Brewer, Hogsett will vie to succeed Ballard in Indianapolis

Former U.S. attorney Joe Hogsett and restaurateur Chuck Brewer easily won their primaries Tuesday and will face off in the race for mayor of Indianapolis.

The winner of the November election will succeed Mayor Greg Ballard. The Republican decided against running for a third term.

Hogsett ran against community activist Larry Vaughn in the Democratic primary and had more than 85 percent of the vote with 80 percent of the precincts reporting Tuesday night.

Brewer defeated four challengers with more than 75 percent of the vote in the Republican primary.

Indianapolis was one of 115 Indiana cities holding mayoral primaries Tuesday.

In South Bend, incumbent Mayor Pete Buttigieg beat Democratic primary challenger Henry Davis Jr., a Common Council member who had come under criticism for posting an explicit photo on Facebook last year and for pleading guilty to reckless driving after driving the wrong way on a highway. Buttigieg will face small business owner Kelly Jones, who was unopposed in the Republican primary, in November. He won the general election four years ago with 74 percent of the vote. South Bend hasn't had a Republican mayor in more than 40 years.

Buttigieg called the primary win a strong vote of confidence, and said he won't take the general election for granted.

"We think we have a strong advantage going into November. But if you ever take an election for granted you deserve what you get," he said.

Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry defeated two challengers in the Democratic primary, receiving 76 percent of the vote, and in November will face City Councilman Mitch Harper, who defeated three other Republican challengers with 84 percent of the vote.