On the results of the primary election

This past Tuesday, Indiana had its primary elections, and of course, I was a strong supporter of Marlin Stutzman for the United States Senate.  Unfortunately, he didn't win.  The winner was Dan Coats, who barely got 40% of the vote, while Mr. Stutzman finished in second with 30%.  As for the other candidates in the race, John Hostettler came in third with 22%, and both Don Bates, Jr. and Richard Behney finished with 4% each.

With the other three elections where I supported candidates, Phil Troyer finished third in a four-way race for Congress here in the 3rd District, with my Congressman, Mark Souder, winning a contentious primary against runner up Bob Thomas (now that's a Republican candidate who could make me vote Libertarian!)  In addition, candidates I supported for State Representative and Sheriff also lost their bids.

For me, it was a hard loss, not only because all the candidates I supported lost.  I had high hopes Mr. Stutzman would come out the winner, and I had helped out however I could as one of his volunteers.  The hardest part of it all, though, is the fact the winner of the primary is also the one candidate I still have doubts about.  If Messrs. Hostettler, Bates or Behney had won, they would've received my support in a heartbeat, but with Mr. Coats, I still don't know if I will even vote for him in November.  What I do know is I have a great deal of thinking to do before I ultimately cast my vote.

As for the other winners, I congratulate Congressman Souder, my State Representative, Dick Dodge, and Don Lauer, the Republican nominee for Sheriff, on their victories.  I'm personally happy Mr. Lauer won (deciding between him and Mark Heffelfinger, the candidate I supported, was a daunting task, as they are both great candidates).