My Election Analysis

Alright, here's my take on the election results:

1) Dan Coats's victory in the U.S. Senate race against Brad Ellsworth was the one race I was confident would result in a Republican victory.  With his support of ObamaCare, the stimulus bills, the DISCLOSE Act, and his constant attacking of the Senator-elect over his lobbyist past, Congressman Ellsworth had little chance (if ever) of winning.

2) Marlin Stutzman's win against Tom Hayhurst in the race for Congress here in Indiana's 3rd District was one of the two highlights of Election Day for me, although the Congressman-elect's victory should've come as no surprise to me.  Dr. Hayhurst ran in 2006 for this very seat against Mark Souder amidst a wave of anti-Republican sentiment, and lost by 8 percent.  With the sentiment being all things anti-Democrat and anti-Left, for Dr. Hayhurst to lose by 30 percent in this election, to a strong conservative candidate who does what he says, shows just how much of an uphill battle it was for him.

3) Indiana's 51st House District became one of the most contentious races in the area in the course of this election, with State Rep. Dick Dodge facing his toughest opponent in Democrat Codie Ross.  No question, Ross was a slick talker, and convinced some people he was either a conservative Democrat or a moderate Democrat with “some conservative tendencies”.  He either kept quiet about an issue (like abortion) or he would use a lot of catchphrases to try and sugarcoat his progressive views.  Fortunately, thanks in large part to the DeKalb 9/12 Project, Ross didn't fool enough people, and Rep. Dodge won by 15 percent.  This was the race I was most concerned about, and was immensely relieved to discover the results.


4) As I wrote in my last post, there was election where I didn't vote for the Republican candidate, and that was the Secretary of State race.  I voted (for the first time ever) for the Libertarian candidate, Mike Wherry, and my reason for it was because of Republican Charlie White's mistake.  Accused of voter fraud for filing the wrong address as his residence, Mr. White made an honest mistake, but the mistake had to do with the election, and he was running for an office which covers elections.  It was a mistake that bothered me enough to decide to vote for Mr. Wherry instead of Mr. White (whom I had previously supported for the job).  I hope Mr. White proves to be competent and does a good job as Secretary of State.

5) I was delighted to see that State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, State Auditor Tim Berry and my State Senator, Dennis Kruse, were all re-elected.  All have been exemplary in their jobs, and I know they will continue the same exemplary work.  I was also happy to see it become official for Don Lauer: he will be the next Sheriff here in DeKalb County.  He is a great candidate who deserved his victory after winning a tough three-way primary in May.  Finally, I was happy to read of Randall Deetz's win as County Commissioner; I expect him to continue the good work done by his predecessor.

6) The downside of Election Day was the results in races outside my districts.  I was saddened to see Jackie Walorski narrowly lose to Joe Donnelly in the race for Congress in Indiana's 2nd District and Tom Tancredo lose his bid to be Governor of Colorado.  They both deserved to win; it's that simple.  I know, though, that God has something greater in mind for both of them.

7) Other outside races I was paying attention to turned out well, notably Rand Paul whipping Jack Conway in the U.S. Senate race in Kentucky, Marco Rubio defeating Governor Charlie Crist and Congressman Kendrick Meek to become Florida's newest U.S. Senator, and Bob Morris winning a full term as State Representative in Indiana's 84th House District.  It was mostly a successful day for the candidates I wanted to see elected.