Jackson County resident Dave Hall, R-Norman, has defeated Democratic candidate Penny Githens of Bloomington in the race for representative of Indiana’s 62nd District.
That was determined after a ballot recount recently completed by the Indiana Recount Commission confirmed Hall had received the most votes.
Hall initially was said to have won the election by more than 1,000 votes before around 6,600 ballots that had not yet been tallied were added to the overall totals, reducing his margin of victory to just 40.
District 62 includes Owen, Pershing and Salt Creek townships in Jackson County, all of Brown County and sections of Monroe County.
Hall, a former Jackson County Council member, initially received 86.2% of the 1,020 votes from Jackson County residents. Across all districts, the margin was much more narrow with Hall receiving 50.1% of the total vote and Githens, a Monroe County resident, receiving 49.9%.
David Henry, chairman of the Monroe County Democratic Party, requested an official recount by the state on Nov. 28.
The Indiana Recount Commission met Tuesday to certify its updated count, which found Hall had won by 74 votes, according to a report in the B Square Bulletin.
The final vote tally saw Hall receive 13,037 votes and Githens receive 12,963.
“I cannot thank you all enough for the support and prayers for me and my family. I also want to thank my opponent for running a very spirited campaign,” Hall wrote in a statement posted on his campaign’s Facebook page after the meeting.
Githens did not respond to The Tribune’s request for comment on the matter.