Republican Ron Alting says he feels fortunate to survive the blue wave, keep senate seat

LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Republican State Senator Ron Alting won the State Senate seat for District 22 by 3,995 votes. 

Lafayette Democrat Sherry Shipley challenged Alting, a Lafayette Republican first elected to the Indiana Senate in 1998.

Although he took the race with 55 percent of the vote, Alting said he felt like this was going to be a contentious race after studying campaigns and local data.

"I campaigned with that in mind, and some people thought I was wrong," he said.

Shipley, the dean at Ivy Tech Community College, was originally running for the Democratic nomination in Indiana’s 4th District congressional seat. She pulled out of the 4th District race to challenge Alting in December.

Upon entering the County Building on Election Night Shipley embraced Alting in a hug of congratulations.  

Shipley said she appreciates that the race was kept professional and neither her nor Alting went for personal attacks.

Who is Ron Alting?:Journal & Courier's Midterm Q&A  

After the special election for U.S. Senate in Alabama, when Democrat Doug Jones beat Republican Roy Moore, Shipley told the Journal & Courier Democrats unseating Republicans on a local level was part of her motivation to challenge the incumbent.

“I continued to think we need to be strategic and pragmatic about taking our country back," Shipley said in December.

Shipley had a similar attitude on Election Night.

"The work goes on," she said. "I believe we still have a long way to go to take back this country."

Alting saw this mounting blue wave coming and said he felt fortunate to have survived it.

While he's humbled by the crossover vote, he believes that running a bipartisan campaign gained him the support from across the aisle that carried him through to the end.

"That shows that I do campaign and I work very hard on bipartisan unity, and it paid off tonight," he said. 

District 22 includes much of Lafayette and West Lafayette, as well roughly two-thirds of Tippecanoe County.

"When I answer a phone call from a constituent or somebody, I never ask what party they're for," Alting said. "I could care less."

More:Bangert: Democrat Shipley pulls out of 4th District race, will challenge Sen. Ron Alting

More:Election worker's mistake delays election results

In August, he and Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, promised to introduce a hate crime bill that picks up where the failed Senate Bill 418 left off during the 2018 General Assembly session.

In a similar vein, Alting said that his respect for people of all backgrounds is what has granted him another four years in the state senate.

"You're a human being," Alting said on Tuesday. "I don't ask if you're white, you're black, if you're from another country. I respect all people and treat all people equally. I think how my mom and dad raised me paid off." 

More:Power to the polls: volunteers return every year to help on Election Day

More:First-time candidates win District 1 and 4 county council races

Contact Journal & Courier reporter Lindsay Moore at 765-420-5205, lrmoore@jconline.com and follow her on Twitter: @_lindsaymoore.