Marté to start reelection campaign for Monroe County sheriff

Monroe County sheriff Ruben Marté is running for reelection in 2026, and will officially begin his campaign on June 12. That’s according to a May 21 news release.

Marté was first elected in 2022. He prevailed in a five-way race for the Democratic Party's nomination, which included Steve Hale, Angie Purdie, Joani Stalcup, and Troy Thomas. Marté received nearly half of the Democratic Party primary votes. In November, he won the race against Republican nominee Nathan Williamson with 62.2% of the vote.

When Marté first ran for sheriff, he filed his statement of committee organization around this time last cycle, on May 19, 2021. Candidates in the 2026 election can't file their declaration for candidacy until early January. Before serving in elected office, Marté's professional background was in law enforcement. He graduated from the FBI National Academy and wrapped up a 31-year career with the Indiana State Police as a captain.

The news release says that so far in Marté's service as sheriff, he’s increased correctional staff in-service training by over 500%, and increased mental health and related services in the correctional facility to address recidivism. If reelected, Marté’s three major focuses will be continuing training and support for staff, ensuring current jail safety, and developing the new jail to serve as a model for other communities.

A preliminary timeline for the new jail, which was presented to Monroe County councilors in late February, has construction beginning in July 2026 with completion by the first quarter of 2029. County sheriffs are elected to a four year term, with a two-term limit. That means if he's reelected, Marté would oversee the new jail for a little under two years, as his second term would go through 2030.

There's still several months for candidates to hit the deadline in early February 2026 to file their paperwork. The only Republican among current Monroe County government elected officials is county councilor Marty Hawk.

Monroe County Republican Party chair Cory Grass, chosen for that post in early March, indicated to The B Square at the time that he's looking to recruit a Republican candidate for sheriff. Grass indicated that a GOP candidate would likely campaign in part on a platform of strong immigration law enforcement. That was an allusion to a lawsuit filed by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita against Marté, which alleges that the sheriff's policy for handling the immigration status of detainees does not follow state law. Marté contends his policy does conform with state law. A ruling from the court is expected in the coming days or weeks.

Through the pre-primary period in the 2022 election, Marté raised a total of around $19,600.

Marté's campaign officially kicks off at 5:30 p.m. on June 12, at Uptown Cafe in downtown Bloomington. Set to speak are Jim Sims and Shelli Yoder. Sims is a former Bloomington city councilmember and current president of the Monroe County Branch NAACP.  Yoder is the current state senator for District 40, which covers most of Monroe County including Bloomington.

The news release about Marté's reelection campaign was sent by Ryan Still, co-chair of Marté's campaign committee. Still is a former deputy chair for rural engagement for the Monroe County Democratic Party.