Democrats won big in Indiana Tuesday night, breaking a 14-year Republican supermajority in the state House of Representatives, electing the state's first openly gay U.S. representative, and electing a Democratic attorney general for the first time in 14 years.
Republican House Speaker Todd Huston conceded his race for reelection Wednesday morning. He lost to Democrat Lauren Cole.
Cole won 51.5% of the vote for the race in the 37th District in Hamilton County north of Indianapolis, compared with 48.4% for Huston.
In the 19th District in Northwest Indiana, Republican incumbent state Rep. Julie Olthoff (R-Crown Point) was trailing behind Democratic challenger Nicholas Neal, but there was not report Wednesday morning that she had conceded.
Also in Northwest Indiana, Republican incumbent Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso) was down against Democrat Ryan Kominakis.
In the 24th District north of Indianapolis, Republican incumbent Hunter Smith a former NFL football player, lost to Democrat Racheal Bleicher. In the 25th District jut to the west, incumbent Republican Becky Cash lost to Democrat Tiffany Stoner in a rematch.
In the 40th District west of Indianapolis, Democrat William Colteryahn beat Republican incumbent Greg Steuerwald. In the 62nd District in south central Indiana, Democrat Amy Huffman Oliver beat incumbent Republican Rep. Dave Hall. In the 84th District, which includes part of Fort Wayne, Democrat Misti Meehan beat Republican incumbent Rep. Bob Morris.
In the 39th District near Indianapolis, incumbent Republican Rep. Daniel Lopez was down to Democrat Lindsay Gramlich. In the 88th District in central Indiana, Democrat Stephanie Jo Yocum was ahead of incumbent Republican Rep. Chris Jeter.
In the 90th District south of Indianapolis, Republican incumbent Andrew Ireland was down to Democrat David Lawrence Boyd. In the 91st nearby, Democrat Jarren Hurt was ahead of Republican incumbent Rep. Robert Behning. In the 93rd, which includes parts of Indianapolis, Republican incumbent Rep. Julie McGuire was behind Democrat Eva Rosberg.
Some other races were too close to call Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, the Democrats gained a seat in the Indiana congressional delegation. J.D. Ford won the race for the 5th Congressional District seat, which is located north of Indianapolis and includes Muncie, Marion, Anderson, and Kokomo. Ford defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz.
Ford won 51.7% of the vote, Spartz 48.3%.
Ford, now a state senator, will be the first openly gay member of Congress from Indiana.
The two sitting Democrats in Congress in Indiana won new terms with no trouble. Incumbent U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan (D-Indiana) easily won reelection in his Northwest Indiana district, while incumbent Rep. André Carson (D-Indiana), whose district includes most of Indianapolis, also won handily.
Mrvan got more than 60% of the vote in his Northwest Indiana district, and had the support of labor unions and steelworkers who make up the backbone of the economy in that section of the state.
Speaking to CBS News Chicago on Wednesday morning, Mrvan said in terms of priorities for his next term, lowering costs is top-of-mind — as constituents have reminded him "from the union halls to the grocery stores to people's porches."
"We have to hold the [Trump] administration accountable so we have an end to the war in Iran, so we can bring back down fuel costs. We must be able to do everything we can in Northwest Indiana to be able to lower our utility costs. And so first and foremost, we want to do that," Mrvan said. "And then nationally, we have to be able to do everything we can to bring unity to our country, end the chaos, and bring certainty to not only government agencies with budgets — I'm on the Appropriations Committee — but making sure we have a well-rounded approach towards government."
On the statewide level, Democrat Beau Bayh defeated Republican Max Engling in the race for Indiana Secretary of State. Bayh will become the first Democrat to win statewide in Indiana since 2012, when Joe Donnelly was elected to the U.S. Senate.
Bayh won 51.7% of the vote, while Engling won 42.7%.
Incumbent Diego Morales, a Republican, lost his bid for renomination at the state party convention in June.
"I think we worked extremely hard," Mrvan said of Bayh, whose father, Evan Bayh, served in the same office and later also as Indiana governor and as a U.S. Senator. "His father has a very great reputation, and he made a lot of connections and was successful."
Mrvan outlined what he hopes will be the path forward.
"Again, I believe that the people from Indiana want to make sure that we have good government that ends the chaos, listens to the people, and makes sure that we do everything we can to lower costs, and begin to have a little peace and love going on in our world," Mrvan said.
