The third time was the charm for Republican Ryan Lauer, who is the Republican nominee to represent the 59th District at the Indiana Statehouse.
Lauer emerged as the winner of a five-way primary race for the nomination with 36.5 percent of the votes in his third attempt seeking the office.
Lauer, a former Bartholomew County Council president, is seeking the seat formerly held by Rep. Milo Smith, R-Columbus, a six-term legislator who decided not to run for re-election this year.
JoAnne Flohr finished second with about 25 percent of the votes, while Allen K. Smith II was third with 16 percent, according to unofficial results from the Bartholomew County Clerk’s Office. County assessor Lew Wilson was fourth with 15 percent of the votes.
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John Counceller was fifth with 6 percent of votes. A sixth Republican candidate, Benjamin Chastain, received 1 percent of votes despite dropping out of the race, done too late to have his name removed from the ballot.
Lauer, surrounded by his wife Blair and their two daughters, spoke to Republicans gathered at the Hamilton Community Center and Ice Arena and thanked those who supported him.
“It’s been a wonderful experience,” Lauer said.
He also credited to his fellow candidates for running a good, spirited campaign and said he is now looking forward to the November election, where he will square off against Democrat Dale Nowlin, who won his party’s primary with 62 percent of the votes. Nowlin defeated challenger Mary Kohen, with 38 percent.
Flohr said she was disappointed in the results.
“I couldn’t have done any better or campaigned any harder than I did,” Flohr said. “I can still hold my head high. This isn’t the last of me.”
Nowlin, a Columbus North math teacher, had sought the Democratic nomination for the District 59 seat two years ago.
Nowlin thanked his supporters, saying he believes that his interaction with individual voters made a difference in the overall turnout and the victory.
He also thanked Kohen for running a good race, saying the opposition made him a better candidate that resulted in having to work harder and earlier than he would have in other circumstances.
Still, Nowlin said his focus is getting out his message to a broader audience ahead of the November general election.
“I would be a representative who is responsive to the needs of people,” he said.
In the District 57 race for state representative, incumbent Sean Eberhart bested fellow Republican Luke Campbell in Bartholomew County. The district covers Shelby County, a small portion of Bartholomew County and a small portion of Hancock County.
Eberhart, who has been a state representative for the district since 2006, received 911 votes in Bartholomew County, while Campbell received 492, according to unofficial results. Full results were not available at presstime.
The District 59 House race had Republican incumbent Jim Lucas looking to retain his seat, competing against fellow Republicans Nancy Franke and Charles Johnson. Lucas was first elected in 2012. The district represents portions of Bartholomew, Jennings, Jackson and Jefferson counties. Full results for that race also were not available at presstime.
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State Representative District 59
Benjamin Chastain (R); 126
John Counceller (R); 463
JoAnne Flohr (R); 1,835
Ryan Lauer (R); 2,683
Allen K. Smith II (R); 1,190
Lew Wilson (R); 1,085
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State Representative District 59
Mary Kohen (D); 953
Dale Nowlin (D); 1,541
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State Representative District 57
(Bartholomew County portion)
Luke Campbell (R); 492
Sean Eberhart (R); 911
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State Representative District 69
(Bartholomew County portion)
Nancy L. Franke (R); 53
Charles Johnson (R); 13
Jim Lucas (R); 88
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