1978Flipped from DemocraticFinal results
1978 election for Indiana Senate District 15
Indiana State Senate · Indiana
Elmer Macdonald (R) won with 61.3% of the vote, defeating E. Fred Vonderlage (D) by 24.0 points, a seat Democrats won last time.
Elmer MacdonaldRepublican · winner
61.3%14,234
E. Fred VonderlageDemocrat
37.3%8,669
Richard L. WilliamsIndependent
1.3%313
23,216 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1978
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The candidates
Elmer Macdonald (R)E. Fred Vonderlage (D)
Also on the ballot: Richard L. Williams (Independent), 1.3%