Published: November 05, 2008 01:03 am         

Vigo picks presidential winner again

Vigo County voters chose Democrat Sen. Barack Obama as president, maintaining its status as a “bellwether” county, picking the winner in every presidential election since 1892 with only two exceptions.

The percentage of the vote from Vigo County compared with a national percentage vote was still not clear Tuesday evening, with Vigo County voters selecting Obama with 57 percent of the vote to 41 percent for Republican Sen. John McCain.

Vigo County voters cast 24,924 ballots for Obama, with 18,067 for McCain. There were 522 votes for Libertarian Bob Barr and 199 write-in votes. The final vote numbers are not official until certified by the Vigo County Election Board.

Indiana Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels was selected by Vigo County voters for a second term, gaining 21,874 votes, or 50.5 percent of the vote, to 20,375 for Democrat Jill Long Thompson. Libertarian Andrew Horning got 1,008 votes, or 2.3 percent. There were 20 write-in votes.

Other Vigo County totals show the race for attorney general had Democrat Linda Pence receiving 22,859 votes to 18,316 for Republican Greg Zoeller. For state superintendent of schools, Democrat Richard D. Wood received 22,921 or 57 percent of the vote to Republican Tony Bennett at 17,250. There were 31 write-in votes.

For U.S. Congress District 8, incumbent Rep. Brad Ellsworth received 29,671 votes or 69 percent of the vote, while Republican Greg Goode tallied 13,303. There were 23 write-in votes.

In state representatives races for Vigo County, for District 42, Rep. F. Dale Grubb was unopposed, getting 2,635 votes. In District 43, incumbent Rep. Clyde Kersey got 12,927 votes, while Republican Ryan J. Cummins garnered 9,894.

In District 44, Democrat Nancy A. Michael polled 544 votes; Republican Amos P. Thomas 356 and Libertarian Darrell Goldman, 35. District 45 had Democrat Rick Marshall with 1,702 votes and Republican incumbent Rep. Bruce A. Borders with 1,272.

District 46 had Democrat incumbent Rep. Vern Tincher with 6,464 votes and Republican challenger Bob Heaton with 5,959.

In Superior Court Judge Division 2, Democrat Phillip I. Adler ran unopposed with 31,989 votes. For Superior Court Judge Division 5, Democrat Michael R. Rader had 23,636 while Republican Daniel W. Kelly had 18,216.

For Clerk of the Circuit Court, Patricia R. Mansard got 27,810 votes while Republican Bill Treadway had 13,737.

For Vigo County auditor, Democrat Timothy M. Seprodi was unopposed, gaining 31,356 votes. For county recorder, Democrat Nancy S. Allsup tallied 26,486 while Republican Bruce H. Royer got 14,049.

David R. Crockett ran unopposed for Vigo County treasurer, gaining 31,716 votes. Dr. Roland Kohr ran unopposed for county coroner, with 32,553 votes. Democrat Judith Anderson polled 31,018 votes in her unopposed race for county commissioner.

Democrat incumbent Paul Mason took in 22,343 votes over Republican challenger Brad Anderson’s 19,090 votes for District 3 commissioner.

In the race for Vigo County Council, three Democrats took the top three spots for three open seats: Mark D. Bird, 25,106 votes; William C. Bryan, 21,278; and Ed Ping, 20,741. The bottom three vote getters were Republicans Tim Hennessy with 13,112; Angela Miller-Treadway with 14,476 and Mike Morris with 17,404.

In a race for school board District 1, Mel Burks received 19,253 votes, Larry Faulkner 11,383 votes and Jacqueline Lower, 24,321 votes. For District 3 School Board, Donald V. Gamble won with 10,741 votes over Paul G. Lockhart’s 20,714.

To retain Supreme Court Justice Shepard, the vote was 20,581 yes and 10,409 no; retain Justice Boehm was 19,951 yes and 10,564 no; retain Justice Dickson with 20,226 yes and 10,145 no; retain Justice Darden with 20,129 yes and 10,190 no; retain Justice Fisher with 20,027 yes and 10,481 no.

In the local Public Question No. 1, 6,587 voted yes to move the duties of Harrison Township Assessor to the county assessor, while 9,506 voted not to move the duties out of the township.

Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.