1988Flipped from RepublicanFinal resultsIncumbent defeated
1988 election for Indiana Senate District 5
Indiana State Senate · Indiana
William E. Alexa (D) won with 51.3% of the vote, defeating William Costas (R) by 2.6 points, a seat Republicans won last time.
William E. AlexaDemocrat · winner
51.3%22,981
William CostasRepublican · incumbent
48.7%21,795
44,776 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 1988
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET