Fulton County Republicans elected unopposed

Republican Party candidates in Fulton County faced no opposition this general election, as Democrats did not fill any vacancies on the county ballot by the July 3 deadline. With that, the Republican primary back in May effectively set the roster of county officials for the next four years.

Fulton County voters on Tuesday elected a new auditor, treasurer, coroner and two members of the county council. They also reelected local Republicans unopposed in the general election and weighed in on contested races for state offices and, of course, who should be the next president.

Election inspectors at vote centers in Rochester reported a steady flow of voters and minimal technical issues. As of noon, 346 people had visited the Community Resource Center to cast a ballot. The Fulton County 4-H Fairgrounds had 451 voters as of 12:30 p.m.

A connectivity issue between voting machines daisy chained together was resolved minutes before polls opened at the Community Resource Center. Thirteen people lined up outside were then welcomed in to cast their ballot without delay.

Poll workers at the fairgrounds reported some issues feeding ballots into machines, but were working through them. Additionally, at least two voters there were asked to change out of or turn around (as to not display) shirts donning former President Donald Trump's name, as Indiana prohibits clothing and items that support political parties and candidates while at active polling places. One became more upset with the request than the other, but both complied.

The fairgrounds had 23 people waiting in line when polls opened in the morning.

Poll workers also reported many first-time voters, one being an 88-year-old woman at the fairgrounds. Bells were rang at the Community Resource Center in celebration of such voters.

Turned away

Unfortunately, one issue that became more apparent throughout the day was that many people were not registered to vote when they thought they had done so through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

Fulton County Clerk Dawn Ziemek estimated that issue affected roughly a hundred people wanting to vote in Fulton County, but ultimately had to be turned away at the polls. She based that figure on the amount of calls fielded to check individuals' registration status. 

Ziemek added that provisional ballots were not issued to those individuals, as registration status in those instances could not be verified through the ballot curing process. Hearing the same issue from other counties, she speculated that the BMV didn't do it's part in processing voter registration with the Indiana Election Division. 

She encourages everyone to check their voter registration status at indianavoters.in.gov before heading to the polls in the future. Additionally, she urges people to register on the state's website or at the Fulton County Courthouse. 

The issue was reportedly not as apparent during early voting, with 5,051 ballots cast early in-person and 454 by mail. Those ballots, representing more than 41 percent of all registered voters in the county, accounted for more than 61 percent of the total vote. 

Those ballots were opened on Election Day and counted by 12 workers, split Republican and Democrat. The process got underway at 8 a.m. and didn't finish until 5:30 p.m. Final results were announced just after 7:30 p.m.

Voter turnout for Fulton County was 67.44 percent, with 8,928 of the county's 13,238 registered voters casting a ballot either early, by mail or at the polls.

Fulton County Republican Party Chairman Mike Canada was excited by the turnout, but discouraged by the lack of local races. 

"None of the countywide races have any challengers. I'm going to take full advantage of that, but it's not ideal," he said. "We would rather have the debate out there, so that the voters could hear both visions for moving forward in the county and what's best."

He shared confidence in the field of GOP candidates elected to office and thanked poll workers, noting it takes both parties to ensure a secure election. He also thanked the candidates for running and putting themselves out there in front of the voters.

Not having a Democrat candidate on the ballot is a concern for the county, Fulton County Democratic Party Chairman Josh Zehner acknowledged. 

"We need to have competition to be able to produce the best person for the right job," he said, however, he noted it's a hard sell to get Democrats to run. That's largely due to the uphill battle they face, particularly with straight-ticket voting. 

"I don't blame anyone not wanting to run in that position because people dedicate time, they dedicate money, they dedicate a lot of stuff to be able to run a campaign," Zehner said. "It's a big time investment, especially when you're going up against those odds."

Zehner added that doing away with straight-ticket voting would help.

"In bigger cities, the party definitely benefits from it, but it kills us here in the rural areas," he said. "We're going to analyze our strategy, figure out what we need to do to get some candidates out there and running."

Those elected

Kathy Adamson, the county's current treasurer, was unopposed after securing the Republican nomination for auditor by a margin of only eight votes in the primary over County Councilwoman Lorie Hurst. She, like others elected Tuesday, will take office on Jan. 1. The auditor's position is currently held by Christina Horton, who reaches her term limit at the end of the year.

"This is a new beginning, new people," Adamson said. "We're going to start over, start fresh. Yes, I'm going to make mistakes in the beginning, but we will get through it together."

Adamson added that she's both confident and scared to be stepping into the role of auditor. 

"I'm stepping into something that's a little bit unknown, not totally unknown," she said. "I'm doing my research. I'm reaching out to contacts and making new ones to help, and I'll be ready to go."

