Election 2022 candidate notebook: Three weeks to go, but some races shaping up
Through last Friday, the 2022 candidate filings that have been reported by the Monroe County election division still have gaps for some races.
But there are three weeks to go before the filing deadline at noon on Feb. 4.
The B Square maintains a spreadsheet of candidate filings, with links to official government records and news releases issued by candidates.
The topic of voting locations for this year’s elections will be taken up by the county election board at its meeting next week, which is scheduled for Jan. 20 at 1 p.m.
For local offices, one of the two contested primary races so far is to replace Democrat Stephen Galvin as a judge on the Monroe County circuit court.
Galvin is not seeking re-election, and it looks like at least four Democrats will be vying for their party’s nomination in the May primary: April Wilson, Allison Chopra, Emily Salzmann, Karen Wrenbeck.
Official paperwork for a 2022 candidacy declaration is on file for Wilson and Wrenbeck. Chopra and Salzmann have campaign exploratory committee paperwork on file from 2021. A news release from the Monroe County GOP indicated Carl Lamb will be standing as a candidate for the Republicans. That would set up a contested race for judge in November.
Democrats will have at least two candidates to choose from as their party’s nominee for sheriff. Incumbent Democrat Brad Swain is term limited. Democrats Ruben Marté and Troy Thomas have filed their declarations of candidacy. Based on Republican Nathan Williamson’s filing for sheriff, that race will be contested in the November general election.
Other local offices that are setting up to have contested races in November’s general election are county commissioner in District 1 and county council in District 1.
For the county commissioner spot, incumbent Democrat Lee Jones has filed a declaration. Republican Perry Robinson has also filed his declaration of candidacy for county commissioner.
Incumbent county councilor Democrat Peter Iversen has declared his candidacy for reelection. James Allen has filed for the District 1 county council spot on the Republican side.
For state offices, it looks like there will be at least two contested primaries on the Republican side and at least one for the Democrats.
District 65 state representative incumbent Chris May will be challenged in the Republican primary by John Lee. District 60 incumbent Peggy Mayfield will be challenged in the Republican primary by Brittany Carrol.
In District 62, where incumbent Republican Jeff Ellington is not seeking reelection, at least two Democrats will be vying for their party’s nomination: Penny Githens and Brad Swain. (Ellington is running in House District 45.) Based on Republican Dave Hall’s filing, the race for District 62 will be contested in November’s general election.
Of the trustee positions for each of the 11 townships in Monroe County, five have primary candidates so far, four of them incumbents. The one non-incumbent candidate for a township trustee so far is Democrat Efrat Feferman in Bloomington Township. Incumbent Bloomington Township trustee Kim Alexander is not seeking reelection.
In the 9th District congressional race, incumbent Trey Hollingsworth has announced he’s not seeking reelection. Republican Bill Thomas and Green Party candidate Jacob Bailey have filed their paperwork.
No Democrats show up yet on the list of 9th District candidates maintained by the Indiana secretary of state’s office. But the Monroe County Democratic Party’s website includes four candidates with intentions: Jonathon Cole; D. Liam Dorris; Matt Fyfe; and Isak Nti Asare.
