Closely watched race pits incumbent Hester vs. ‘future state Senator’ Novotny

Many elections feature an incumbent facing a challenger, but the race for a state Senate seat from District 9 boasts a current Democratic senator waging a fierce battle against a Republican who confidently labels himself a future senator. Katie Fry Hester, a moderate Democrat who ousted Republican Sen. Gail Bates four years ago in a conservative district, is hearing a lot of tough words from the candidate whose mailings bill him as “Future State Senator Reid Novotny.” “Just a short 4 years ago, the far-left incumbent rode the blue wave into office by less than 1/2 of 1%,” reads a campaign email sent out by Novotny. “From there she continued to vote with the left 98% of the time and does not represent this area.”