Incumbent Republican Dave Pagel will again be on the ballot in November, after trouncing opponent Jim Walker in Tuesday’s primary election.

Pagel, of Berrien Springs, secured the GOP nomination for State Representative in the 78th District by a sizable margin, capturing more than 75 percent of the votes between Berrien and Cass counties, with 4,229 versus 1,367 for Walker.

The representative successfully carried the vote among constituents in both portions of the counties that make up the district, with 733 votes in the seven Cass County precincts and 3,496 votes in the 27 Berrien precincts.

“It’s kind of humbling that there’s this level of support for me,” Pagel said.

The politician attributes this strong showing of support to the progress the state has made over the last several years, he said.

“Our numbers are getting better in Michigan in a lot of ways,” Pagel said. “Unemployment is dropping, and jobs seem to be coming back.”

Pagel has been a member of the Michigan House of Representatives for the past two years. In August  2012, Pagel defeated Brian Savage and David Mann to win the Republican nomination for the open seat, which was previously held by Sharon Tyler. Pagel soundly defeated the competition during that race, earning more than double the votes of his closest competitor.

Prior to that, the business owner served as president of the Berrien Springs Public School Board for 14 years and was chair of the Berrien County Board of Commissioners for four years.

The 78th District encompasses several municipalities in the two counties, including the cities of Niles, New Buffalo and Buchanan and the townships of Howard, Milton and Ontwa.