A loaded political year is shaping up in Vanderburgh County, with a pair of seats on the county’s Board of Commissioners up for election, as well as a list of other county government positions.
Voters also will weigh in on races for Indiana’s next governor and the new Eighth District U.S. representative, as well as contests for the U.S. Senate and office of the presidency.
Noon Feb. 9 was the deadline to file for Indiana’s primary election.
Close to home, the county commission already has changed this year. District 1 Democrat Ben Shoulders announced on Jan. 24 that he was not only declining to seek another term but also was resigning with a year left in his current term.
Shoulders accepted a private sector job as business development director with American Structurepoint.
A Vanderburgh County Democratic Party caucus chose Mike Goebel to complete Shoulders’ term. Goebel, a longtime teacher and coach at Mater Dei High School, had been serving on the Vanderburgh County Council. Goebel has filed to run for a full term as county commissioner.
Republicans don’t currently have a candidate for the District 1 county commissioner election. Jonathan Weaver, a former Evansville City Council member, and Vanderburgh County Assessor, filed for the race but later withdrew to accept a position as a meteorologist with WEVV-TV.
District 2 Commissioner Justin Elpers won the election in 2022 and retains his seat through 2026.
The other county commission seat up for election is the District 3 position held by Republican Cheryl Musgrave, who has filed to run for a new term. She has a GOP primary opponent in United Way of Southwestern Indiana CEO Amy Canterbury, who entered the race a day before the deadline.
Two Democrats also have filed for the District 3 election and will square off in a primary: Hope Fussner and Michael Lockard.
The Vanderburgh County Council’s three at-large positions also are up for election this year. With three candidates in each party, the primary is not contested — all six advance to the general election, when the top three finishers win the seats for the council’s fiscal team. Democrats will hold a caucus on Feb. 15 to appoint someone to fill Goebel’s unexpired term.
The race to replace retiring Republican Eighth District U.S. Representative Larry Bucshon, meanwhile, has drawn heavy interest from candidates in both parties, including former Rep. John Hostettler, who was in Congress from 1995 to 2006 and has entered the crowded Republican primary.
Here is a full list of who is on the May 7 primary election ballot. Asterisks denote incumbent officeholders.
Vanderburgh County Commissioner District 1
Democrat Mike Goebel*
Vanderburgh County Commissioner District 3
Democrat Hope Fussner
Democrat Michael Lockard
Republican Amy Canterbury
Republican Cheryl Musgrave*
Vanderburgh County Council At-Large
Democrat Bob Deig
Democrat Karese Johnson
Democrat Dustin Stephens
Republican Ed Bassemier
Republican Jill Hahn*
Republican Joe Kiefer II
County Recorder
Democrat Gina Robinson Ungar
Republican Russell Lloyd Jr.
County Coroner
Democrat Keith Mosby
Republican Bryan Underwood
County Clerk
Republican Dottie Thomas
County Treasurer
Republican Brian Gerth
County Surveyor
Republican Linda Freeman*
Indiana Governor
Republican Mike Braun
Republican Brad Chambers
Republican Suzanne Crouch
Republican Eric Doden
Republican Curtis Hill
Republican Jamie Reitenour
Democrat Tamie Dixon-Tatum
Democrat Jennifer McCormick
Indiana Senate, District 50
Republican Vaneta Becker*
Indiana House, District 64
Republican Matt Hostettler*
Republican Dale Mallory
Indiana House, District 76
Republican Wendy McNamara*
Indiana House, District 77
Democrat Alex Burton
Indiana House, District 78
Republican Tim O’Brien*
U.S. Representative, Eighth District
Democrat Erik Hurt
Democrat Peter F.H. Priest II
Democrat Edward Upton Sein
Democrat Michael Talarzyk
Republican Jim Case
Republican Jeremy Heath
Republican John Hostettler
Republican Dominick Kavanaugh
Republican Mark Messmer
Republican Luke Misner
Republican Richard Moss
Republican Kristi Risk
Republican Jon Schrock
U.S. Senator
Democrat Marc Carmichael
Democrat Valerie McCray
Republican Jim Banks
Republican John Rust
President of the United States
Democrat Joe Biden*
Republican Nikki Haley
Republican Donald Trump
