Hall victorious over Githens in District 62; Heaton handily defeats Cummings in District 46

Editor's note: The voting totals for the Nov. 8 election were updated Nov. 9 but remain preliminary until Nov. 18.

District 62 candidates: Penny Githens and Dave Hall

People in the southern part of Monroe County have a new representative in the Statehouse following Tuesday's General Election. Republican Dave Hall won with 50.1% of the vote.

Hall, a council member in Jackson County, and Democrat Penny Githens, commissioner in Monroe County, vied for the seat previously held by Republican Jeff Ellington, who moved to a different district.

District 62, which like other Statehouse districts was redrawn this summer, includes much of central and southern Monroe County along with all of Brown and part of Jackson counties.

In Monroe County, Githens received 57.34% of the vote and Hall received 42.66%. Githens fell behind in Brown (34%) and Jackson (14%) counties, garnering 49.9% districtwide. While awaiting results with fellow Democrats around 9 p.m. Tuesday night, Githens remained optimistic she could win. "I think we're going to pull it out in Monroe County," she said before knowing the final results. "I didn't expect to win in Brown County."

Hall attended a Republican Party event in Brown County, which he won by a large margin. He also received 878 votes in Jackson County, where he lives. While driving home Tuesday night, he said he was confident he would represent District 62.

"I've been working for a year to represent our district," he said. "Now I'm going to represent our district and begin the real work in the Statehouse.

"I want to thank Penny for running. I'm thrilled with the voter turnout that we had and I want to thank everyone for their support."

Githens raised about $127,000 for her campaign. Hall raised about $119,000 for his campaign.

Githens will retain her seat on the Monroe County Board of Commissioners. Githens said she's glad she ran and she enjoyed visiting with voters on Election Day. "I had a glorious day talking at the polls. I'm just grateful for everyone who came out and voted."

District 46 candidates: Bob Heaton and Kurtis Cummings

Democratic candidate and political newcomer Kurtis Cummings challenged long-standing Terre Haute Republican Bob Heaton, who has held his office since 2010.

Indiana House District 46 includes part of Monroe County, including Ellettsville and Stinesville, and parts of Owen, Clay, and Vigo counties.

Heaton, currently the majority whip and chair of the higher education ways and means subcommittee, is president of Heaton Financial Services in Terre Haute. He has raised about $61,000 this year, much more than his Democratic Party challenger. He could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.

Cummings, a former firefighter and co-owner of Switchyard Brewing in Bloomington, sponsored the party for Monroe County Democrats on Tuesday evening. He said he was watching other candidates' races more than his own, which he did not expect to win.

Cummings received 43.41% of the vote in Monroe County and 33.3% overall in the district counties. Heaton had 66.7% of the total vote.

Cummings said he would be happy "even if I don't win, as long as I close the gap from what it has been in the past." His goal is to begin building a path for another Democrat to try in two years. Cummings raised about $2,700 for his campaign.

"I wanted to run because no one else would," he explained. "As long as I close the gap, I'm happy. The midterms are so important and it affects everyone's lives."

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Statehouse race in District 62 a close race; Cummings loses in 46