With 40 percent of the vote, Secretary of State candidate Beth White accepted her defeat to Connie Lawson at the Westin Hotel in Indianapolis, hugging her 5-year-old son Nathaniel before taking the stage.
“Politics is the art of the possible,” White said. “It is possible to solve the problems the state of Indiana has. I wanted to be your Secretary of State.”
About two weeks leading up to the election, White was called out by the Indiana Republican Party for not having a financial disclaimer on certain campaign literature, a felony in the state.
White called it a “very small clerical ?mistake” and said she hadn’t anticipated an ?adverse effect on votes.
Earlier in the day Tuesday, White juggled her last push for votes with her current role as Marion County clerk, making sure all of the polling was smooth.
“I’ve essentially been doing two full-time jobs for about a year now,” she said. “It’s been hard.”
She said she had noticed a lack of energy from voters for this election up until about two weeks ago, when momentum started to ?ramp up.
White added that she felt hopeful for a win Tuesday night, but knew it could go either way.
“Indiana is a tough state for a Democrat,” she said. “I think we did a lot of good. We started a conversation people cared about.”
Indiana Democratic candidates and constituents alike, a crowd totaling more than 200, gathered at the Westin Hotel in downtown Indianapolis in anticipation as the voting results poured in.
They sipped on bottled beer and shook hands with old friends, wearing stickers and buttons supporting local judge, sheriff and congressman candidates. One group carried signs reading, “Say yes to Progress. We can do better.”
At about 7:30 p.m., Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz and Sen. Joe Donnelly spoke to the crowd, thanking them for their support.
Matt Tandy of Indianapolis was one of the earlier constituents to arrive Tuesday night, along with his son Matthew, a fourth grader at Fishback Creek Elementary.
Since Matthew’s school was a polling place today, his dad encouraged him to come along.
He said he didn’t really like it at first, but as more people started showing up, it got more ?exciting.
“I like kind of getting to see the numbers adding up,” Matthew said.
Ron Tolan, a Democrat from Indianapolis, wore a T-shirt supporting John Layton, who was re-elected as Marion County sheriff. He said he praised White’s support of marriage ?equality in the state.
“Since I’m gay, I’m all for that.”
As the night came to a close, White said she was not sure if she would run again. Tuesday night, her only plans were to spend some time with her ?husband and son.
“There is no shame in losing,” she said. “There’s only shame in refusing ?to play.”
