The Indiana primaries--armchair quarterback time!

So the polls have closed and the results are in, and now it's time for people with too much time on their hands--particularly those named Chris Kaelin--to armchair quarterback the primaries. So here I go, from the top, with thanks to whas11.com:

US Senate: I'm really not surprised that Dan Coats won for the Republicans. What does surprise me was that John Hostetler came in third; I was expecting a close race between them, but instead Marlin Stutzman finished a (distant) second. No information on the Democratic side.

US House, 9th District: I figured Baron Hill would win the Democratic primary. I just didn't think he'd slaughter the competition. I hear they're still cleaning up the blood. . .and I also expected Todd Young to win on the Republican side, but two things there surprise me: 1) Sodrel conceded, and 2) Travis Hankins did a LOT better than I thought he would. Probably a lot better than a lot of people thought he would. I for one am very happy that the November general won't be Hill-Sodrel like it has been since. . .what year is it? I think the 9th District general election will be close. Very close. I'd keep an eye on this one.

State House District 46: OK, I admit I was torn on this one. Ron Grooms is a Galligan yes-man--although he IS an approachable Galligan yes-man--but Lee Ann Wiseheart's political experience was on the New Albany-Floyd County School Board. (Although Todd Young had no experience and he won the 9th District Republican primary. . .) This one more or less boiled down to, which Republican is going to face Chuck Freiberger, who I think is going to give his challenger--Grooms, by a nose hair--a serious run for their money, and on a personal note, Chuck's brother was my teacher at Prosser. I'd watch this one, too.

The following races, from Auditor to County Council, were all Democratic races, except County Council District 4.

Clark County Auditor: I figured Mike Hall would win this one, if anything just off of name recognition. But he WAS mayor of Charlestown. . .

Clark County Treasurer: No surprises here: Janet Hurst massacred Pepper Cooper. She was Shirley Nolot's chief deputy for how long? And this wasn't just a political victory; Janet Hurst has been treasurer since Shirley passed away. I think this was just as much a win in Shirley's honor. Note to Pepper: Your kid had a higher percentage of votes in her race. Ya might wanna reconsider politics. . .

Clark County Commissioner: I'm not surprised that Mike won--and by the way, I am tickled pink that he won, he's a good man and he's done right by this county, it's not his fault that he serves with a couple of goobers. What I AM surprised about is that Leuthart had such a large margin over Perkins, although that pleases me, too.

Clark County Council, District 2: This is the race I was referencing when I made my note to Pepper Cooper. Dana Culpepper Cooper lost, but her 28% of the total votes sure looked better than her dad's 22%. No major surprises here.

County Council, District 3: I don't know enough about these two, either. No surprises here.

County Council, District 4: OK, I AM surprised here. I figured David Abbott would've won here. I'm not complaining, though.

The Greater Clark School Board races: I'm gonna lump all three of these together and shout out PRAISE THE LORD! The Kevin Satterly-Randy Burton race was fairly close, and my money was honestly on Burton, although either candidate would've been better than their predecessor. And the Nancy Kraft-Bob McEwen race for District 4 was closer than I thought it would be. Bye-bye, Bob. What really surprised me was that Mark Pavey wiped the floor with Missy DeArk. I guess when you can be downright hateful towards people like Missy DeArk could get--frequently at times--it's gonna come back to hurt you. Either way, I think Satterly, Kraft, and Pavey will do quite well. I honestly feel much better about the Greater Clark School Board tonight. I hope Robbie Valentine's worried.

The Clarksville Tax Referendum: Now this sucks. All I'm going to say is, I hope Clarksville Community Schools keeps trying--and I'm sure they will.

As a side note, noone, democrat or republican, ran against Danny Rodden for Clark County Sheriff. This is good; he's done a good job in my opinion. And another note--the wife and son of Mike Deatrick ran in several Harrison County primaries. They lost. Any surprises?