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Indiana's 6th Congressional District election, 2016
2018 →
← 2014
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November 8, 2016 |
May 3, 2016 |
Luke Messer  |
Luke Messer |
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Cook Political Report: Solid R[1] Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe R[2] Rothenberg & Gonzales: Safe R[3] |
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The 6th Congressional District of Indiana held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 8, 2016.
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Luke Messer (R) defeated Barry Welsh (D) and Rich Turvey (L) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Messer defeated Charles Johnson Jr. and Jeff Smith in the Republican primary, while Welsh defeated Danny Basham, George Thomas Holland, Bruce Peavler, and Ralph Spelbring to win the Democratic nomination. The primary elections took place on May 3, 2016.[4][5][6]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Indiana law requires a closed primary, where a voter must be affiliated with a party to vote in that party's primary. This includes if they voted for a majority of that party’s candidates in the last general election or plan to in the upcoming election. However, it is possible for any voter to vote in any party's primary so long as they meet this criteria.
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Luke Messer (R), who was first elected in 2012.
Indiana's 6th Congressional District takes in a large portion of eastern Indiana, including Bartholomew, Dearborn, Decatur, Delaware, Fayette, Franklin, Hancock, Henry, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio, Randolph, Ripley, Rush, Shelby, Switzerland, Union, and Wayne counties and a portion of Scott county.[7]
Election results
General election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Luke Messer Incumbent |
69.1% | 204,920 | |
| Democratic | Barry Welsh | 26.7% | 79,135 | |
| Libertarian | Rich Turvey | 4.2% | 12,330 | |
| Total Votes | 296,385 | |||
| Source: Indiana Division of Elections | ||||
Primary election
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Luke Messer Incumbent |
77.7% | 91,828 | ||
| Jeff Smith | 12.7% | 14,963 | ||
| Charles Johnson Jr. | 9.7% | 11,447 | ||
| Total Votes | 118,238 | |||
| Source: Indiana Secretary of State |
||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Barry Welsh |
35.6% | 15,258 | ||
| Danny Basham | 24.4% | 10,474 | ||
| George Holland | 20.6% | 8,851 | ||
| Bruce Peavler | 11.4% | 4,897 | ||
| Ralph Spelbring | 7.9% | 3,385 | ||
| Total Votes | 42,865 | |||
| Source: Indiana Secretary of State |
||||
Candidates
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General election candidates: Luke Messer   Barry Welsh Rich Turvey |
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Primary candidates:[8] |
|
Democratic George Thomas Holland[10] Bruce Peavler[10] Ralph Spelbring[10] Barry Welsh[10] |
Republican Charles Johnson Jr.[10] Jeff Smith[10] |
District history
2014
The 6th Congressional District of Indiana held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Luke Messer (R) defeated Susan Hall Heitzman (D) and Eric Miller (L) in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Luke Messer Incumbent |
65.9% | 102,187 | |
| Democratic | Susan Hall Heitzman | 29.3% | 45,509 | |
| Libertarian | Eric Miller | 4.8% | 7,375 | |
| Total Votes | 155,071 | |||
| Source: Indiana Secretary of State Official Results | ||||
2012
The 6th Congressional District of Indiana held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Luke Messer (R) won the election in the district.[11]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Brad Bookout | 35.1% | 96,678 | |
| Republican | Luke Messer |
59.1% | 162,613 | |
| Libertarian | Rex Bell | 5.8% | 15,962 | |
| Total Votes | 275,253 | |||
| Source: Indiana Secretary of State "House of Representatives Election Results" | ||||
Important dates and deadlines
- See also: Indiana elections, 2016
The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Indiana in 2016.
| Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Deadline | Event type | Event description |
| January 20, 2016 | Campaign finance | Annual 2015 campaign finance reports due |
| February 2, 2016 | Ballot access | Deadline for major party candidates for governor and the United States Senate to file petitions with county officials for verification |
| February 5, 2016 | Ballot access | Final filing deadline for major party candidates running in the primary |
| April 15, 2016 | Campaign finance | Pre-primary reports due |
| May 3, 2016 | Election date | Primary election |
| June 30, 2016 | Ballot access | Deadline for independent and minor party candidates to file petitions with county officials for verification |
| July 5, 2016 | Ballot access | Filing deadline for write-in candidates |
| July 15, 2016 | Ballot access | Filing deadline for independent and minor party candidates |
| October 21, 2016 | Campaign finance | Pre-election reports due |
| November 8, 2016 | Election date | General election |
| Source: Indiana Election Division, "2016 Indiana Election Calendar," accessed November 25, 2015 Alaska Public Offices Commission, "APOC Annual Calendar," accessed November 25, 2015 | ||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Indiana, 2016
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2016
Footnotes
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2016 House Race Ratings for July 11, 2016," accessed July 19, 2016
- ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2016 House," accessed July 18, 2016
- ↑ Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report, "House Ratings," accessed July 19, 2016
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "May 3, 2016 Primary Election," accessed February 8, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Indiana Primary Results," May 3, 2016
- ↑ Indiana Secretary of State, "November 8, 2016 General Election," accessed September 6, 2016
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Counties by Congressional Districts," accessed June 8, 2016
- ↑ Candidates are listed by party and alphabetically within each party.
- ↑ Email submission to Ballotpedia, January 8, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 Indiana Secretary of State, "May 3, 2016 Primary Election," accessed February 8, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "2012 Election Map," accessed August 15, 2012
For information about public policy issues in the 2016 elections, see: Public policy in the 2016 elections!
