Race already crowded for District 3 county commissioner

While Voter Registration Clerk Stacia Hathaway classifies the candidate filing period as slow so far, one race is already heating up for the upcoming primary election.

In the race for the GOP nod for District 3 county commissioner, incumbent Don Walton already had two challengers as of Thursday afternoon.

Shawn McCammack Sr. and Greg Williams have also filed papers with their intent to seek the office.

No other races currently feature more than one candidate, though three others have filed at the county level.

District 1 Commissioner David Berry will seek his third term in office, while fellow Republican Kathy Minnick seeks a second term as county treasurer.

Evelyn Owens-Williams, currently the chief deputy auditor, is running for the Republican nomination for county auditor.

Current Auditor Lorie Hallett has reached her two-term limit.

Putnam County Coroner Dave Brown plans to retire, and so far no one is running to replace him.

Additionally, the three at-large positions on the Putnam County Council are up for grabs in 2020 and no one has so far filed to fill any of these seats.

Republicans Gene Beck, Phil Gick and Larry Parker currently occupy the three seats.

Superior Court Judge Denny Bridges has said he plans to seek another term, but has not yet filed his paperwork, which must be filed with the Election Division at the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office.

No Democrats had filed for any county-level office as of Thursday.

In state races of local impact, District 44 State Representative Beau Baird of Greencastle is seeking his second term.

In State Senate District 24, which represents the northern half of the county, Democrat Stan Albaugh will seek the nomination. Republican incumbent John Crane has not yet filed.

Likewise, District 37 Senator Rodric Bray has not yet filed to seek another term, nor have any challengers from either party.

Congressman Jim Baird (R-Greencastle) has already announced his intention to seek two more years in Washington. However, two Democrats are also seeking the office — Joe Mackey of Lafayette and Howard Pollchik of Crawfordsville.