With a week left to file for major-party candidates, state and local races are shaping up, and both Democrats and Republicans will be asked to head to the polls come May.
Locally, there were two Republican races as of Thursday. Both parties will choose candidates to compete for seats in the Indiana House of Representatives, while Democrats will also pick a candidate to run for Congress in November.
All registered voters in Johnson County are eligible to cast ballots this year and make decisions about who will lead some of the county’s highest courts, the state and the nation.
Locally, 25 seats are up for grabs, more than half of which are on school boards. County offices that will appear on the ballot this year include: three superior court judges; treasurer; coroner; surveyor; county commissioners in districts 1 and 3; and three Johnson County Council at-large members. Only two of those are contested. Voters will also select precinct committeemen and state convention delegates.
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Major party candidates have one more week to file the necessary paperwork ahead of the 2020 presidential election. All candidates hoping to run for office can pick up an application at the county’s voter registration office, located in the basement of the Johnson County courthouse in Franklin.
Republican and Democrat candidates have until noon Feb. 7 to file for office, said Reagan Higdon, first deputy clerk. The parties will select their candidates in the primary election.
Any resident who wants to seek office as an independent candidate has until July 1 to file to be on the ballot in November. Those candidates have different requirements than major party candidates, Higdon said.
At the state level, voters will decide who they want to represent them at the Statehouse starting with the 2021 legislative session; four House seats and two Senate seats will appear on local ballots.
Also at the state level, candidates for governor have until noon Tuesday to file for office, but need to collect at least 500 signatures in each of Indiana’s nine congressional districts to get their name on the ballot.
So far, only Gov. Eric Holcomb has met those requirements, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
At the national level, Johnson County voters will help decide who will represent Indiana’s 9th Congressional District in Washington, D.C. The seat is currently held by Rep. Trey Hollingsworth, R-Indiana, who is completing his second term. Voters will also be tasked with deciding who they want to be President of the United States for the next four years.
Some offices will only appear on ballots during the General Election in November. That includes all school board seats, which are non-political, and lieutenant governor, who is selected by governor candidates. The state parties will nominate candidates for the offices of attorney general and superintendent of public instruction.
Locally, four Republicans have filed for three at-large seats on the Johnson County Council. The three who are selected in the primary election on May 5 will face off against the two Democrats who have filed so far for those seats in the general election Nov. 3. More could file next week.
Two Republicans have filed to be Johnson County Coroner, Travis Kost and Michael Pruitt, a local firefighter and public information officer for Indiana Task Force No. 1. Coroner Craig Lutz had not filed for re-election as of Thursday.
At the state level, local politicians will battle it out for Rep. Woody Burton’s District 58 seat. Burton, R-Whiteland, plans to retire at the end of the year after more than three decades serving Johnson County residents.
Greenwood City Council member J. David Hopper has filed for Burton’s seat, as well as recently ousted city council member Bruce Armstrong, who served the southeast side of the city for more than 14 years, and former city council candidate Jay Hart, also of Greenwood. Michelle Davis, director of adult education at the Central Nine Career Center, is also a Republican candidate in District 58.
Whoever wins in the primary will face Democrat Cindy Reinert, a retired Greenwood attorney who has run against Burton in the past.
Republican John Jacob has signed on to face District 93 Rep. Dollyne Sherman, R-Indianapolis, who won the seat via caucus last year.Â
Democrats Angela Elliott, Andy W. Miller and Abdul-Aziz Yamobi will compete this spring for a spot on the fall ballot when they will face off against Jacob or Sherman.
Nationally, only former vice-president Joe Biden had filed to be a Democratic-contender for President as of Thursday, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. Incumbent Republican President Donald Trump had not yet filed in Indiana.
Local voters will use all new equipment this year, similar to what those who voted during last year’s municipal elections experienced. The new equipment will feature a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail. Last year’s system allowed poll workers and election officials to view a printable audit of each ballot cast, whereas the new system will allow the voter to see that audit as well.
The county is spending about $1.5 million on services and equipment, including 320 voting machines, which they will own. County Clerk Trena McLaughlin also decided last week to rent 30 additional machines for this year’s elections out of concerns there wouldn’t be enough. That will cost an additional $54,000.
All equipment is expected to be delivered by next week, which will give Microvote, the county’s new Indianapolis-based election vendor, ample time to prepare for the election, McLaughlin has said.
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Here is a look at how primary races are shaping up with a week left to file:
DEMOCRAT RACES
U.S. Representative, 9th Congressional District
D. Liam Dorris
James C. O’Gabhann
Mark J. Powell
Andy Ruff
Republican challenger: Trey Hollingsworth
Indiana House, District 93
Angela Elliott
Andy W. Miller
Abdul-Aziz Yamobi
REPUBLICAN RACES
Indiana House, District 58
Bruce Armstrong
Michelle Davis
Jay Hart
J. David Hopper
Democrat challenger: Cindy (Cynthia) Reinert
Indiana House District 93
John Jacob
Dollyne Sherman
Johnson County Council At-Large (3)
John Mallers
Joshua L. Marshall
Joshua C. McCarty
John Myers
Johnson County Coroner
Travis L. Kost
Michael D. Pruitt
CANDIDATES WHO HAVE FILED BUT ARE NOT CONTESTED:
Eric J. Holcomb, Republican, Governor
Jason E. Fletcher, Democrat, State Senator, District 36
Jack E. Sandlin, Republican, State Senator, District 36
Rodric D. Bray, Republican, State Senator, District 37
John Young, Republican, State Representative, District 47
Chris May, Republican, State Representative, District 65
Peter D. Nugent, Republican, Judge of the Johnson Superior Court, No. 2
Lance Hamner, Republican, Judge of the Johnson Superior Court, No. 3
Marla Clark, Republican, Judge of the Johnson Superior Court, No. 4
Michele Ann Graves, Republican, Johnson County Treasurer
J. Gregory Cantwell, Republican, Johnson County Surveyor
Brian P. Baird, Republican, Johnson County Commissioner, District 1
Ronald (Ron) H. West, Republican, Johnson County Commissioner, District 3
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Here is a look at the filing window for all open seats on the ballots this election:
Major party candidates can file until noon Feb. 7;
Independent candidates can file until noon July 1
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The following offices are up for election this year:
Local:
Superior Court 2 judge
Superior Court 3 judge
Superior Court 4 judge
County treasurer
County coroner
County surveyor
County commissioner district 1
County commissioner district 3
County Council at-large (3 seats)
Republican precinct committeemen for all precincts
School boards (General Election only):
Center Grove School Board at-large (2 seats)
Clark-Pleasant School Board Pleasant Township
Clark-Pleasant School Board at-large
Edinburgh School Board Town of Edinburgh (2 seats)
Franklin Community School Board City of Franklin (2 seats)
Franklin Community School Board Franklin Township
Greenwood School Board district 1
Greenwood School Board district 3
Nineveh-Hensley Jackson School Board Nineveh Township
Nineveh-Hensley Jackson School Board at-large (2 seats)
State:
Governor
Lieutenant governor (General Election only)
Attorney General
Superintendent of Public Instruction
State Senator district 36
State Senator district 37
State Representative district 47
State Representative district 58
State Representative district 65
State Representative district 93
Republican State Convention delegate district 1 (16 seats)
Republican State Convention delegate district 2 (16 seats)
Republican State Convention delegate district 3 (9 seats)
Republican State Convention delegate district 4 (10 seats)
Democrat State Convention delegate at-large (41 seats)
Federal:
President of the United States
U.S. Representative district 9
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