A winter storm that delayed the deadline for the filing of a declaration of candidacy for the May 3 primary election by three days did little to change the ballot.
The only contested race for the Republican nomination in Jackson County is for sheriff, which pits incumbent Rick Meyer against Jennings County Sheriff’s Department Officer Shawn Minton.
The winner of that race will move on to the Nov. 8 general election.
The filing period had been slated to end at noon Friday, but county offices were closed Thursday and Friday because of the inclement weather.
No Democrat filed for any of the six other countywide offices or the four county council district seats up for election this year.
The list of Republican candidates for the other countywide offices are Amanda Cunningham Lowery of Vallonia, county clerk; Jennifer Saucerman Isaacs of Brownstown, county recorder; incumbent Katie Kaufman of Seymour, county assessor; incumbent Jeffrey Chalfant of Seymour, prosecutor; incumbent Bruce MacTavish of Seymour, Jackson Superior Court II judge; and Matt Reedy of Freetown, District 3 county commissioner.
The four Republican candidates for the county council district seats are Michael Davidson, District 1; Brian H. Thompson of Seymour, District 2; Jacob C. Brown of Brownstown, District 3; and Austin M. Edington of Seymour, District 4.
Commissioners are considered at-large candidates, so any registered voter in the county may vote for that office. County council district candidates are only on the ballot in the precincts in their districts.
The most contentious races on the primary ballot in Jackson County are the ones for the Republican and Democratic nominations for the ballot in the general election for the Indiana Ninth Congressional District.
Current officeholder Trey Hollingsworth’s recent announcement that he would not be seeking reelection led to a field of nine Republicans and three Democrats. Some of those candidates filed before Hollingsworth’s announcement, but several others came late to the races.
The Republicans vying for that party’s nomination for the general election are Jim Baker of Charlestown, J. Davisson and Erin Houchin, both of Salem, Daniel Helwig of Seymour, Stu Barnes-Israel of Greensburg, D.E. Schansberg of Jeffersonville, Mike Sodrel of Jeffersonville, Bill J. Thomas of Corydon and Brian Tibbs of Marysville.
The Democratic candidates for that party’s nomination are Matthew Fyfe, Isak Asare and D. Liam Dorris, all of Bloomington.
At the state level, incumbent Indiana House District 69 representative Jim Lucas, a Republican from Seymour, is running unopposed, and Seymour Democrat Chad Harmon is running for the same seat.
Dave Hall of Norman is running in the Republican primary for the Indiana House District 62 seat against Myra Kinser and Greg Knott, both of Bloomington. Brad Swain of Springville and Penny Githens of Bloomington are both running for the Democratic Party’s nomination for that position.
With no Democrat running for the Indiana House District 65 seat, incumbent Republican Chris May of Bedford will be running against John Lee, also of Bedford.