Evansville voters never have chosen a woman as mayor. This year, female candidates in both parties joined the 2023 municipal election, and Indiana’s third-largest city could make history.
Republicans Cheryl Musgrave, currently a Vanderburgh County commissioner, and Natalie Rascher will compete in the May 2 primary to advance to the general election on the GOP ticket. Stephanie Terry, a member of the Vanderburgh County Council, is running for mayor as a Democrat.
Two other people signed up for the mayoral election: Republican Caine Helmer and Democrat Brian Alexander. Both are political unknowns who would be longshot candidates in their primaries should they remain on the ballot.
Evansville’s next mayor will replace Republican Lloyd Winnecke, who announced in July that he would not seek a fourth term.
Vanderburgh County’s Republican and Democratic chairs have said they will seek to have Helmer and Alexander, respectively, removed from the primary because they have not voted in their parties’ recent primary elections.
In addition to the mayor’s office, the role of Evansville City Clerk and all nine seats on the Evansville City Council are up for election this year. Feb. 3 was the filing deadline for the primaries.
Evansville is assured of a new mayor in 2024, but the City Council might see little changeover.
Eight of the nine current members filed to keep their seats. There are no contested primaries for City Council positions, and thus far, only races for the three City Council At-Large seats and the 2nd Ward position are contested in the Nov. 7 general election.
This summer, local party chairs also could appoint candidates to fill empty slots on the general election ballot.
Here is a list of candidates to file for city government positions:
Mayor: Caine Helmer (R), Cheryl Musgrave (R), Natalie Rascher (R), Brian Alexander (D), Stephanie Terry (D)
City Clerk: Incumbent Laura Windhorst (D)
City Council At-Large: Incumbent Ron Beane (R), Incumbent Jonathan Weaver (R), Mary Allen (D), Paul Green (D), Courtney Johnson (D)
City Council 1st Ward: Incumbent Ben Trockman (D)
City Council 2nd Ward: Incumbent Missy Mosby (D), Maytes Rivera (R)
City Council 3rd Ward: Incumbent Zac Heronemus (D)
City Council 4th Ward: Incumbent Alex Burton (D)
City Council 5th Ward: Incumbent Angela Koehler Lindsey (R)
City Council 6th Ward: Incumbent Jim Brinkmeyer (D)
