UPDATED: Five county candidates file for primary
The 31-day filing period for the 2016 primary opened Wednesday, with five county candidates already submitting their names as of Thursday.
With those filings, the Republican Party already has a contested race in the May 3 Primary Election.
Voter Registration Clerk Stacia Hathaway reported having distributed a number of candidate packets, with five people having completed and submitted them as of the close of business Thursday.
Veteran District 3 Commissioner Don Walton will see a challenge from within his own party, with Mike Clark, who serves as Cloverdale town marshal, having also filed to run for the commissioner seat representing the southern third of the county.
Commissioner David Berry, about to complete his first term in District 1 and beginning his second year as board president, also filed to appear on the Republican ballot.
Kathy Minnick, who is currently a deputy of Treasurer Sharon Owens, will run for treasurer as a Republican. Owens has reached the two-term limit in the office.
Incumbent Auditor Lorie Hallett, another Republican, will seek a second term in office.
Other county-level offices appearing on the 2016 ballot include all three at-large county council positions and coroner.
Judge of Putnam Circuit Court will also be on the ballot, but filing is done at the state level.