Tippecanoe County Council at-large races called

Six of the ten candidates for Tippecanoe County at-large won their primaries and moved forward to the general election.

The council oversees county finances, including approving and fixing all county department budgets, establishing salaries of county employees and fixing tax rates.

Democratic nominees (10,715 votes)

The Democratic ticket is united around expanding housing and investing in improvements to the housing already here, nominee Ben Carson said. Carson, who was endorsed by West Lafayette mayor Erin Easter, said that as Greater Lafayette grows, it is important to remember those outside the urban areas of Tippecanoe County.

Ben Carson (24.37%)

Carson thinks the Democratic candidates’ energy will be their differentiating factor as he and his fellow Democrats attempt to earn a seat on a council currently dominated by three Republicans.

He said investment in housing doesn’t have to take from other areas. It just needs to be spent better.

“I think the county council was kind of twiddling their thumbs on some of it to be frank, but you can take some of the county council funds that we already have,” he said. “We can use some of those to actively go out and find the right kinds of builders and developers.”

Katy O’Malley Bunder (24.75%)

Bunder’s eyes went wide when asked how she was feeling after capturing nearly a quarter of the vote Tuesday night.

“I’m surprised,” she said. “Really, shocked.”

Bunder said she felt she didn’t think she did enough door knocking and canvassing in the lead-up to the election to win, with she and husband Peter operating as a team for the bulk of her primary campaign. She said she’ll stick to a similar formula in her campaigning for the general election, while soliciting more help.

The former director of Food Finders Food Bank said she wants to bring diversity to the council as a woman and a Democrat.

Amanda Eldridge (19.79%)

Eldridge, who decided to mount a campaign for office two years ago while working as a canvasser, wants to see more voter turnout in Indiana, starting with Tippecanoe county.

“Look it up, Indiana is No. 50. We fell four spots after last election,” she said. “Voting should be a celebration, not a chore. I encouraged students to bring five of their friends to the polls.”

Republican nominees (23,983 votes)

The winners of the Republican Primary for the County Council at-large race are all incumbents, attempting to keep their seats for the General election.

Kevin Underwood (25.32%)

“I’m pleasantly surprised,” said Underwood after accepting his majority vote. “I’ll just continue to bring a sound common sense business approach to county government. I like to think through the details and issues we have to deal with and really prioritize what the most important needs are.”

The current President of the County Council said he wants to ensure fair decision-making among council members.

“I want to make sure that we’re spending (tax dollars) in a way that’s most wise and meets the needs in a very good way in order to take care of people’s safety needs predominantly, and obviously infrastructure as well.” said Underwood.

Barry Richard (21.8%)

Richard was not present for comment.

John Basham (21.7%)

Basham was not present for comment.

Of the six candidates, both Republican and Democrat, voters will choose which three they want to fill the seats in the general election come November.