Blue wave comes ashore in red Indiana

The blue wave that struck Tuesday night nationwide also hit in parts of normally red Indiana.

Democrats picked up an additional Congressional seat and won the party's first statewide race in 14 years, when Beau Bayh won the race for Indiana secretary of state.

U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan won re-election Tuesday night and his 4th overall term to Washington to represent Northwest Indiana, a historically blue district.

Mrvan beat out Republican challenger Barb Regnitz in a traditionally Democrat-leaning district targeted last year by President Trump. As in other states, Trump had pushed state lawmakers to draw new congressional district lines that would help Republicans gain seats in Congress, but the General Assembly voted that down.

“I'm connected to the district. I believe that fighting for lower fuel costs when it comes to gasoline and diesel. Voting for the War Powers Act to make sure the (Trump) administration has a strategy was something that was a difference maker,” Mrvan said Wednesday. “We spent a lot of time knocking on doors, in union halls talking to union members. I just think we were able to connect and I understand that our district wants results. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us.”

One of the first things Mrvan wants to tackle once the Democratic majority is sworn in next year is reducing fuel costs for families and farmers.

“The farmers are getting crushed by the diesel costs for their combines and to move goods, which means our grocery costs are going to go up,” Mrvan said. “We've got to get a handle on our costs, and we've got to end — and have a strategic plan to end — the war in Iran.”

A member of the House Appropriations Committee, Mrvan pushed for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to investigate NIPSCO due to the power outages that occurred after a storm hit Northwest Indiana in August. The storm knocked out power to thousands of residents, and power to some areas, including many in Gary, was not restored for weeks.

As a member of the committee, Mrvan helps set the budget for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Following the storm, President Trump declared Indiana a federal disaster area, which provided emergency funding to some residents.

Mrvan will join two fellow Democrats in Congress; incumbent Rep. Andre Carson won re-election to his 7th District seat in Indianapolis and J.D. Ford won an unexpected victory over incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz in the 5th District, which includes the suburbs north of Indianapolis, once a reliably Republican area.

In that secretary of state's race, Bayh beat Republican Max Engling, 51.8% to 42.6%, with about 98% of the vote counted.

Bayh became the first Democrat to win a statewide office since 2012, and his victory came 40 years after his father, Evan Bayh, won that same office. Evan Bayh went on to serve as governor and in the U.S. Senate. Beau Bayh is continuing a political lineage that started with his grandfather, the late U.S. Sen. Birch Bayh.

Hoosier Democrats even broke the Indiana GOP’s 20-year supermajority in the General Assembly, flipping 10 seats in the Indiana House and picking up four seats in the Indiana Senate, which could make things a little more difficult for Republican Gov. Mike Braun.

“You elected over a dozen new Democratic legislators who are ready to hold Mike Braun’s administration accountable on day one. In January there will be more Hoosier Democrats serving in the state legislature than in decades," said Indiana Democratic Party chair Karen Tallian.

Tallian also touted Mrvan’s victory.

“No one works harder for the people of Northwest Indiana than Congressman Frank Mrvan. The reason Region voters keep sending him back to Congress with larger and larger margins is because they know he goes to work everyday to make life more affordable, stand up for the rights of working people, and ensure Northwest Indiana gets a fair shake,” Tallian said in a written statement.

Michael Puente is a reporter and weekend anchor for WBEZ. Reach him at [email protected].