With Indiana’s primary races now in the rearview mirror and nominees in place for the general election, both the Allen County Republicans and Democrats are looking ahead to November.
Allen County Republican Chairman Steve Shine said even with contested primaries for mayor and city council, he is excited about GOP enthusiasm
“The Republicans had more votes meaning people came out to vote for the Republican Party out of enthusiasm even though there were fewer contested races to vote for,” Shine said.
Shine said that enthusiasm will carry over to November and help Republicans to not only beat four-term incumbent Mayor Tom Henry but also expand the Republican majority on the city council.
“That, to me, shows that if we still do a little bit more elbow grease and hard work, we’re going to defeat a 20-year mayor,” Shine said. “We have three superstars in Marty Bender, Luke Fries and Tom Freistroffer. To show you the strength of their candidacies, it’s the first time in the history of my chairmanship, over thirty years, that the city council at large seats were not contested.”
Allen County Democratic Party chair Derek Camp said the momentum is good for the general election in November.
“I’m ready to get to work,” Camp said. “We have a great ticket forming now that we’ve got them decided and it is setting us on a very good foundation to win back this majority, re-elect the mayor and flip that city clerk position.”
All of the Democratic candidates for Fort Wayne City Council-At-Large are women, as well as the candidates for the second, fourth and sixth districts. Camp said this is a good sign for things to come.
“I think it is going to be a huge shift in how things are getting done here,” Camp said. “It is going to be a very strong ticket.”
Candidates on both sides will now spend the next six months campaigning for your votes for the November general election which is on November 7.