Adamson intends to keep current staff of the auditor's office on board. 

"The staff that is in there now is a great group. They all work hard," she said. "I have absolutely no plans to change anything, and I hope they have no plans to leave."

That staff includes four full-time employees and an open part-time position. Adamson plans to leave that position open until coordinating with the current staff on needs and direction. 

Adamson also intends to keep her door open to the public and regularly attend county meetings to fulfill her duty as secretary to the county council and commissioners. 

She thanked everyone who supported her campaign and asked for time in getting acclimated to her new position. 

Taking over as treasurer in the new year is Republican Jennifer Utter, who was unopposed in both the primary and general election. She currently serves as deputy treasurer for the county.

Utter said she was hesitant to run for office, but received amazing support from family and friends. She added that Adamson, whom she has been friends with for more than 40 years, was a big reason for why she ran. 

Utter plans for business as usual in the treasurer's office, noting that "everything runs very smooth right now."

She is encouraged by the fact that Adamson will be just across the hall to bounce ideas off of or seek advice. 

Also unopposed in both the primary and general election, Jon Good was elected coroner. He is the brother of current Fulton County Coroner Jeri Good and son of previous coroners Junior Good and Joyce Good, his parents.  

Two new faces joining the Fulton County Council are Barry Baldwin and Patty Geier. They, along with incumbent Councilman Steve Fishburn, won Republican nominations for three at-large seats on the council. Matthew Finke, also in that race, fell short of securing enough votes to move on to the general election.

Other Republicans facing no opposition in the general election and reelected are: Dave Sommers, Distrist 1 commissioner; Rick Ranstead, District 3 commissioner; and Greg Heller, Fulton Superior Court judge.

Looking at the next four years, Sommers and Ranstead noted there will be a focus on providing training to department heads and elected officials. Their main goal is to continue growing the county, both in jobs and workforce.

Another goal is to have quarterly meetings between officeholders and department heads.

"We think that's very important to get everybody on the same page, and it hasn't been done here lately," Sommers said. "We want to be a cohesive team that works together."

Commissioners also look to launch a new county website and start livestreaming meetings by the first of the year. 

"We're hoping not to have any major projects," Sommers said, adding commissioners have had to clear several hurdles in the last four years, including contracting with a new ambulance provider and getting centralized dispatching up and running. 

Commissioners acknowledge financial challenges ahead, especially in courthouse renovations and work on the highway garage. 

School boards

Of those who filed for election to five local school boards, the following people were elected:

Rochester School Board – Katie Miller, Casi Cowles and Kyle Rensberger.  

Caston School Board – Chad Boldry, District 2, Scott Rudicel, District 3, and Cristie Rans, District 4.

Tippecanoe Valley School Board – Aaron Zolman, District 1, and Adam Heckaman, District 2.  

Culver School Board – Anthony Zehner, District 1, Mark Maes, District 2, and John Uebler, District 5.

Greg Kiser, Scott Hanson and Stephen Rausch won a six-way race for three Monroe Township seats on the Eastern Pulaski School Board. Kiser received the most votes with 45, or 20.64 percent of the total, followed by Hanson with 43 votes, or 19.72 percent, and then Rausch with 40 votes, or 18.35 percent. He received one more vote than Monica Potthoff, who was followed by Jimmy Terry and finally Waylon Burke in that race. Incumbent Taylor White was unopposed and elected to the board's Van Buren Township seat. 

Other results

Fulton County's results for the presidential race and state offices are as follows:

President and Vice President
Donald Trump and JD Vance (R) – 6,633 (74.94 percent)
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz (D) – 2,097 (23.69 percent)
Chase Oliver and Mike Ter Maat (L) – 45 (0.51 percent)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Nicole Shanahan (WTP) – 76 (0.86 percent)

U.S. Senator
Jim Banks (R) – 6,580 (74.92 percent)
Valerie McCray (D) – 1,990 (22.66 percent)
Andrew Horning (L) – 213 (2.43 percent)

Governor and Lieutenant Governor
Mike Braun and Micah Beckwith (R) – 5,673 (64.25 percent)
Jennifer McCormick and Terry Goodin (D) – 2,358 (26.71 percent)
Donald Rainwater and Tonya Hudson (L) – 798 (9.04 percent)

Attorney General
Todd Rokita (R) – 6,376 (72.74 percent)
Destiny Wells (D) – 2,389 (27.26 percent)

U.S. Representative, Second District
Rudy Yakym (R) – 6,541 (74.35 percent)
Lori Camp (D) – 2,032 (23.10 percent)
William Henry (L) – 224 (2.55 percent)

State Senator, District 18
Stacey Donato – 7,375 (100 percent)

State Representative, District 17
Jack Jordan – 7,292 (100 percent).