Lake, Porter county candidates join races
NWI hopefuls get on the ballot in federal, state and local contests
Filing for the primary election ended Friday, and a few candidates waited to file on the last day after a monthlong filing period.
The big-ticket race includes 20 people — 14 Democrats and 6 Republicans — filing for the 1st Congressional District seat being vacated by longtime U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Gary.
Both Lake County Board of Elections and Registration Assistant Director LeAnn Angerman and Lake County Democratic Party Chairman Jim Wieser said they are watching the race for Visclosky’s seat.
“It’s so hard to predict based on the number of candidates,” Wieser said. “When you have that many candidates, it boils down to name recognition and finance.”
There are also state and county seats up for reelection. Here is a list of all the candidates.
1st Congressional District
Democrats running for the Congressional seat include Melissa Borom, Carrie Castro, Scott Costello, Antonio Daggett Sr., Ryan Farrar, Sabrina Haake, John Henry Hall, Porter County Attorney Jim Harper, Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., Wendell Mosby, North Township Trustee Frank Mrvan, state Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon, DMunster, Jayson Reeves and Andrew Sylwestrowicz, according to the Indiana Election Division.
The Republicans running for the seat are Dion Bergeron, Mont Handley, Spencer T. Lemmons, Mark Leyva, William F. Powers and Lake County Sheriff Deputy Delano M. Scaife, according to the Indiana Election Division.
Wieser said that with so many candidates in the race, it comes down to name recognition and finance. He called out McDermott, Mrvan and Reardon as candidates that “are well known and have (campaign finance) ability.”
State races
State Sen. Eddie Melton, D-3rd, will face Democratic challenger Calumet Township Board President Darren L. Washington, according to the Indiana Election Division.
With Reardon running for the 1st Congressional District, the state House 12th District seat is open. Democrat Mike Andrade and Republican Tom Wichlinski filed for that seat, according to the Indiana Election Division.
Ed Soliday, a Valparaiso Republican who represents District 4 in the Indiana House of Representatives, will face Sara Blohm in the primary. Democrats will choose between Ben Blohm and Deb Porter to slate a candidate on the November ballot for that seat.
In District 1, Democratic state Rep. Carolyn Jackson, of Hammond, is facing a Democratic challenged former Hammond Councilman Anthony Higgs, according to the Indiana Election Division.
State Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-3rd, is facing a challenger in Gary Democrat Jessica Renslow, according to the Indiana Elec
tion Division.
In the 19th District, state Rep. Lisa Beck is unopposed in the primary, but will face Republican challenger Julie Olthoff, who previously held the seat, in November, according to the Indiana Election Divisions.
Dyer state Rep. Chris Chyung, D-15th, is also unopposed in the primary, but will likely face the man he beat two years ago, former GOP Rep. Hal Slager in November, according to the Indiana Election Divisions.
Lake County
In Lake County, the recorder, coroner, surveyor and commissioners in District 2 and District 3 are up for reelection, according to the Lake County Board of Elections and Registration. Also, candidates can file to run for state delegate and Republican precinct committeemen, officials said.
The county coroner and recorder races are highly contested, with eight Democrats and one Republican filing for county recorder and six Democrats filing for coroner, according to the Lake County Board of Elections and Registration.
Democrats running for the recorder position include Chief Deputy Recorder Gina Pimentel, Glenn Johnson, Eric Sera, Glenn Stubbs, John W. Johnson, County Coroner Merrilee Frey, Louis Gonzalez and Nick Petrovski. The winner is expected to face Republican former St. John Councilwoman Rose Hejl in November, according to the Lake County Board of Elections and Registration.
In the coroner race, six Democrats filed to run, including former coroner David Pastrick, Clayton Frey, Terri McNary, E.C. Kavourinos, Perry Jackson Jr. and Samuel Smith, according to the Lake County Board of Elections and Registration. Smith was the last person to file before Friday’s deadline, officials said.
Lake County Surveyor Bill Emerson Jr., who has held the office since 2014, is running unopposed. Emerson and his parents gathered outside the Lake County Board of Elections and Registration office Friday and were pleased when it was announced that filing had closed.
“I love the job. I feel fortunate,” Emerson said. “It says a lot about my office staff and that people seem to like the work we’re doing.”
Commissioner Jerry Tippy, R-2nd, unopposed in the primary, is expected to face Democratic challenger and former commissioner Gerry J. Scheub, also running unopposed for the primary, in the general election, according to the Lake County Board of Elections and Registration.
Commissioner Michael Repay, D-3rd, is seeking reelection. Three Democrats are running against him: Liliana Cruz, Lourdes Munoz-Hicks and Jesus Luis Ortiz.
Porter County
As far as the county elections, Republicans have competitive races for the North and South District seats on the Board of Commissioners.
In recent days, Republicans Fred Martin and Harvey Nix have filed for the South District seat. The winner will face incumbent Laura Blaney, a Democrat, in the fall.
In the North District, incumbent Jim Biggs will face Jeff Larson, an atlarge member of the
County Council, in the Republican primary. No Democrat has filed for that spot.
Democrats have a contested race for an at-large spot on the County Council. Susie Talevski filed this week. She joins Kevin Cornett and incumbents Sylvia Graham and Dan Whitten. Voters in the primary will be asked to select three of the four candidates.
The three Republican candidates for the council are uncontested in the primary. They are Andy Bozak, Michael Brickner and Craig Kenworthy.
Also uncontested are Treasurer Michelle Clancy and Surveyor Kevin Breitzke, both Democrats.
The deadline to withdraw from the ballot is noon Monday.
Party leaders have until June 30 to slate candidates in open ballot positions leading up to the general election.