Preliminary vote totals showed Porter County Prosecutor Gary Germann leading Republican challenger Andrew Bennett. Germann, a 78-year-old Democrat, had previously served a four-year term beginning in 1978 before entering private practice. His current tenure started after the 2018 election.
Germann held 53.34% of the unofficial returns with all precincts counted. He opted not to comment until further returns were available. The Porter County election board is set to certify the results on November 13.
Bennett, aged 55, aimed to achieve what Germann did: transition to public office after working in private practice. Bennett expressed, “I am running because I didn’t want to leave in the first place.”
With 16 years as an assistant county prosecutor, Bennett had served 13 and a half years as a Porter County deputy prosecutor before moving to private practice in 2014. This was his first political campaign. He respected Germann, recognizing him as one of Northwest Indiana’s top trial attorneys. Despite this, Bennett believed he could introduce a new perspective to the role. Efforts to contact Bennett for comment on Tuesday night were unsuccessful.
Germann noted that the office culture has improved under his leadership. “I love the job. It’s super-challenging and we have a great staff,” he previously commented.
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