Rep. Visclosky's Pick Wins Democratic Race In NW Indiana

HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) — Rep. Pete Visclosky’s choice to replace him after 36 years in Congress won the Democratic primary in the party’s northwestern Indiana stronghold.

Frank Mrvan, a Lake County township trustee whose father is a longtime state senator from Hammond, won Tuesday’s primary over 13 other candidates. Five-term Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott entered the campaign as the most-prominent candidate, but Mrvan picked up endorsements from Visclosky and the United Steelworkers union.

Mrvan and McDermott far outpaced other hopefuls, including state Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon of Munster and Valparaiso attorney Jim Harper, who was the 2018 Democratic candidate for secretary of state.

Mrvan will be a heavy favorite in the November election against Republican primary winner Mark Leyva, who’s lost several times to Visclosky.