27, beat Republican Oscar Alvarez with 61.5% of the vote. Tuesday night, Klinker, a former teacher, said she wanted to continue a push for a $60,000 starting salaries for teachers, at a time when many are bailing on the profession.
The question asked just about every election night in the past decade: Will this be Klinker’s last run for an office she first won in 1982?
“I don’t want to say I’ll never run to serve again, because I don’t believe that and I don’t think I should say that,” Klinker said. “I’m very fortunate in that I’m healthy and I still have that desire.”
House District 26: State Rep. Chris Campbell, a West Lafayette Democrat, won her fourth term since first being elected in 2018. She won 64% of the vote in the heavy-blue, West Lafayette-based district over Republican Jim Schenke, who spent 12 hours Monday, the day before the election, the Tippecanoe County Jail on allegations that he violated a protective order a neighbor has against him. (The suspected violation: Schenke commented on some of his neighbor’s Facebook posts.)
“My work for the community will continue,” Campbell said. “We will be heading into a challenging budget session that will be making some hard decisions when it comes to school funding and healthcare. I've been working on several bills, but a statewide water plan and regulation will be among the top issues that will be one of my priorities to address local concerns. I'll also be watching what the new diploma options that come out of the Indiana board of education. There is a limited time left for public input.”
House District 13: Matt Commons, a teacher and county council member from Warren County, got 74% of the vote over Ed Moyer Jr., a Democrat from Hillsboro. Commons will be the lone newcomer representing parts of Tippecanoe County in the Indiana House. He beat incumbent state Rep. Sharon Negele in the May primary in the sprawling district.
House District 41: State Rep. Mark Genda, a Frankfort Republican, won his second term in the Indiana House with 73% of the vote over Democrat Dan Sikes.
House District 38: State Rep. Heath VanNatter, a Kokomo Republican, cruised with 75% of the vote over Democrat Carl Seese.
WEST LAFAYETTE SCHOOL BOARD: Two incumbents – Amy Austin and Yue Yin – were re-elected to second terms, with David Purpura and George Lyle rounding out the four at-large seats on the West Lafayette Community School Corp. board. Much of the conversation in the six-candidate race centered on divisions on the board and how to address those. The running order in the nonpartisan race: Austin, Purpura, Yue and Lyle.
LAFAYETTE SCHOOL BOARD: Incumbents Ebony Barrett and Julie Peretin – both appointed to the Lafayette School Corp. board in the past two years – were elected to the seats Tuesday. Margaret Hass took second in a seven-candidate field for three seats. (Among those Hass beat: Her father, Jim Hass, who came in sixth place.)
“The experience that I've had on the school board up until this point in time has been really eye opening,” Barrett said. “It gave me an opportunity to get a more detailed look at some of the complexities that our school system in particular was facing and how difficult they are to navigate. I would love to be in the position to continue to work with the school board, work with the administration, work with our teaches, work with our families, really trying to get folks connected in a meaningful way to the work that's being done, making sure that voices are being heard.”
Hass said she wanted to continue to talk to teachers and hear more of their concerns, including with a transportation plan LSC implemented this year that has had teachers frustrated about new, longer schedules that didn’t come with changes to their compensation.
“I really want to improve the transparency and the communication between the board and the public, because that's something that's obviously been damaged, I think, in the last six months,” Hass said. “I think there are some simple things that the board can do to solicit feedback from the public and teachers and parents and other employees in the district.”
From Peretin: “I am looking forward to championing the strengths of the LSC as we work to adapt to the upcoming changes to the Indiana Diploma Standards. Our entire community benefits when we acknowledge the positive growth of our students. There is much work to be done in the upcoming legislative session for increasing school funding and teacher pay. I hope our board is able to be a non-partisan buffer that allows educators to teach and all children to feel safe in our schools.”
A LOCAL MIX OF RED AND BLUE: With victories by Donald Trump, Mike Braun and other Republicans at the top of Tuesday’s ticket, Tippecanoe County was a mixed bag. Here’s how Tippecanoe County voted in state and federal elections on the ballot.
President: Trump won 58.8% of the Indiana vote over Vice President Kamala Harris. In Tippecanoe County, Trump received 48.7% of the vote, edging Harris by 103 votes.
U.S. Senator: U.S. Rep. Jim Banks received 58.8% of Indiana’s votes over Democrat Valerie McCray and Libertarian Andrew Horning. In Tippecanoe County, Banks had 49.9%, which was 2.5 percentage points ahead of McCray.
Governor: One outlier was Democrat Jennifer McCormick, who beat Braun in Tippecanoe County, with 49.7% of the vote and a 4.2 percentage point spread. Statewide, Braun cruised with 54.5% to McCormick’s 41% and Libertarian Donald Rainwater’s 4.5%.
Attorney General: Incumbent Republican Todd Rokita beat Democrat Destiny Wells with 59% of the vote. In Tippecanoe County, which Rokita represented in the U.S. House for eight years, Rokita won 50.4% of the vote.
U.S. House, 4th District: Congressman Jim Baird cruised to a fourth term with 64.9% of the vote across the 4th District, over Democrat Derrick Holder and Libertarian Ashley Groff. Baird’s total in Tippecanoe County was 50.7%.
FOR MORE
For more about the candidates who won, here’s a link to Q&As they did with Based in Lafayette ahead of Election Day.
Here’s a look at Tippecanoe County results, as of Wednesday:
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I served as a poll volunteer. Regardless of what outcomes were expected by anyone, I experienced friendly and eager voters and very user friendly technology for poll workers and voters. I would remind everyone to remember to correct your voting registration address every time you move. Also, vote more than just every four years, please.
Rep. Jim Baird's 50% higher vote tally is right in line with how between January–May 2024 he spent 50% *more* on claimed Washington DC living expenses (for which receipts are no longer required, courtesy of House Republicans) then the next most costly US representative.