Last week saw votes being cast and counted across the country, and St. Joseph County was no exception. Our area saw many tight races across the board, but the Republican party came away from Tuesday with some big wins in a typically Democratic region of the state. Let’s take a look at some of the results.

   One of the more interesting races to watch this year was the coroner race between Dr. Patti Jordan and former police officer Michael McGann. Despite the race’s seemingly smaller position, it was a race that many in St. Joseph County paid attention to, while yard signs for Jordan or McGann dotted the landscape. In the end, Patti Jordan prevailed by a tight margin of just over 2,000 votes, or a 2% margin. The 3 District Commissioner seats were also nearly as tight, but Republicans Mark Root, Derek Dieter, and Deb Fleming all won out over their Democratic opponents of Tami Springer, Oliver Davis, and Hodge Patel, respectively. In the Indiana State House of Representatives race, Democrat Ryan Dvorak won a convincing race over Timothy Jaycox for the District 8 House seat, while Republican Jake Teshka did the same over in District 7, defeating Ross Deal. District 5 was far closer, but Republican Dale DeVon defeated Dr. Don Westerhausen by a slim margin of just 426 votes. In the Indiana State Senate races, Republicans won big with Ryan Mislher’s 50 percentage point margin in District 9, and Mike Bohacek’s 18 percentage point margin in District 8. 

   On a more national and statewide level, results were also in the favor of the GOP. Jackie Walorski won our Congressional District with a victory over Pat Hackett, while Todd Rokita won the state Attorney General race over Democrat Jonathan Weinzapfel. Governor Holcomb also won reelection despite third party candidate Donald Rainwater splitting some votes thanks to his hard stance against restrictions to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The state of Indiana once again did send its eleven electoral votes to Donald Trump, but St. Joseph county was a win for eventual President-elect Joe Biden. 

   At the end of the day, voting is a fundamental American right that all of us are blessed to have. While the focus of voting often goes to the Presidential race, it is extremely important that we vote for local leaders who we believe will make an impact in the community that we live in and want to see prosper. Make sure to pay attention to the next election cycle Saint Joe!