Two newcomers will face off in the fall general election for a southside state legislator spot.
John Jacob and Angela Elliott won the Republican and Democrat primary races, respectively, for Indiana House District 93. Jacob faced incumbent Dollyne Sherman in a close race, winning narrowly with 51% of the total votes, which weren’t all tallied until Friday due to a delay in counting more than 100,000 mail-in ballots in Marion County. In Johnson County, he received 52% of the votes.
Jacob was moved to tears by the support he received during the election, he said, adding that he originally felt like an underdog in the race against Sherman.
“The support at the doors at the voting sites was just overwhelming,” Jacob said. “I was so touched by some of the things people said to me.”
This loss for Sherman comes after spending just one term in office. She was elected to the District 93 post last year in a Republican caucus to replace David Frizzell, who retired after nearly three decades in office.
In the Democrat race, Elliott faced Andy Miller and Abdul-Aziz Yamobi, earning 66% of the total votes between Johnson and Marion counties, and 78% in Johnson County.
She and her team are grateful to have won the Democratic nomination, but know they still have work to do leading up to the fall, she said Wednesday.
“We’ll take a brief moment to celebrate, but we’re not going to stand still for long because there’s a lot of work still to do to take on the next leg of this race,” Elliott said.
Elliott will now face Jacob in the fall general election.
This was Jacob’s first time running for a public office. He’s lived on the southside of Indianapolis his whole life, and previously worked as an auditor for the Indiana State Board of Accounts before starting a design firm with his wife a few years ago.
Jacob is also involved in Christian ministry with his wife, including marriage mentoring, street evangelism, ministering international students and completing mission trips. He had said his faith compelled him to run for office.
His platforms include ending abortion in Indiana and preventing government overreach, he said.
“I’m not wanting to regulate abortion, I want to end abortion completely, totally in Indiana,” Jacob said. “I think the government overreaches … people’s religious freedoms are being violated. Our second amendment rights are being violated across the nation.”
If elected in the fall, Jacob would also focus on cutting taxes and passing a constitutional carry law in Indiana, which would allow residents to own firearms without government restrictions.
Elliott has lived in Johnson County for 25 years and was the only Democrat candidate from the county running opposed in a primary. Elliott, an independent business consultant, previously worked in information technology at Eli Lilly for more than two decades.
She is one of the 25 Women for 2020, a statewide organization with a mission to get more women involved in the Indiana legislature.
“We need women who are competent and caring and ready to do the job to step up and run for these offices,” Elliott said.
If elected to the Statehouse in the fall, Elliott would focus on the “Four E’s” of her platform: education, employment, environment and equality for all.
She would work to raise teacher salaries and take a look at the bigger policies that have negatively impacted education in Indiana. She also wants to bring more jobs to Indiana and focus on combating environmental and contamination issues across the state.
State lawmakers author and vote on bills that come before the Indiana General Assembly, as well as approve the state’s bi-annual budget. District 93 includes much of Perry Township in Marion County, and a portion of White River Township in Johnson County.
<div class="aim-pullout">Republican: Indiana House District 93</div>
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<strong>John Jacob;51%</strong>
Dollyne Sherman;49%
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<div class="aim-pullout">Democrat: Indiana House District 93</div>
<div class="aim-pullout-text">
<strong>Angela Elliott;66%</strong>
Andy Miller;25%
Abdul-Aziz Yamobi;9%
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