(La Porte County, IN) - Three local Democrats survived what many people refer to as the "Red Wave" that most major political races experienced Tuesday night in La Porte County.  The only Democrats winning their contests were incumbents Mark Yagelski, Randy Novak and Mike Schultz.

 

Yagelski gained a sixth term on the LaPorte County Council from District 3 by defeating Republican Deb Vance by just over 800 votes.

 

Novak won a third term on the LaPorte County Council from District 2 by defeating Republican Aaron Kirk by well over 900 votes.

 

Schultz gained a fourth term as La Porte County Assessor.  He beat republican John Matwyshyn by more than 1,600 votes.  Schultz said he felt his office avoiding the conflict that often dominated the local political landscape the past two years and strong job performance explained his victory.

 

“It’s more of an administrative office. I don’t set policy and I do have a lot of Republican friends and Republican support that I think is helping me this evening,” he said.

Republicans won the races for Sheriff, Prosecutor, County Commissioner and two other seats on the County Council.

 

Justin Kiel, 26, of LaCrosse won the District 1 seat on the La Porte County Council with 57-percent of the vote against democrat Mike Kellems.  Kiel has served on the LaCrosse Town Council since he was 18 and has been town council president for the past six-years.

 

Republican Mike Rosenbaum gained a second term on the LaPorte County Council from District 4.  Rosenbaum beat democrat Lynne Spevak, a former La Porte County Clerk and La Porte County Treasurer, by nearly 2,000 votes.

 

La Porte County Democrat Party Chairman Dr. Vidya Kora told disappointed members of the party last night he felt the national political climate was a factor in the outcome of the elections locally.  He said some voters make choices based on their emotions about what’s happening politically across the country without checking the qualifications of local candidates.

 

“We have some head winds because of inflation and everything else,” he said.

 

Kora also blamed falsehoods posted on social media the past several years for the disappointing results.  “We’ll come back.  We’ll regroup and continue to advance our agenda,” he said.