Victories for Leonard, Ruppel, and Pond

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette presents the results of yesterday’s primaries. 

Phyllis Pond

The longest-serving member of the House Republican caucus weathered a spirited primary challenge Tuesday night in her quest for a 16th term.

Rep. Phyllis Pond, R-New Haven, received 60 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results. Real estate agent Denny Worman earned 23 percent, while Allen County Treasurer Bob Lee had only 17 percent.

Dan Leonard 

Huntington Republican Rep. Dan Leonard’s plan to pull out all the stops to beat his two primary opponents ended in success Tuesday night.

Unofficial final results showed Leonard with 58 percent of the vote compared with 23 percent for former Huntington mayor Terry Abbett and 18 percent for newcomer Gary Snyder.

Bill Ruppel

Rep. Bill Ruppel, R-North Manchester, made it through the first of two challenges Tuesday night when he defeated fellow Republicans Michael Ridenour and Bill Dixon in the House District 22 primary.

Unofficial results show Ruppel garnered 56 percent of the votes compared with 25 percent for Ridenour and 19 percent for Dixon.