Republican Mike Pence defeated Democrat Melina Fox andLibertarian Chad Roots Tuesday to embark on his third term asIndiana's 6th Congressional District representative.
With 31 percent of the precincts reporting, Pence won easilywith 68 percent of the votes compared with Fox's 31 percent andRoots's 1 percent.
The 6th district includes parts of 19 Eastern Indiana counties,including Delaware County.
Pence said he is pleased to continue serving Indiana's 6thdistrict and is humbled by what appears to be not only a victory,but a mandate for the conservative leadership of EasternIndiana.
"When people look at our record of service, they will see thatwe have done what we said we will do," Pence said at the ParamountTheatre in Anderson.
The 45-year-old Columbus resident took office in 2001 andfocused on a variety of issues including the economy, agriculture,health care and education, according to his Web site.
Pence said he wants to expand economic opportunities and jobsthroughout the region for graduates of Ball State, Indiana andPurdue universities. His campaign also centered on nationalsecurity and moral integrity.
Pence said he supported George W. Bush in his decision to go towar in Afghanistan and Iraq and has worked directly with members ofthe House Armed Services Committee to ensure that soldiers overseashad the equipment necessary to win the war on terror.
Pence, who is married and has three children, strove to move aconstitutional amendment that would define marriage as the unionbetween a man and a woman and helped draft legislation banningpartial-birth abortion.
"We promise to carry traditional, conservative ideals of thepeople of East Indiana to Washington," Pence said.
Fox, who watched the poll results from her home in Greensburg,said she was pleased with the way both campaigns were run.
"I think it was great for both of us," Fox said. "We always runa very issues-oriented campaign. We never attack one another, and Ithink that says a lot for us."
Fox, 53, has served by gubernatorial appointment on the State ofIndiana's Intelenet Commission and served on the Indiana DemocraticParty state committee during the Bill Clinton administration.
Fox, who ran against Pence in 2002, said she ran against Pence asecond time because she wanted to address the lack of jobs andaffordable health care in Indiana. Fox said she hopes Pence willaddress these two issues upon resuming office.
Roots, 26, said Pence had the largest margin in the race becausehe raised the most money for his campaign.
"I think Mike is well respected and is considered the goldenchild of the 6th district," Roots said at his home in Muncie."Overall, I think Mike Pence has not taken the challengersseriously, and he hasn't devoted nearly the amount of money he hasstockpiled."
Roots, who graduated from Ball State in 2002 with a master's inbusiness administration, said he ran for the 6th CongressionalDistrict to create more awareness for the Libertarian Party.
Ball State junior Kelly Bryan voted for the first time Tuesdayand was glad to be able to vote in the race for staterepresentative.
"Representatives have a lot of impact on our lives, and theseare the races where you really feel that impact personally," Bryansaid. "Gas prices, taxes -- they are things we as college studentsfeel very much. You really need to make your voice heard."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
