A crowd of more than 200 spectators gathered Tuesday night at Damon's Grill with its attention focused on four big-screen televisions tuned to CNN.
Despite a large turnout at the Republican event, the night was a battle for the party as a whole.
Judge John M. Feick, Delaware County Circuit Court 4, was re-elected to his position after a close race with Democratic candidate Diane Frye.
Not all Republican candidates were as fortunate as Feick. County commissioner candidates Bob Wilson from District 1 and Tom Bennington from District 2 witnessed their losses among friends at Damon's.
Bennington said he was disappointed and surprised by the results.
"That's the way the process goes," Bennington said.
He served in the position as commissioner for four years and said that at the age of 71, it was time to move on.
Bob Wilson's son, Dave Wilson, said it was hard for Republican candidates to compete with Delaware County residents voting straight tickets down party lines.
Despite campaigning efforts, Ted Baker, state representative candidate from District 34, lost his race as well. Baker said he visited voters at Northside Middle School three times Tuesday, and he was impressed with Ball State University's student turnout and knows young people want to have their voices heard.
Delaware County Democrats said they were also impressed with Ball State students' voter turnout this election as well.
Democrat Kevin Nemeyer, who won county council at-large, said he saw 300 to 400 people still waiting in line to vote when polls closed at Precinct 10 at Northside High School. Most of those voters were Ball State students, he said.
Nemeyer, a Ball State alumnus, said he was enlightened by the conversations he had with students.
"I was surprised at how friendly and outgoing they were," he said. "They seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say."
Democrat John Dorer, who won county treasurer, campaigned at Northside Middle School for a half hour and said he wanted to thank students for participating in the election.
"I was just enthused and excited because there were so many Ball State students out there voting," Dorer said. "It's pretty awesome."
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