QUOTE
Lang holds on to Superior Court 1 seat
Dave Hawk
The News-Dispatch
LA PORTE - Incumbent Republican Superior Court 1 Judge Kathleen Lang survived a Democratic onslaught in La Porte County on Tuesday, retaining the position to which she was appointed in 2005 by Gov. Mitch Daniels.
Lang defeated Democrat Michael Bergerson by the narrow margin of 50.43 percent to 49.57 percent, 22,573 to 22,192.
Lang held a 1,727-vote lead over her challenger, Democrat Michael Bergerson, late Tuesday when vote counting stalled as the La Porte County clerk's office reported it still had some 8,500 early voting ballots to count.
Lang, at the Republican gathering at Silver Palace, nervously awaited the final tally. Her lead had been larger earlier during the count, at which point Lang said, "A margin of 2,000 is not enough to be comfortable.
"It's hard to predict when you have that many votes still out. Anything could happen. It depends on if that same ratio holds true, but you just don't know, the early voting is so new. I hope the ratio stays."
Asked how she did so well against a big Democrat vote in La Porte County, Lang, 52, said, "I have an excellent bipartisan group that helped and that was great."
As an example, she pointed to Katy Kintzele, granddaughter of School Board member Jim Kintzele, a longtime Democrat. She and her mother and sister were supporting her, Lang said, and Katy Kintzele was an avid Barack Obama supporter.
"They are all here in my campaign, with my T-shirt and Obama buttons," Lang said. She had "Democrats for Lang" campaign material printed and ran out of buttons.
"I had to get four batches of them," she said. "It was kind of a novelty. People kept asking for them."
Asked if women helped build her margin, Lang said, "I'm honestly not sure if the gender thing was a factor. Not formally, but I will say a lot of professional women were very supportive. I would say yes, that there were a lot of professional women who were supporting me in a bipartisan way."
Bergerson, 56, a deputy prosecutor who also has a private practice, noted that he lost by some 400 votes out of 40,000 cast.
"I always knew it was going to be more difficult to beat a sitting judge than an opponent without judicial experience. We ran a tremendous race and there's nothing more that I think I could have done to change the outcome. The people have spoken. I congratulate Judge Lang," he said. "That's the way it is and we'll move on."
Dave Hawk
The News-Dispatch
LA PORTE - Incumbent Republican Superior Court 1 Judge Kathleen Lang survived a Democratic onslaught in La Porte County on Tuesday, retaining the position to which she was appointed in 2005 by Gov. Mitch Daniels.
Lang defeated Democrat Michael Bergerson by the narrow margin of 50.43 percent to 49.57 percent, 22,573 to 22,192.
Lang held a 1,727-vote lead over her challenger, Democrat Michael Bergerson, late Tuesday when vote counting stalled as the La Porte County clerk's office reported it still had some 8,500 early voting ballots to count.
Lang, at the Republican gathering at Silver Palace, nervously awaited the final tally. Her lead had been larger earlier during the count, at which point Lang said, "A margin of 2,000 is not enough to be comfortable.
"It's hard to predict when you have that many votes still out. Anything could happen. It depends on if that same ratio holds true, but you just don't know, the early voting is so new. I hope the ratio stays."
Asked how she did so well against a big Democrat vote in La Porte County, Lang, 52, said, "I have an excellent bipartisan group that helped and that was great."
As an example, she pointed to Katy Kintzele, granddaughter of School Board member Jim Kintzele, a longtime Democrat. She and her mother and sister were supporting her, Lang said, and Katy Kintzele was an avid Barack Obama supporter.
"They are all here in my campaign, with my T-shirt and Obama buttons," Lang said. She had "Democrats for Lang" campaign material printed and ran out of buttons.
"I had to get four batches of them," she said. "It was kind of a novelty. People kept asking for them."
Asked if women helped build her margin, Lang said, "I'm honestly not sure if the gender thing was a factor. Not formally, but I will say a lot of professional women were very supportive. I would say yes, that there were a lot of professional women who were supporting me in a bipartisan way."
Bergerson, 56, a deputy prosecutor who also has a private practice, noted that he lost by some 400 votes out of 40,000 cast.
"I always knew it was going to be more difficult to beat a sitting judge than an opponent without judicial experience. We ran a tremendous race and there's nothing more that I think I could have done to change the outcome. The people have spoken. I congratulate Judge Lang," he said. "That's the way it is and we'll move on."