County residents voted along with state residents for the Republican and Democratic presidential nomination; U.S. Representative District 2 nominations and the Republican State Senate District 12 nomination, but that is where similarities ended.

The Republican presidential nomination race saw the county giving Donald Trump 48.49 percent of its total vote with Ted Cruz receiving 42.67 percent. Statewide Trump received 502,080 votes to 341,316 votes for Cruz. Following the Indiana results, Cruz withdrew his presidential bid as Trump is said to have all but clinched the Republican nomination.

In the Democratic race, Bernie Sanders overwhelmingly won the county vote, 60.69 percent over Hillary Clinton’s 39.31 percent. Statewide, Sanders received 295,568 votes to Clinton’s 274,364 votes.

Even though Todd Young won statewide, with 544,540 total votes race for U.S. Senate over Marlin Stutzman, with 285,056 total votes, Kosciusko County residents favored Stutzman, giving him 59.75 percent of the votes to Young’s 40.25 percent. Statewide, with still nine counties yet to submit results to the Indiana Secretary of State’s Election Division, Stutzman only carried 13 counties, all in the northern portion of the state, with Young taking the remaining 70 counties often by a wide margin.

The county also chose local resident Kip Tom in the Republican U.S. Rep. District 3 race with 55.03 percent of the vote over Jim Banks, who received 22.61 percent of the vote. County resident Pam Galloway received 16 percent of the vote. However, Banks won the District 3 nomination, receiving 46,508 to Tom’s 42,716. Statewide, Tom won six of the 12 counties in the district, with Banks taking five. Opponent Liz Brown won in Allen County.

On the Democrat side, county residents chose John Forrest Roberson who barely defeated the districtwide choice, Tommy A. Schrader, by .06 percent of the vote. Schrader carried all but two counties in the district, winning the nomination with 15,263 total votes.

In the U.S. Representative District 2 race, both Republican candidate Jackie Walorski and Democratic Candidate Lynn Coleman easily defeated their opponents and were favorites in Kosciusko County. Walorski received 77,389 votes to opponent Jeff Petermann’s 33,513. Coleman received 39,364 total votes to Douglas Carpenter’s 14,011 votes.

Turkey Creek Township residents were the only ones in the area voting for the State Senate District 12 race. Blake Doriot won not only Kosciusko County with 56.05 percent of the votes over opponent Joanna King, who received 43.95 percent, but he also won Elkhart County. Doriot received a total of 12,39 votes to King’s 9,013. Both candidates are residents of Elkhart County.

County Races

Turning to county races, incumbent Brad Jackson received the nomination over opponent Marcia Baumgartner, receiving 54.05 percent of the county vote.

Robert (Bob) Sanders, Sue Ann Mitchell and Joni L. Truex were clear winners throughout the evening, with Ron Robinson coming in a close fourth.

There were precinct committeeman races: Stephen C. Tucker defeated Thomas Beer for Van Buren Precinct 1 and John Beer defeating Anthony W. Ciriello for Van Buren Precinct 2. Daniel Hampton defeated Jonathan Fussle in Wayne 8 Precinct, and Rhonda Helser defeated Terry Wood in Wayne 9 Precinct. Ron Shoemaker defeated Brian E. Boyer, in Warsaw 2-2 Precinct; Mike Klondaris defeated Stacy J. Gibbens in Warsaw 3-2 Precinct; Cindy Dobbins defeated Anne Bonewitz in Warsaw 4-1 Precinct; and William Frush defeated Richard Keeven in Warsaw 4-2.

State convention delegates for District 1 will be: Kent Adams, Robert J. Bishop, Brian E. Boyer, Monica Boyer, John W. Elliott, Christanne Hampton, Daniel H. Hampton, Rhonda J. Helser, Lynne S. Howie, Terry Howie, Michael Miner, Sue Ann Mitchell, Tressa Nichols, Robert Sanders, Joe Thallemer, David Wolkins and Terry Wood.

State convention delegates for District 2 will be: Kimberly Cates, Anthony ciriello, Randall Girod, Kim Golden, Brett Heinisch, Michael Kubacki, Rebecca Kubacki, Michael Long, Teresa Martin, Allison McSherry, Jason McSherry, Chad Miner and Austin Rovenstine.

Voter turnout for the county was higher than the 2012 primary. Turnout was reported at 41.01 percent this year compared to 25.06 percent in the 2012 primary.