Which local candidates in state and federal races will move on to the General Election?

With seats in the Indiana statehouse and in Congress up for grabs this year, some local figures are headed for the general election.

Penny Githens prevails over Brad Swain

Monroe County Commissioner Penny Githens fended off outgoing Monroe County Sheriff Brad Swain’s bid to be the Democratic nominee for state representative in District 62. Githens earned 68.85% of the vote in Monroe County and 68.2% of the vote in the entire district.

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“This was not just me. This was a team who did this,” Githens said, thanking those who worked on her campaign as well as the various groups that extended support.

Githens commended Swain for his behavior during the primary race, indicating Swain will soon join her team as she heads into the general election. Swain could not be reached for comment by the time of publication.

Dave Hall beats Greg Knott

Jackson County council member Dave Hall prevailed over Bloomington man Greg Knott on the Republican ticket for District 62. Hall earned 46.63% of the vote in Monroe County and 56.7% of the vote in the entire district.

Hall thanked those who came out to vote on Election Day.

“I’m going to continue to run and meet with the voters in our district to hear their concerns and share my perspective,” Hall said of his preparations for the general election.

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Knott said he was satisfied with the effort of his candidacy.

“I don’t think we could have run any harder than we did,” Knott said.

Knott said his controversial mailer, which alleged Hall was not a “proven conservative” based on his support of the large Guatemalan community in Seymour, could have negatively impacted voter support if they had only read the headline of select media reports on it.

Hall joined a few local Republican party chairs in condemning Knott’s message.

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“It’s a shame when people go to that level, honestly. I think his behavior speaks for itself,” Hall said, adding the election results demonstrate what voters thought of the two candidates.

Githens will face Hall in November. Both said they intend to focus on their respective platform and issues rather than their opponent.

Bloomington teacher Fyfe to move on to general election in Ninth Congressional District

The field of candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to represent Indiana’s Ninth Congressional District, a seat vacated by Trey Hollingsworth, included two from Bloomington.

Matt Fyfe, a teacher at Bloomington High School North, won the contest, with 56.5% of the vote. Isak Nti Asare, co-director of the Cybersecurity and Global Policy Program at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, received 29.5% of the vote.

Fyfe will face Republican Erin Houchin in the general election.

The newly drawn District 45, which includes Greene County, saw incumbent Republican Bruce Borders pulling ahead of challenger Jeff Ellington. Ellington is the current state representative of District 62, but he moved to Bloomfield and ran for that seat in the Statehouse.

Borders received 53.3% of the vote while Ellington received 46.7%.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Monroe County primary election state and federal race results