GREENFIELD — Republican candidates running for Hancock County offices in this fall’s elections will face no opposition from Democrats. None filed to run for the Nov. 3 election before the deadline this week.
The election is not quite a slam dunk for the GOP: Independent candidates are still able to file for office until July 15. Those interested in running should contact the Hancock County Election Office.
Though no Democratic candidates ran in the county’s primary elections, the party was eligible to appoint candidates to run in the general election up to June 30. The party in the past has found candidates to run in the general election, but not this year.
“It sounds like it’s going to be a Republican ticket,” said Randy Johnson, chair of the Hancock County Democratic Party.
Johnson himself has run for office in the past, but he said he is “getting a little old” for campaigning. His term as party chair expires next year, and he is not planning to seek re-election.
Hancock County is generally a heavily Republican area, and Democratic candidates are always heavy underdogs. In 2019, the race for Greenfield mayor attracted a Democratic candidate, Zachary LaFavers, who lost to incumbent Chuck Fewell by a wide margin. A Democratic candidate for Cumberland Town Council was also unsuccessful. Democrats –including Johnson and his wife, Rita — ran for a number of county offices in 2018, but all of them lost by lopsided margins.
A Democrat has not won major countywide office in decades. The last Democrat to win, Crystel Myers, served one scandal-plagued term as county coroner starting in 2013.
Johnson said it is difficult to get people interested in running for office as Democrats in a county where they know they would be unlikely to win. To run a competitive race also requires a financial investment, and fundraising for underdog candidates is always difficult.
Johnson said he is focusing on finding a strong candidate to replace him as party chair and hopes Democrats will eventually have more influence in the county.
“The party is growing some in recent years,” Johnson said. “Once we get one person to run for county office and be successful, I think it’d open up.”
Johnson said he believes a number of factors have led to continued Republican dominance in Hancock County, one of which is the option of straight-ticket voting. That allows voters to check one box on their ballots to vote for a party’s candidates in every race. Many also make their decisions based only on the presidential election, Johnson believes.
“As long as we have straight-party tickets, a lot of people don’t even look. They just pull the lever for the party,” he said. “That’s a lot to overcome.”
While they will not have any local candidates to support, Hancock County Democrats will be campaigning for their standard-bearers on the state and federal level. Those include presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden; gubernatorial candidate Woody Myers, who is challenging Gov. Eric Holcomb; 6th District congressional candidate Jeannine Lee Lake of Muncie, who is challenging incumbent Rep. Greg Pence; and Theresa Bruno, who is running against Sen. Mike Crider, R-Greenfield.
Recruitment of candidates is mostly the responsibility of local parties. The Indiana Democratic Party has held a number of free training for both candidates and volunteers ahead of this year’s election season, state communications director Phil Johnson said.
“The state party is actively working to build the bench,” he said.
Though many Indiana counties are Republican-dominated, Democrats won a few unexpected victories in 2019. Those included two members of the Fishers city council and the first-ever Democrats on both the Carmel City Council and the Avon Town Council in Hendricks County.
“There’s no place that’s not a battleground, and that includes Hancock County,” Johnson said.
Janice Silvey, chair of the Hancock County Republican Party, said she was pleased with how the election season shaped up. She said the Republican slate of candidates for office this year was strong.
“It’s always a positive when they don’t have anybody to run against,” Silvey said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
People interested in seeking one of the offices up for election this fall can still file as an independent, but they must do so by July 15.
More information is available by contacting the county election office at 317-477-1109.
County offices up for election include judge seats in both superior courts; county commissioner seats in districts 1 and 3; county coroner; county council at-large; and county recorder. Republicans have been nominated for all these positions.
[sc:pullout-text-end]