The field is set. While there’s no election today, we have the candidates finalized that will be showing up on your March 17th primary ballot. In White County, the only contested race will be for the Republican nomination for Sheriff. Incumbent Jordan Weiss and challenger Chris Pollard will face off. Other races uncontested will feature county board incumbents in District 1 (David South), and District 2 (Amanda Cannon). In District 5, Clint Spence did not pick up a petition. A newbie, Jeffrey Knight did and will run unopposed for that seat. Current office holders including the Treasurer (Mike Baxley), Supervisor of Assessments (Gary Baxley), and County Clerk (Kayci Heil) will also appear unopposed. Ten Republicans picked up and turned in petitions for precinct committee person jobs while four Democrats signaled their intention to run, none contested.
Still a question in White County is where Carmi precinct voters will be tallying their choices. There have been whispers the floral hall will be back open for rental use, but it’s yet to be confirmed with one fair board official saying details are still a week or more away. White County Clerk Kayci Heil is still working toward finding another viable option for Carmi voters to cast ballots.
In Hamilton County, three Republicans are vying for a seat on the county board. They include Jimmy Johnson, Landon Vaughan, and Rick Rubenacker. There’s a race for the Republican nomination for Sheriff in HamCo as well with current Sheriff Tracy Lakin being challenged by Jason Stewart. Sarah Mead is expected to win an unexpired 2-year term taking over for States Attorney Justin Hood who has signaled his intention to resign at the end of the year.
There will also be a primary race for Sheriff in Gallatin County. Nick Capeheart will face off with Scottie Sauls for the Republican nod. Whoever wins that race on March 17th will face off with T. Scott Sauls, a Democrat next November. Deanna Bryant will find herself in two races on March 17th. The soon to be former County Clerk has signaled her intention to run for a county board seat. She’ll be up against Republicans Andrew Lunsford and Warren Rollman, current incumbents and also vying for seats are Thomas Drone, Del Willis, and Chad Wargel. Drone is listed as a Republican. Willis and Wargel are registered as Democrats. Bryant also faces a challenge in her bid for Omaha Precinct Committeeperson. Jon Davis is also running for that position as a Republican.