Tuesday’s race in Indiana District 62 was close, but in the end it appears Republican incumbent Dave Hall edged ahead of Democratic challenger Thomas Horrocks of Bloomington.
Hall, a first-term representative who lives on a corn and soybean farm in northwest Jackson County, defeated political newcomer Horrocks by a narrow margin, according to non-final vote totals. The district covers the southern part of Monroe County, all of Brown County and Jackson County.
With a third of the votes cast before 9pm, Horrocks was in the lead with 63%. An hour later he still had 54% of the vote and by 10.30 on Tuesday evening Hall had taken the lead with 52% to Horrocks’ 48%.
Horrocks received 34% of the vote in Brown County. At 11 p.m., with half the votes in Jackson County, Horrocks had just 14% there. With 77% of the votes counted in Monroe County, Horrocks had 55%.
Hall narrowly won the District 62 seat in 2022 in a close race against Democrat Penny Githens of Bloomington, an outgoing Monroe County commissioner. A recount that included Monroe County’s 27 precincts in District 62, as well as ballots cast in Brown and Jackson counties, determined Hall won by 74 votes.
In District 46, incumbent Republican Bob Heaton defeated Monroe County Democrat Kurtis Cummings 2-1. The district includes Ellettsville, northeastern Monroe County, Owen County, half of Clay County and parts of Vigo County.
In District 60, which includes Washington and Benton townships in Monroe County and most of Morgan and Johnson counties, Republican incumbent Peggy Mayfield won another term by receiving about three-quarters of the vote.
With nearly half the votes as of 8:45 p.m., Democratic challenger Michelle Higgs of Monroe County was ahead with 75% of the vote. An Oct. 30 article in The Nation recognized Higgs as one of 12 rural candidates working to keep democracy alive at home.
But by 10:30 PM on Tuesday, most votes had been cast and the tide had turned: Mayfield had the upper hand with 76% of votes cast in her favor.
In Bloomington’s Indiana House District 61, incumbent Democrat Matt Pierce was unopposed and retained office.
Senate Sen. Shelli Yoder, incumbent Democrat from Bloomington, was unopposed and retained her seat.
In Indiana US House District 9, incumbent Republican Erin Houchin defeated Democratic challenger Timothy Peck. Libertarian Russell Brooksbank received about 2% of the vote.
Contact HT reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared in The Herald-Times: Incumbents for state office retain seats Hall defeats Horrocks
