Baird wins 4th term in District 44

Capturing all but two of Putnam County 's 31 precincts, incumbent Republican Jim Baird rolled to victory to retain his District 44 seat in the Indiana House of Representatives.

Baird defeated first-time Democrat challenger Kim Fidler by taking 66 percent of the Putnam County vote in a 9,629-4,928 triumph that sends the Greencastle Republican back to the Statehouse for a fourth two-year term.

Baird came out on the short end in only two City of Greencastle precincts -- Second West and Third West.

Second West proved to be quite the election outlier as it was the first set of results posted on the courthouse chart kept by the League of Women Voters and gave Fidler an early 64-vote lead at 330-266.

But the handwriting was on the wall by the time Fidler posted her second and final precinct triumph in Third West six precincts later. At that point the Baird lead had already climbed to more than 100 votes.

Baird's biggest victories came in Floyd East and Floyd West, a pair of GOP strongholds in the Heritage Lake area, that produced 627-222 and 609-206 margins, respectively.

In the other four counties of District 44 Baird won big as well, capturing nearly 69 percent of the vote overall.

He took Parke County by a 879-303 margin, Clay in a 1,771-753 outcome, Morgan by a 4,732-1,595 margin and Owen County by a vote of 915-494.

"I'm very humbled by the results, very appreciative," Baird told the Banner Graphic. "I look forward to going ahead and continuing to represent District 44."

Baird admitted that in this election year with its tumultuous election climate, he didn't fully know what to expect and he didn't take anything for granted.

He said he heard a lot of concern and frustration expressed by the people of District 44.

"I worked at it the way I thought we should," he said of his fourth successful campaign for the statehouse.

"You know I love this country" Baird said, "and I care about the people and the kids and our grandkids and want them to be able to live the kind of life we've had."

Fidler, however, noted that regardless of how the election turned out, more people are aware and paying attention to issues like education.

"It's been a very positive thing regardless of the outcome," Fidler stressed.

"I'm not giving up," she said, vowing to keep legislators like Rep. Baird accountable. "I'll keep going to the statehouse and to the Legislative Breakfasts.

"I'll keep fighting for what I believe in."

Fidler said she knew going into the race it would be an uphill battle in a Republican-dominated area against a three-time incumbent.

"I really kind of did know that," she admitted. "I've been at the statehouse, it's so gerrymandered. It's sad, but not a shock. It's a tough area, I knew that."

Fidler said she is not sorry she ran and hasn't decided about a second go at it.

"It was an awesome experience," she said, "and I met some great people who had faith in me and supported me.

"I am most sad for public education and working men and women in the state. Things aren't going well for them, and it's not going to be getting any better."

Baird wasn't the only area legislator to dominate Tuesday.

Republican John Crane easily won the District 24 State Senate seat over Libertarian candidate Kevin Rogers.

Crane, who carried Putnam County by a 6,356-1,184 margin (84.3 percent), really did the heavy lifting in the May GOP primary when he ousted incumbent Pete Miller.

Meanwhile, Rodric Bray was unopposed for the District 37 State Senate seat.

In a Republican sweep Tuesday night, Putnam County voters mimicked the rest of Indiana, voting in favor of Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton for president by a 10,637-3,356 margin for 72 percent of the local vote.

Only a Clinton victory in Greencastle's Third West precinct kept Trump from a complete sweep of Putnam's 31 precincts. She even lost Clinton Township by more than a four-to-one margin.

In the U.S. Senate race, Republican Todd Young clobbered Evan Bayh (D) by a 9,510-4,319 margin in Putnam County, while in the governor's race Eric Holcomb (R) beat John Gregg (D) by more than 4,000 votes locally, 9,904-5,049.

Putnam voters also opted for Curtis Hill (R) over Lorenzo Arredondo (D) for state attorney general. Hill polled the most Putnam votes among all contested candidates in a 10,974-3,204 triumph.

Incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz, a Democrat, was ousted by Republican Jennifer McCormick, who produced a Putnam County victory margin of 9,326-5,109.

Republican Todd Rokita won a new term as 4th District U.S. congressman, turning back Democrat John Dale with a Putnam margin of 10,499-3,318.

Putnam voters also went with "Yes" on Public Question No. 1 concerning hunting and fishing rights being protected in the state constitution, voting overwhelming 9,528-2,405 for nearly 80 percent of the tally.

Overall, 59.61 percent of Putnam County registered voters participated in the election, including 3,749 who voted a straight Republican ticket and 817 Democrats who did likewise.