By Joseph Johns | Echo
This round of primary elections in Indiana has heralded many unexpected "outsider wins" for candidates such as Bernie Sanders, who won the presidential primary election by a margin of 5.4 percent, or 34,000 votes, according to the New York Times.
Donald Trump came out with his 26th state primary victory in Indiana on Tuesday night, boasting 53.3 percent of Indiana's Republican votes. He did not visit Indiana to deliver a victory speech. The chairman of the Republican National Convention is now calling Trump the "presumptive GOP Nominee," according to CNN.
Out of the original 17 candidates, Donald Trump is the presumptive nominee. The GOP looks toward fending off Hillary Clinton in the general election this November. Clinton lost to Sanders in Indiana but is not dissuaded, as her delegate count (2,205) far outnumbers Sanders's (1,401). This places her within 178 delegates of gaining the Democratic presidential nomination, including the super-delegates.
May 3 also marked Indiana's congressional primaries for one Senate and nine House seats. Former U.S. Representative Todd Young vanquished his opponent, Representative Marlin Stutzman, by a margin of 67 percent to 33 percent, in the Republican primaries.
In November, Young will face Democratic candidate and former representative Baron Hill in the race to replace retiring senator Dan Coats as one of two Indiana Senators in Congress. Meanwhile, the House seat left behind by Todd Young is open for the taking by one of two challengers: Shelli Yoder, an Indiana University professor who won the Democratic primary race by a wide margin, or Joseph Albert Hollingsworth, who beat out a crowded Republican primary race.
Hollingsworth has only lived in Indiana for seven months, moving here directly before starting his congressional campaign. He pumped around $1 million of his own money into the race, financing attack ads against current Indiana state senator and opponent Erin Houchin. Houchin was the second-highest fundraiser in the race, garnishing over $500,000 from supporters, but she was easily outspent by Hollingsworth and the super PAC who was funded by Hollingsworth's father's company in Tennessee. Campaign statements reveal that Hollingsworth has a net value of nearly $58 million.
The Indianapolis Star reported that many of the ninth Congressional District GOP candidates attacked Hollingsworth as a rich carpetbagger out of touch with Hoosier values, taking advantage of the eligibility rules to buy a seat in Congress.
In less scandal-plagued races, candidates were also chosen for Indiana's eight other house congressional districts.
