The deadline for the May 7 primary election filings came to an end at noon Friday.
The newest filings at the county level include Republicans Lucas L. Hanner of Vallonia, at-large Jackson County Council, and Jamie M. Pyle of Brownstown, county auditor. Staci Eglen of Seymour presently holds the auditor’s position, but she did not file a declaration of candidacy.
There are just two countywide races on the ballot.
Hanner’s filing sets up a five-way GOP race for the three at-large council seats as incumbent council members John L. Nolting of Brownstown, R. Brett Turner of Crothersville and Amanda Cunningham Lowery of Vallonia along with Roger Hurt of Brownstown filed declarations earlier in the period, which opened Jan. 10.
The only other countywide office on the ballot is the GOP District 2 commissioner’s seat. The candidates are Bret Cunningham, Michael Bobb and Drew Storey, all of Seymour. That position is presently held by Republican Bob Gillaspy, who has decided not to seek a third term.
The other filings for countywide office are all incumbent Republicans.
They are Surveyor Dan Blann of Brownstown; Drew Markel of Brownstown, District 1 county commissioner; Treasurer Kathy Hohenstreiter of Seymour; Coroner Paul Foster; and Jackson Circuit Court Judge Richard W. Poynter.
New Republican precinct committee filings include Janette K. Elliot, Grassy Fork; C.J. Foster, Brownstown 4; Carl H. Kuhlman, Redding West; Miko McRoy, Carr Township; Brian Savilla, Jackson 5 North; Joe Schulz, Brownstown West; and Jonathon Tabor, Hamilton Township.
Previous Republican precinct committee filings were Conner Barnette, Brownstown 2; Ed Koerner, Vernon-Crothersville; Katie Kaufman, Reddington East; Roger Lee Teipen, Vernon South; Markel, Brownstown 4; Amanda Cunningham Lowery, Driftwood Township; Jim Lucas, Jackson 1 East; Melissa Zabel Acton, Jackson 7; Dave Hall, Owen Township; and Dustin Steward, Washington Township.
Kuhlman and Savilla also filed for GOP convention delegates along with Benjamin Miller, Natasha Schulz Miller and Leon Pottschmidt in days leading up to the filing deadline. Previous GOP convention filings were Ronald J. Rieckers, Rick Meyer, Piper Acton-Shoemaker, Melissa Zabel Acton, Conner Barnette, Jim Lucas, Dave Hall, Amanda Cunningham Lowery, Drew Markel and Dustin Steward.
Candidates wishing to be on the Democrat or Republican primary ballot must have filed declaration of candidacy paperwork by noon Friday at the county clerk’s office in the Jackson County Judicial Center in Brownstown. Under state law, election officials are prohibited from accepting filings after the deadline.
After the May 7 primary, Republicans and Democrats have until noon July 3 to fill ballot vacancies, and minor party, independent and write-in candidates also may file declarations of candidacy for the November general election later in the year.
On Monday at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, John Rust, a Seymour Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, and Trish Whitcomb, a Seymour Democratic candidate for Indiana House District 69, both filed declarations of candidacy.
Marion County Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Dietrick ruled in December that the Indiana law preventing Rust from running in May’s Republican U.S. Senate primary was unconstitutional. The law states a candidate must have voted in the previous two primary elections for the party they wish to represent.
The day after Rust’s injunction was granted, the Indiana Attorney General’s Office filed a notice of appeal of Dietrick’s ruling with the Indiana Supreme Court on behalf of Secretary of State Diego Morales. The Indiana Supreme Court has set oral arguments in Rust’s case for 9 a.m. Monday. The hearing will be livestreamed by the court at in.gov/courts/supreme/arguments.
Also, five candidates are vying for the GOP gubernatorial nomination: U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, former Attorney General Curtis Hill, Brad Chambers and Eric Doden. Two-term Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, cannot run again because of term limits.
Democrats Tamie Dixon-Tatum and Jennifer G. McCormick are running for that party’s nomination for governor.
Indiana Ninth District Congresswoman Erin Houchin, whose district includes Jackson County, is running for a second two-year term on the Republican ballot, but a recent filing by Hugh Doty means she will face a challenge in the primary.
Democrats Timothy “Tim” Peck of New Washington and D. Liam Dorris of Bloomington are squaring off for the Democratic Party’s nomination for that seat.
Also at the state level, incumbent House District 69 Rep. Jim Lucas, a Seymour Republican, faces a challenge from Brian Savilla of Brownstown. The winner will face Whitcomb on Nov. 5 in the general election. District 69 includes portions of Jackson, Bartholomew, Scott and Washington counties.
House District 62 Rep. Dave Hall, R-Norman, and House District 65 Rep. Chris D. May, R-Bedford, also will be on the ballot. Both are incumbents.
Democrat Thomas Horrocks is seeking the Democratic Party’s nod for the District 62 nomination.
District 62 includes Owen, Pershing and Salt Creek townships in northwestern Jackson County, all of Brown County and part of southern Monroe County, while District 65 includes Carr Township in Jackson County.
Bedford Republican Eric Koch also is seeking a third four-year term as the District 44 state senator. District 44 includes Brown, Jackson, Lawrence and Orange counties and portions of Monroe County.