CLARK COUNTY, Ind. (WDRB) -- Zach Payne was in denial when he saw the final results roll in Tuesday night.
In a 56% to 44% vote, the 31-year-old Republican defeated State Rep. Terry Goodin, a Democrat who has represented District 66 since 2000.
"You run against a 20-year incumbent, you don't actually think you're going to win," Payne told WDRB News. "You know, you're cautiously optimistic."
A Clark County resident since age 8, Payne is a small business owner who has previously served as the county recorder. Now, he's preparing to represent thousands of residents from Scott County and parts of Clark and Jefferson counties in Indianapolis.
"I believe that my values represent this district better than who was in this office before, and that's what inspired me to run," Payne said. "I believe in small government, low taxes. I want to keep government out of your life as much as possible."
Payne said he wants to bring new ideas to the table and help create more jobs. The first issue he wants to tackle is the budget.
"Our revenue is down because of the economic downturn with COVID," he said. "So we got to figure out where we're going to cut to overcome that budget shortfall."
Payne expects to be sworn into office in December. Until then, he has a message for those he will be representing.
"To those who voted for me, thank you so much for trusting me to represent you in Indianapolis," he said. "To those who didn't, I'm going to be your representative and I'll answer your calls and I'll hear your needs and do what I can to represent everybody equally."
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