It's not surprising that Paula Hughes won the GOP mayoral primary, but did anybody else expect it to be a much closer race, especially considering the recent poll showing a statistical dead heat?
Hughes faced a well-known opponent, at-large Fort Wayne City Councilwoman Liz Brown, and a well-financed opponent, businessman Eric Doden. She overwhelmed both, with 9,245 votes, about 56 percent, to Brown's 4,189 votes, or about 25 percent, and Doden's 3,031 votes, about 18 percent. Two much less prominent candidates, Terrence Richard Walker and Fred Osheskie Sr., each won less than 1 percent of the vote.
The matchup between Hughes and Mayor Tom Henry should be a good race. Henry had some missteps early on in his term, but he's had a stronger second half -- he's got some accomplishments and some things he can be criticized for. Hughes' strong showing is an indication Republicans might be more unified than they were after the brusing primary four years ago.
Turnout yesterday was even worse than usual for a primary -- slightly less than 13 percent of eligible voters showed up. I know a lot of people skip the primary because they don't like to declare a party, but come on -- 13 percent is just pathetic.
