Ed Clere had every reason to look a little stunned following his apparent victory over Bill Cochran Tuesday. He accomplished something that many political insiders said was impossible — beating a powerful 34-year incumbent of the Statehouse.
Clere, a first-time Republican candidate, unofficially defeated Bill Cochran in the race for State Representative in District 72.
Clere won by only 114 votes. He finished with 14,980 votes, or 50.3 percent, to Cochran’s 14,866 votes, or 49.7 percent. There are still 200 provisional ballots that could be counted, according to a Floyd County election official. Many of the provisional votes require the voter to show proper identification to the Floyd County Election Commission by Nov. 14 in order to be officially tallied.
“We really don’t know yet,” Clere said while waiting patiently outside of the Floyd County Clerk’s office. “It could come down to a low triple-digit, if not a double-digit contest.”
The race not only came down to the last precinct, but also provided some fireworks late Tuesday night inside the clerk’s office. After the last precinct reported in Floyd County, which was from Prosser School of Technology, Cochran and some of his supporters were witnessed by The Tribune entering County Clerk Linda Moeller’s private office, closing the door behind them.
Moeller was in an adjacent office reviewing election results with other members of her staff. When Clere saw the door closed, he immediately brought it to the attention of Moeller and threatened to call the sheriff.
Moeller immediately entered the room and ordered everyone out. Cochran and his supporters then left the building.
Clere said Moeller did a great job of ensuring nothing wrong was going on. He added that in such a close election, he wanted to make sure everything was legit.
“I wasn’t comfortable with my supporters in the hallway and Mr. Cochran and his supporters in the clerk’s office,” Clere said. “The clerk was doing everything she was supposed to do.”
District 72 covers 52 of Floyd County’s 60 precincts along with one precinct in Clark County.
Cochran was first elected to the Statehouse in 1974 and has been rarely challenged since. He is currently chairman of the budget subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Clere gave credit to his many volunteers and campaign workers for pushing him over the hump.
“I had a tremendous amount of supporters,” he said. “That’s what made it happen. I couldn’t have done it alone.”
Clere said the voters were receptive to his message and were hungry for change at every level.
“I was the underdog every step of the way,” he said. “I was the underdog when I woke up this morning. It was a team effort.
“I’m ready to get to work.”
Attempts to reach Cochran were unsuccessful.
—Staff writer Daniel Suddeath contributed to this story
Election 2008
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November 5, 2008
Clere upsets Cochran in Ind. District 72 race
After 34 years, District 72 will have new representative
- Election 2008
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Capturing art in New Albany
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New Albany's Clere is official winner in District 72 race
The votes are all in, and Republican Ed Clere is the official winner in the State Representative District 72 race.
- Cochran, Clere race not over yet The race for State Representative District 72 between Republican Ed Clere and incumbent Democrat Bill Cochran isn’t over yet.
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Same candidates, different race in Ind. 9th District
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Could Libertarian Schansberg be lured to GOP?
“I think he would probably be a viable candidate if he ran as a Republican,” said Linda Gugin, professor of political science at Indiana University Southeast in New Albany.
- The GOP great divide And although the Hoosier State — solidly Republican presidentially since 1964 — was eventually called in the Democratic column on the heels of the historic election of Sen. Barack Obama Tuesday, Clark County remained Republican to the hilt on top-of-the-ticket races.
- CLARK COUNTY: Voting smooth, even with high turnout Just more than 60 percent of registered voters cast a ballot — 3 percentage points more than in 2004 — and there were lines at the polls to prove it.
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Obama’s strategy pays off with Indiana win
Obama secured Indiana with a strategy that included nearly 50 visits this year to the state and heavy spending on campaign commercials in the state’s television markets, said Robert Schmuhl, a political analyst and University of Notre Dame professor.
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Granger defeats Fox to become judge of new court in Southern Indiana
“I am just absolutely thrilled and elated that I won,” Granger said. “I was cautiously optimistic (before the election).”
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