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Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

Statehouse stays red after Pence win

ciPence

INDIANAPOLIS — About 3,000 Indiana Republicans awaited results of the gubernatorial race in Lucas Oil Stadium Tuesday night expecting to celebrate the victory of Gov.-elect Mike Pence against Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Gregg and Libertarian candidate Rupert Boneham.

“I think it’s a victory for the Republican party and especially Mike Pence,” supporter Raju Chinthala said early in the evening. “We’re here to celebrate the good news for our next governor.”

At about 10 p.m., the crowd cheered as Pence was officially declared the next governor of Indiana. As of midnight, Pence earned 49.7 percent of the vote to Gregg’s 46.4 percent, the New York Times reported.

“We did it,” Pence said after walking on stage to a standing ovation from the crowd. “And we are profoundly humbled by the confidence that’s been placed in us.”

Pence stressed the importance of “taking Indiana from good to great,” and making it clear to others that Indiana is a “state that works.

“Tonight, a campaign season ends,” Pence said. “And tomorrow, a season of service begins.”

For New Palestine, Ind., resident Josh Poorbaugh, who attended the Indiana Republican election night party with his wife, it wasn’t difficult to decide between the gubernatorial candidates.

Gov. Mitch Daniels did a great job in the office, Poorbaugh said, and he was confident Pence was capable of following Daniels’ work.

“I didn’t ever really think Gregg was close to where Pence was,” Poorbaugh said.
Throughout the campaign trail, voters from both sides of the aisle predicted a victory for Pence, political science professor Gerald Wright said Monday.

Wright said two major factors made it difficult for Gregg to compete with Pence in the gubernatorial race: Indiana’s position as a Republican state and the reputation Pence earned during his congressional run.

“Indiana is a Republican voting state in state-wide elections these days,” he said.

Wright said big name-visibility plus partisanship equated an easy race for Pence.

“In a race like this, the challenger is almost doomed before it starts,” Wright said.

In the Howey-DePauw General election survey, which polled 800 likely Indiana voters on Sept. 19, 20 and 23, 45 percent reported they had never heard of Gregg.

Donors and volunteers, Wright said, were more willing to contribute time and money to other races in which campaign efforts were perceived to make a difference in the outcome.

As a result, Wright added, voters turned their attention to other races.

Although he was always fairly certain he would support Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and State Treasurer Richard Mourdock for U.S. Senate, Poorbaugh said the senate and presidential races produced more drama than the gubernatorial race.

Wright said he predicts that as Daniel’s successor, Pence will push social issues more fervently than the current Indiana governor.

“Pence hasn’t campaigned on them as much as we expected him to,” Wright said. “So we’ll have to see what he does in office.”

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