Election has low turnout

Not many Jay County voters chose to participate in Tuesday's primary election.

But those that did were collectively decisive.

In an election that featured just a handful of local contests on the Republican side and even fewer on the Democratic ticket, suspense and drama was definitely not the theme as votes were counted.

Republican Jay County Commissioner Milo Miller Jr., bidding for his sixth term in office, turned away a challenge from local businessman Roger Locker. Miller lost several precincts but still claimed 58 percent of the vote for a relatively comfortable victory.

Also wrapping up wins on the GOP side were incumbent sheriff Larry "Ray" Newton Jr., assessor candidate Diana Stults and Robert Vance, who faced opposition for the nomination for District 3 county council.

On the county level, Democrats had just two races for nominations to run in the general election for council seats.

Winning those nominations were Ted Champ (District 1) and Lisa Barnett (District 4).

Also earning the right to run for a seat on the Redkey Town Board Tuesday were incumbent Charlie Noble and Bert Quakenbush.

Miller, who has been in county government more than 20 years, said Tuesday he was relieved to have won the nomination, and that he was looking forward to the fall election and hopefully serving another four-year term. He accepted well-wishes from the crowd of 40 or so Republican faithful, including Locker, who gathered at Holiday Inn Express in Portland.

At the end of 2010, Miller will have been a county commissioner for 20 years.

He will face Democrat Zeb Sutton in the fall election. Sutton was unopposed Tuesday.

Locker, making his first bid for office, said he might not be done with politics.

"We're very thankful for all the people that helped. I had an opportunity to meet a lot of people. I look forward to maybe doing something in the future (politically)," Locker said. "We got 42 percent of the vote. We're not ashamed of that. Milo's a good man."

Newton, in the final year of his first four-year term as sheriff, said he was nervous all day, although the final tallies showed wide support for him over challenger Brian Louth.

Louth, a career military man who ran for sheriff as an independent in 2006, didn't win a precinct as Newton captured nearly 82 percent of the vote.

Stults, first deputy in the assessor's office, prevailed in a three-way contest against Debra Gaskill and Lesa Kirby. Stults won 49 percent of the vote to 36 percent for Gaskill and 15 percent for Kirby.

As the results were nearing an end, Stults received a hug of congratulations from Gaskill.

Kirby, with the outcome apparent, left early after congratulating Stults.

Also winning big was Vance, who earned 66 percent of the vote for the GOP council District 3 nomination against Mark Iliff.

On the Democratic side, the crowd was rather sparse at party headquarters due to the lack of contested races. Just two candidates - Barnett and Ken Wellman, who did not have opposition for the county recorder nomination - were in attendance Tuesday.

Barnett, facing James Brewster, won 62 percent of the vote. She will run in the fall against Mike Rockwell, who did not have opposition in the Republican primary.

And Champ, a former member of the Redkey Town Board and Jay School Board, also scored an easy win for the Democratic nomination for the District 1 (Richland Township) council seat.

Champ received 74 percent of the ballots cast Tuesday to 26 percent from Redkey resident James L. Phillips.

Barnett said Tuesday, "I want to thank everybody for coming out and voting for me ... I hope to continue to make this community ... a great place to live and work."

Jay County voters made decisive choices in the Republican primary race for a U.S. Senate and a Democratic race for the nomination for the District 6 U.S. Representative, agreeing with voters across the state and the district in those contests.

More than 55 percent of those voting in the county GOP primary selected Dan Coats as their choice in a five-man race for U.S. Senate.

Coats, a former Senator, will run against Democrat Brad Ellsworth, who will likely be slated by his party for the seat, in the fall election.

Also winning big Tuesday was Barry Welsh. Welsh, who has run several times unsuccessfully against U.S. Rep. Mike Pence (R-Columbus), will face Pence once again after winning 66 percent-34 percent over George Holland.

The only other contest at the township level was in Noble Township, where four Republicans were competing for three spots on the fall ballot for the township advisory board. Winning those seats were Jeff Overholser, Emily Daugherty and Eldon Campbell. Rick Loy finished fourth.

Here is a look at the contested races Tuesday:

U.S. Senator (Republican) - Dan Coats 1,145, Marlin Stutzman 531, John Hostettler 273, Don Bates Jr. 76, Richard Behney 51.

Sheriff (Republican) - Larry "Ray" Newton Jr. 1,714, Brian Louth 379.

County assessor (Republican) - Diana Stults 1,013, Debra Gaskill 731, Lesa Kirby 313.

County commissioner (Middle District) (Republican) - Milo Miller Jr. 1,237, Roger Locker 867.

County Council (District 1) (Democrat) - Ted Champ 181, James Phillips 63.

County council (District 3) (Republican) - Robert Vance 347, Mark Iliff 182.

County Council (District 4) (Democrat) - Lisa Barnett 128, James Brewster 76.

U.S. Representative (District 6) (Democrat) - Barry Welsh 452, George Holland 228.

Redkey Town Board (Democrat) (vote for two) - Charles Noble 59, Bert Quakenbush 55, Terri Heston 43.

Here is a look at the matchups in county and town level races in the general election:

U.S. Senator - Dan Coats (R) vs. Brad Ellsworth (D), likely to be slated by party

U.S. Rep. (District 6) - Mike Pence (R) vs. Barry Welsh (D)

State Sen. (District 27) - Allen Paul (R) unopposed

State Rep. (District 33) - Bill Davis (R) unopposed

Prosecuting attorney - Gregory LeMaster (R) vs. Wes Schemenaur (D)

County auditor - Nancy Culy (R) unopposed

County sheriff - Ray Newton (R) unopposed

County assessor - Diana Stults (R) unopposed

County recorder - Beverly Myers (R) vs. Kenneth Wellman (D)

County commissioner (middle district) - Milo Miller Jr. (R) vs. Zeb Sutton (D)

County council (District 1) - Ted Champ (D) unopposed

County council (District 2) - Michael Leonhard (R) unopposed

County Council (District 3) - Robert Vance (R) unopposed

County council (District 4) - Mike Rockwell (R) vs. Lisa Barnett (D)

Redkey Town Board (vote for two) - Charles Noble (D) and Bert Quakenbush (D) unopposed.[[In-content Ad]]