Incumbent state representative Dave Hall (R) and challenger Thomas Horrocks (D) were still neck-and-neck by 11 pm on election night.
Hall registered 16,334 votes against Horrocks’s 15,377.
House District 62 is one of Indiana’s most competitive. It covers rural Brown County and areas of Monroe County outside of Bloomington, as well as parts of Jackson County. Hall won the district by just 74 votes in 2022.
Horrocks arrived at the Monroe County Democrats’ election watch party around 10 pm with no clear idea of the outcome.
“I wrote a loss speech, and I wrote a win speech,” he said. “I did not write a 'now what the hell is going to happen tonight' speech.”
“I think because I expected it, it feels okay,” Horrocks continued. “But I would like to know. After a year and a half of this work, would be nice to have some closure one way or the other, and not have it drawn out for a terribly long time.”
The answer could take days. The close race triggered a recount in the last election, and Hall wasn’t affirmed the winner until well into December.
Half of Jackson County precincts and 23 percent of Monroe precincts hadn’t reported by 11 pm.
