Deadline passes: Here's everyone who's running in the May primary elections.
The deadline for filing in this spring’s primary election passed at noon Friday. And the slate of candidates promises some interesting match-ups among both Republicans and Democrats on St. Joseph County ballots in the May 7 primary election.
But some offices won’t see a race this spring.
Among them, U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym, the Granger Republican who was elected in 2022 to fill the 2nd District seat left by the death of Jackie Walorski, has filed to run for another term. On Friday, Democrat Lori A. Camp, filed to run, too. She's a former Adams High School swim and gymnastics coach who works for a software firm in South Bend.
In races where one of the parties lacks a candidate, that party can still nominate someone for the fall elections. The deadline to do so is July 3.
And from May 21 to June 20, school board candidates can start filing for November’s general election.
The latest candidates to file
Here's a look at who’s filed since Jan. 25, which is when The Tribune last reported on candidates.
Our first candidate story on Jan. 19: Musical chairs in St. Joseph County's primaries? Here's who's running so far.
Two Republican members of the Penn Township Board are seeking different seats on the St. Joseph County Council.
One of them, Kris Verash, will challenge Republican incumbent Randy Figg for the District F seat in the primary. Verash is a Grissom Middle School teacher who also runs a business called Rudy’s Barn Wood in Mishawaka.
The primary winner will face Democrat Charlotte Wolfe in the fall. Wolfe, who’s marking her first foray into politics, runs Prairie Winds Nature Farm at her Lakeville home, hosting visitors who experience the care of horses, farm animals and gardens.
The Penn Township Board’s president, Kent Hizer, is going after the District I seat now held by council President Mark Root, a fellow Republican. It will actually be a three-way race in the GOP primary, because Andy Rutten has also filed for the District I seat.
Rutten ran for but didn’t win a seat on the Penn-Harris-Madison school board in 2022. As a parent, he was active in a conservative-leaning Strengthen Our Schools group. He and supporters had often attended school board meetings and was critical of PHM masking policies during the pandemic, of critical race theory and of discussing gender identity in school.
In the fall, either Hizer, Root or Rutten will face Democrat Tami Springer.
County Coroner Patricia Jordan has filed for re-election unopposed in the Republican primary. Democrat Michael J. McGann, who’d won election as coroner in 2016 and then lost to Jordan in 2020, also filed to regain the job. McGann has worked as a local funeral home director, too.
St. Joseph County voters will also select their probate court judge, but it won’t be a race in the primary. The incumbent judge, Democrat Jason Cichowicz, has filed for re-election while Republican Loris Patrick Zappia has filed, too.
As expected, Democrat Heidi Beidinger did indeed file to run again for the Indiana House District 5 seat against incumbent Republican Dale DeVon, making it a November rematch of the 2022 election.
And we have one point of clarification from a prior Tribune story on candidates: State Sen. Linda Rogers, R-11th, won’t run for re-election this year because she was just elected in 2022.
St. Joseph County offices
∎ Probate court judge
Loris Patrick Zappia (R)
Jason Cichowicz (D)
∎ Commissioner District 2
Rafael Morton (D)
∎ Commissioner District 3
Tony Hazen (R)
Tom McCormick (R)
Maggie DeMaegd (R)
∎ County Council District D
Jenn Shabazz (D)
Jason Piontek (D)
∎ County Council District F
Randy Figg (R)
Kris Verash (R)
Charlotte Wolfe (D)
∎ County Council District G
Mark Catanzarite (D)
∎ County council District I
Mark Root (R)
Kent Hizer (R)
Andy Rutten (R)
Tami Springer (D)
∎ County Treasurer
Michael Rose (R)
Mary Beth Wisniewski (D)
∎ County Recorder
Sharon Banicki (D)
Carolyn Topolski (D)
Candace Brown (R)
∎ County Surveyor
Derek Dieter (R)
∎ County Coroner
Patricia Jordan (R)
Michael J. McGann (D)
Indiana General Assembly
∎ Senate District 5
Ed Charbonneau (R)
Leslie Nuss Bamesberger (D)
∎ Senate District 8
Michael Bohacek (R)
Joe Layne (R)
Spencer England (R)
Leon P. Smith (D)
∎ Senate District 9
Ryan Mishler (R)
∎ Senate District 10
David Niezgodski (D)
Tim Swager (D)
∎ House District 5
Dale DeVon (R)
Heidi Beidinger (D)
∎ House District 6
Maureen Bauer (D)
∎ House District 7
Jake Teshka (R)
Timothy J. Jaycox (R)
∎ House District 8
Ryan Dvorak (D)
∎ House District 21
Timothy Wesco (R)
Congress
∎ U.S. Representative, 2nd District
Rudy Yakym (R)
Lori A. Camp (D)
South Bend Tribune reporter Joseph Dits can be reached at 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Primary election candidates file in St. Joseph County for GOP Democrat