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In what is believed to be the closest race in Kosciusko County history, Charles Waggoner won the Republican nomination for prosecuting attorney in the primary election Tuesday.
The final results were not known until 10:20 p.m., when it was announced Waggoner won the primary over Dan Hampton by only 61 votes.
One observer called the race "the Kentucky Derby," comparing Waggoner and Hampton's neck-and-neck race throughout the night.
Incumbent David Kolbe appeared to be out of the race early and finished with only 18.42 percent of the vote. Waggoner finished with 41.06 percent and Hampton 40.32 percent.
Hampton said he had not decided if he would ask for a recount of the ballots, but under the law he has seven days to file for a recount. Waggoner said he thinks there may be a recount, but is "confident" of the job done by the Kosciusko County Clerk's office.
Hampton and Waggoner exchanged the lead in the race several times throughout the evening, and at one point were only three votes apart. With ballots from 61 voting precincts counted, Hampton had a lead of just 20 votes. The final precinct brought the news that he came up short and Waggoner won.
When asked what he thought was the big difference in the campaign, Waggoner said, "It was probably two or three people knocking on two or three more doors in the neighborhoods," for Waggoner.
Although there was no Democrat candidate in the primary, the party has until August 1 to declare a candidate for the November election.
Democratic party chairman Steve Haines said he hopes to have a candidate for November but has not contacted anyone specifically yet.
When asked about campaign tactics, Waggoner said, "People truly did want a candidate to run a clean race." He later said he ran his campaign the same way he prosecutes cases, by attacking the facts and not the person.
"I am not a program person," Waggoner said. "I believe first in doing the basics that are not done right now."
Waggoner said he will take the programs Kolbe has already budgeted and work with them. Then, he said, he will review them and make sure the programs fit his policies.
Waggoner said he does not assume Aaron Rovenstine, who won the Republican nomination for sheriff Tuesday, will automatically win the fall election. He said he "expects a sizable race there" but said he can and will work with either Rovenstine or Democratic candidate Jeff Bronsing.
In a telephone interview shortly after the results were in, Hampton said he was "just disappointed." He said had no plans past the election and his career was "kind of in limbo."
"Amazing," was how Hampton summed up the close race and results. "Just really exciting."
Hampton said everyone at his home was speechless, and "trying to deal with the moment.
"The future probably doesn't exist right now ... we're just dealing with it," he said.
"I expected Kolbe to be more of a threat ... because he's an incumbent," Hampton said of the election. But, he said, the results were a "strong signal of public dissatisfaction with the prosecutor's office. ... That was my message - that the prosecutor's office must be changed - and that message got out."
Kolbe expressed relief that the election was over but said he was disappointed to come in third.
"I am proud of Chuck," Kolbe said. "I think Chuck has the ethics and morals if not the experience ... to continue the course we've set. I am pleased to see he's the type of person to take us forward, not backward."
Kolbe said he believes he was "politically disabled" because of negative publicity and his indecision for several months whether he would run again.
"I've made mistakes along the way ... that's a problem with doing the prosecutor's job too zealously," Kolbe said.
Kolbe said he expects to return to his private practice after December and is considering going part-time as prosecutor the rest of the year.
