By Jerry Curry, Staff Writer
An election night watch party was held in Seymour at the Jackson Live and Event Center for United States Congresswoman Erin Houchin. It started at 6:30 p.m. and ended at 10 p.m.
The night started off with appetizers and a dinner.
Graham Houchin was the early entertainment, singing and playing the guitar. After his performance, Congresswoman Houchin announced she would be back later and thanked everyone for coming.
A very large television kept indexing the national results, while a small tv kept up with the local results. The incumbent never trailed her opponents, Democrat Timothy Peck and Russel Brookbank from the Libertarian Party.
Just before 8 p.m., Houchin took the stage again and announced that the race had been called in her favor.
Mike Braun was also announced as the winner in his race for Governor of Indiana, defeating Democrat Jennifer McCormick and Donald Rainwater from the Libertarian Party. At that time Houchin had 71% of the votes. Later this was adjusted to 65% of the votes, almost double the votes that her opponent Timothy Peck received.
In her home of Washington County, she received an astonishing 76.3% of the vote. The only county in the Ninth District that Peck won was Monroe County (Bloomington), where he received 60.3 % of the vote. Peck is an emergency physician who lives in New Washington in rural Clark County.
When asked about her aspirations in the future, considering her resounding victory, she replied, “My goal is to serve the people in southeast Indiana.” When asked about where she would be in two years she said probably in the House of Representatives. Her policy stances are similar to those of U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump—strong U.S./Mexico border, strong economy and personal protection, to name a few.
In closing, Houchin mentioned that the hard-working people of Indiana had been forgotten. She also recognized her supporters and family.
Also attending the election watch party was one of the newly-elected Washington County Council Members At-Large, Todd Armstrong. He is the father of Parker Armstrong, who is the press secretary for Houchin.
Staff photos by Jerry Curry
From left: Mason, Todd and Parker Armstrong. Todd was elected Washington County Council Member At-Large Tuesday evening.