Republicans gain one seat as Democrats retain supermajority on Indy City-County Council

Ko Lyn Cheang, Indianapolis Star
Updated ·3 min read

Indianapolis Republicans appear poised to gain one seat on the 25-member Indianapolis City-County Council after Tuesday's election, but the 19-6 split still leaves Democrats with a supermajority.

That seat Republicans picked up is District 23 on the southside, a newly drawn district won by newcomer Derek Cahill. The City-County Council passed a new map as part of the decennial redistricting process that added a district in the strongly Republican southside.

Cahill defeated Democratic candidate Ryan Hughey by 22 points as of Wednesday morning with 99 percent of vote centers reporting.

Cahill works in sales and is the Perry Township Republican Club president.

Other than Cahill's district, the status quo largely prevailed as every incumbent councilor who ran for reelection retained their seats.

The continued Democratic dominance, political experts said, is confirmation that Indianapolis has become solidly blue. Countywide, straight-party voters split for Democrats 65% to 35%.

Republican businessman Jefferson Shreve's challenge of Democratic Mayor Joe Hogsett could have created a coattail effect for GOP council candidates had Shreve mobilized more voters to show up for him, University of Indianapolis political expert Laura Wilson said. However, Hogsett took 60 percent of the vote.

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Two Republicans and eight Democrats were basically guaranteed four-year terms on the council starting in 2024 because they were uncontested.

Two of the unchallenged Democrats are newcomers: Rev. Dr. Carlos Perkins in District 6 on the northeast side in Pike Township and Ron Gibson in District 8, encompassing the Fairgrounds and Martindale-Brightwood neighborhoods.

Other new faces on the council will include Democrats Brienne Delaney, Jesse Brown, and Andy Nielsen, who ousted incumbent councilors in the May primary and won their elections Tuesday, as well as Gen-Z candidate Nick Roberts, who at 23, will be the youngest member on the Council.

As of Wednesday morning., with 99 percent of vote centers reporting, here are the results in the 15 contested races:

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District 2

Democratic candidate Brienne Delaney: 66 percent

Republican candidate Matt Hills: 34 percent

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District 3

Incumbent Democratic Councilor Dan Boots: 64 percent

Republican candidate Mark Forcum: 36 percent

District 4

Democratic candidate Nick Roberts: 54 percent

Republican candidate Natalie Goodwin: 46 percent

District 5

Incumbent Democratic Councilor Maggie Lewis: 76 percent

Republican candidate Theodore Blahnik: 24 percent

District 9

Incumbent Democratic Councilor Keith Graves: 84 percent

Republican candidate Christopher James Moore: 16 percent

District 13

Democratic candidate Jesse Brown: 78 percent

Libertarian candidate Elizabeth Glass: 22 percent

District 14

Democratic candidate Andy Nielsen: 66 percent

Republican candidate Brenda Bishop-Kyle: 34 percent

District 16

Incumbent Democratic Councilor Jessica McCormick: 53 percent

Republican candidate Julie Calvert-Watts: 47 percent

District 17

Incumbent Democratic Councilor Jared Evans: 52 percent

Republican candidate Lisa Schmitz: 48 percent

District 18

Incumbent Democratic Councilor Kristin Jones: 75 percent

Republican candidate Mark Renholzberger: 25 percent

District 19

Incumbent Democratic Councilor Frank Mascari: 60 percent

Republican candidate Terry Trent: 40 percent

District 20

Democratic candidate William Jackson: 47 percent

Incumbent Republican Councilor Michael-Paul Hart: 53 percent

District 21

Democratic candidate Phil Webster: 38 percent

Incumbent Republican Councilor Josh Bain: 62 percent

District 23

Democratic candidate Ryan Hughey: 39 percent

Republican candidate Derek Cahill: 61 percent

District 24

Democratic candidate Dominique Davie: 34 percent

Incumbent Republican Councilor Mike Dilk: 66 percent

Contact IndyStar reporter Ko Lyn Cheang at kcheang@indystar.com or 317-903-7071. Follow her on Twitter: @kolyn_cheang.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis City-County Council election: Republicans gain a seat