Two Statehouse incumbents lost their reelection bids in Tuesday’s primary — one from each chamber and one from each party.
There were 116 state lawmakers running for reelection, 75 percent of whom were unchallenged in the primary.
Six-term Rep. Sharon Negele (R-Attica) lost her bid to challenger Matt Commons. While Negele won the most populous county in her district, Commons handily beat her in the more rural areas.
READ MORE: Why do incumbents have such a big advantage in elections?
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Sen. David Vinzant (D-Hobart) lost to an opponent he had beat once before, in a different kind of election. Vinzant only joined the General Assembly in January when he narrowly won a private precinct caucus to replace Eddie Melton. The man he beat that day was Gary City Councilman Mark Spencer. Spencer won the rematch Tuesday in the open primary.
Both Commons and Spencer are expected to win their races in November.
Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5 .
