By ADAM NUSSBAUM
adam.nussbaum@goshennews.com
Fri, May 16 2008
—
After winning their parties’ nominations in the primary race Tuesday, Republican Carlin J. Yoder and Democrat Don Metzler-Smith will be competing for the state Senate District 12 seat in November’s general election.
A total of six candidates — three Democrats and three Republicans — ran for the nominations to ultimately succeed Marvin Riegsecker, who stepped down after serving in the Senate for 20 years.
With 7,180 votes, or 61.3 percent of the total Republican votes, Carlin Yoder received more than twice the amount of Jim Erb, who finished with 3,187 votes, or 27.21 percent. Joe Guerrero received 1,344 votes, or 11.48 percent of the vote.
Metzler-Smith also won his party’s nomination by a significant spread, with 5,907 votes, or 44.6 percent. Mike Leasor received 3,703 votes (27.96 percent), and Joseph P. Williams came in at a very close third, with 3,635 votes (27.44 percent).
“I feel great,” said Carlin Yoder, who was celebrating at the Refinery Cafe in Goshen. “It’s a sweet victory, and I owe it all to the voters, obviously, but all the people that got behind me and worked hard for me. It’s an overwhelming feeling.”
Yoder felt a sense of calm going into the primary election on Tuesday.
“I felt that we’d run a strong, positive campaign, and I was at peace with it. I had a good day. I went golfing, it was great.”
The large percentage spread took him by surprise.
“You’re always surprised to win by that margin, but I think in the end, it was a referendum on running a good, positive campaign, and I think the people stepped up to support that,” Yoder said.
For Yoder, the most challenging aspect of the primary race was “trying to figure out how to reach the voters, how to reach them at the level where they wanted to meet me. To be able to show them who I really was, to avoid some of the mudslinging that was going on and rise above it and show people that I am real, and that this is the type of person I am.
“We’re not slowing down (for the general election). We’re going to enjoy this one, this one’s sweet, but we’re going to get right back in the saddle and keep going. We’re going to focus on the issues and we’re going to keep reaching out to voters.”
Metzler-Smith said he thought voters resonated with his focus on education, and how it impacts Elkhart County.
“It’s really important that we combat the brain drain, and also retool … the part of the population that’s coming out of the manufacturing base and into the service industry.”
He felt “anticipation and anxiety” earlier in the day, but also “really positive.
“The size of the outcome was surprising,” Metzler-Smith said. “I thought it would be a closer race. In a three-way (race), that’s pretty good.
“(The primary race) went very well, because it gave me a platform not only to talk to the party about what I think is important in the Statehouse, but also to talk to a lot of people that I normally would not be able to talk to. I think it gave me a great forum.”
In a year dominated by talk of property tax reform, Metzler-Smith found it difficult to highlight other issues he felt needed attention.
“The most challenging (aspect of the race) was trying to steer people away from totally just being concerned about property taxes, and the tax mix, and trying to connect the dots so that they can see how these issues are interrelated with education.”
He and his wife Joyce hope to take a vacation before they begin campaigning for the general election.
“Then we’re really excited about the summer campaign, and the (Elkhart County 4-H Fair). And we have a convention coming up next month.”
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.