It was a close and competitive race for Indiana House District 71, where three candidates battled it out to be the next representative in Indianapolis for residents in Clarksville, Jeffersonville and part of New Albany.
Unofficial results posted Wednesday morning by the Clark County Clerk’s Office showed Dant Chesser taking the win over Republican Scott Hawkins and Libertarian Greg Hertzsch.
Dant Chesser brought in 49.8% of the vote in Clark County; Hawkins got 46.4% and Hertzsch earned 3.8%. She also won in Floyd County, where District 71 represents a small portion of New Albany.
Dant Chesser was caucused into the seat in May after Democratic former Rep. Rita Fleming announced she was stepping down soon after running unopposed in the primary. She said that winning an election gives her more legitimacy in the seat.
“Having been caucused in was a wonderful opportunity to finish out Dr. [Rita] Fleming's term, but now that the electorate has said that I am their state representative, it’s quite overwhelming and humbling,” Dant Chesser said.
She’s eager to advance initiatives she started in her first few months. They include improvements to Medicaid and a legislation package aimed at improving government accountability.
“It's going to require building coalitions, having bipartisan conversations, and putting the needs of Hoosiers first,” she said.
She also said there needs to be healing in the community following the investigation and recent conviction of former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel.
“The healing comes into what our entire Southern Indiana community has been feeling over the last 12 months,” she said. “Are we getting the best representation? Can we trust our public servants to do what they're supposed to do? And how do we put the processes in place to ensure that everybody can feel the support and confidence that we're doing the right things?”
At the Clark County Republican watch party Tuesday night, early results showed Hawkins in the lead, but there were votes left to count.
Hawkins said then he was “cautiously optimistic,” but knew it was early. He said the final results could be close, like in the last election.
Hawkins narrowly lost to Fleming in 2022, after election night results showed him with a 35-vote lead, which the county clerk said was too close to call.
“Last time, we had our original result overturned, and this one feels [like it is] going to be that close again,” he said. “The district is just very much a toss-up district and the environment matters.”
Clark County Judges
Four of the six courts in Clark County were also on the ballots, though two were uncontested.
Republican Lisa Reger secured a significant win over Democrat Dustin White as the next Clark County Circuit Court No. 4 judge, garnering nearly 63% of the vote. There was enough of a vote spread for this race to be called during the Clark County Republican watch party Tuesday night, as many awaited late election results.
Circuit 4 has long been held by Democratic Judge Vicki Carmichael, who did not seek reelection this year. Reger is a former public defender and currently a magistrate judge in circuit 4, where she’s handled family and criminal cases, and presides over the Clark County Family Recovery Court. Circuit 4 also handles a portion of the county’s high-level felony and murder cases.
Reger said she knows she has big shoes to fill, following Carmichael, her mentor. But she said she’s ready to take up that mantle.
“I’m the type of person that surrounds myself with people who are smarter than me, so I will rely heavily on those who know more than I do if I have questions,” she said. “And…I will work my hardest to do my best for Clark County.”
“I have so many people that I can rely on, depend on to ask questions when I need some help.”
Republican Kyle Williams was elected to the bench in Clark County Circuit Court No. 6 over Democrat Andrea Wasson Stemle. The court is one of two created during the 2020 legislative session to help lessen the burden on the Clark County judicial system. The first judges were appointed in 2021.
Republican Judges Nick Karaffa will stay on the bench in Clark County Circuit Court No. 1. He was unopposed, as was Republican Abe Navarro in Clark County Circuit Court No. 5.
Here’s a roundup of local winners across Clark County:
Circuit Court 6 judge
Kyle P. Williams, Republican*- 55.5%
Andrea Wasson Stemle, Democrat - 44.5%
Circuit Court 4 judge
Lisa G. Reger, Republican - 62.6%
Dustin T. White, Democrat - 37.5%
Commissioners, District 1
Connie Sellers Republican* - 55.8%
Katie Morgan, Democrat - 39.6%
Larry J. Mahaney, Libertarian - 4.6%
Commissioners, District 2
Jack A. Coffman Sr., Republican* - 58.7%
Laura Mahan-Williamson, Democrat - 41.3%
County Council, at-large
Ron Blevins Sr., Republican - 21%
Chris Fox, Republican - 18.4%
Richard E. Snelling Jr., Republican - 18.3%
Christina Gilkey, Democrat - 17.2%
Jim Brewer, Democrat - 13.9%
Don Vogel, Democrat - 11.2%
Republican Aaron M. Scott ran unopposed in the general election for Clark County Coroner.
Greater Clark County Schools (nonpartisan)
District 2
Katie (Hutch) Hutchinson* - 55.5%
Tony Hall - 32.2%
James (Andre) Heal - 12.4%
District 5
Chelsea Crump - 67.6%
Kevin Paul, incumbent - Kevin Paul - 32.4%
These school board seats were not contested in Clark County:
Borden-Henryville School Corporation
District 1 — Adam Campbell
District 2 — Terry Roudenbush*
District 3 — Myra Wright Powell*
Clarksville Community Schools
District 1 — Lynn Wilson*
District 5 — Teresa Cummings*
Greater Clark County Schools
District 6 — Keith W. Freeman*
District 7 — Teresa Bottorff-Perkins*
Silver Creek School Corporation
District 1 — Chris Rountree*
District 2 — Scott Groan*
District 3 — Laurryn P. McDaniel*
Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify the outcome of the District 71 race in 2022.
Coverage of Southern Indiana is funded, in part, by Samtec Inc., the Hazel & Walter T. Bales Foundation, and the Caesars Foundation of Floyd County.
