14,795 vote in Monroe County primary

During Monroe County’s primary election Tuesday, 16.87 percent of Monroe County residents voted, casting 14,795 ballots.

Receiving 64.26 percent of the votes in Monroe County, Republican presidential candidate and former governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney will run against President Barack Obama in November’s general election. Romney received 5,325 votes in Monroe County on the GOP Ticket.

Trailing Romney in second place was Ron Paul, who received 19.21 percent of the vote with 1,592 ballots cast in his favor.

In Indiana’s heavily contested race for United States Senate, 36-year incumbent Richard Lugar was ousted by state Treasurer Richard Mourdock, who garnered 50.86 percent of the vote.

Lugar, who was running for his sixth term as U.S. Senate, received 49.14 percent of the vote, 50 votes fewer in Monroe County than Mourdock. Mourdock is backed by the Tea Party and appealed to Indiana voters who considered themselves extremely
conservative.

In November’s general election, Mourdock will face Indiana’s Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Rep. Joe Donnelly.

Even before the final tally was in, news sources from across the country were reporting Lugar’s defeat. According to the Associated Press, Lugar said he hopes Mourdock wins in November’s general election.

Shelli Yoder, 1992 Miss Indiana and associate director of professional development at the IU Kelley School of Business, beat four other Democrats in the primary election for southern Indiana’s 9th-District seat.

Yoder, a newcomer to the political scene, will challenge Republican 9th
District U.S. Rep. Todd Young in November.

Even before the final results were in, members of the Monroe County Democratic Party began hanging a sign that said, “Shelli Yoder for Congress” above the doorway of a small, white, two-story house on College Ave.

During the primary election, Monroe County Clerk Linda Robbins said there was light voter turnout Tuesday morning, but it picked up throughout the day. Overall, Robbins said the election was “excellent.”

Prior to the primary election, Democratic candidate for County Commissioner Randy Paul raised concerns that several polling locations were not compliant with the Help America Vote Act, along with the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, he did not follow with his plans to contest the election results for County Commissioner.

“I have felt nervous the past few weeks that if I contested the election results, it would turn the focus of the debate on me personally and not the broader concern on what is best for the community,” Paul said in a press release. “I think adding another election drama so soon after the problems we faced only a few months ago in the Municipal Elections, it would raise serious questions whether the Democratic Party can effectively govern and conduct a fair election. In this case, the negatives of contesting the election outweighed the positives.”

Robbins said one individual did complain about the lack of handicap-accessible parking at the National Guard Armory. However, she said, the armory did have parking available for those with disabilities. It was locations at schools, she said, that were in question.

For a complete list of Tuesday's primary election results, click here.