DEERY’S LEAD TRIMMED TO 2 IN SENATE DISTRICT 23. IN PLAY: 3 UNCOUNTED BALLOTS

State Sen. Spencer Deery’s lead over challenger Paula Copenhaver was trimmed to two votes Monday, after election boards in two of the six counties in Indiana Senate District 23 certified results in a tight, contentious, Trump-fueled race for the Republican nomination.

Copenhaver picked up three votes Monday, between Fountain County and Montgomery County.

Deery, who went into the day with a four-vote lead, receive one additional vote in a race where spending was estimated at $3 million, including where allies of President Donald Trump poured more than $2 million into a dark money campaign to unseat the first-term West Lafayette Republican.

What’s left: Three remaining provisional ballots in two counties in the expansive Senate district, including in Tippecanoe County, are scheduled to be considered and counted by election boards before a Friday afternoon deadline to certified results of the May 5 primary.

Monday was key in a race where both candidates declared victory – or predicted it – on Election Night but, on paper, remains unresolved.

“Isn’t this fun?” Copenhaver, a former Fountain County clerk now working in Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith’s office, said Monday. “(Two) hearings down and (two) to go. I still have peace and I stand by my statement from Election Night.”

Here’s what she said that night from her home in Covington, moments after Deery declared victory in front of supporters at the Tippecanoe County Office Building: “After all provisional ballots are counted, we will prevail and be declared the winner of this race. I want to thank President Donald Trump for his unwavering support and endorsement. President Trump is the leader of our party, and it showed clearly tonight in his victories across the state.”

Asked Monday about whether she was prepping for a recount, as the number of uncounted ballots waned, Copenhaver said she’d wait to answer that question until the results were certified this week.

Deery said the headline of the day was that Copenhaver only got a one-vote swing in her home Fountain County, when eight ballots wound up in play before the election board there.

“On the whole this is good news, especially considering the limited number of provisional votes still outstanding,” Deery said. “I am grateful to the public servants and volunteers who make sure our elections and the vote counting follow the law and maintain the people’s trust.”

The race was one of seven targeted by Trump against incumbent state senators who objected or didn’t get on board with a White House plan to redraw Indiana’s congressional districts to give Republicans a better shot at picking up seats in the U.S. House during the 2026 midterm elections. Deery was outspoken in his opposition to the idea of mid-decade redistricting. Trump endorsed Copenhaver, recruited to run against Deery.

Of those seven races, one state senator – Greg Goode of Terre Haute – one in last week’s primary. Five other were beaten soundly. Deery is barely hanging on.

Here’s how Monday’s tallies played out.

In Fountain County: In her home county, where she is the county GOP chair, Copenhaver picked up two votes. Deery added one.

Of the three votes counted, one was a mail-in ballot that had arrived without a proper signature but had been resolved by the voter in time to be counted, Fountain County Clerk Patty Smith said. The other two were provisional ballots were validated and counted by the three-member election board, after they had been cast by voters challenged at the polling site because they didn’t appear on voter registration rolls. Smith said that one case was caused by an error when scanning the voter’s driver’s license. The other was caused by an error by voter registration staff who had removed a voter who registered in 2023 when they were 17 and should have qualified because they were going to turn 18 before that year’s general election.

Five other provisional ballots – including those from someone who didn’t bring proper ID to the polls, didn’t appear at the address on their voter registration or were challenged in some way – were considered by the Fountain County Election Board. Each was deemed invalid because the person wasn’t registered to vote or had been considered inactive and removed from the county’s voter rolls.

Smith said Fountain County had no outstanding military ballots, which would have been due by Friday.

Fountain County had the most voters in the Senate District 23 primary, accounting for 27.5% of the votes in that race. Copenhaver won the county with 56.5% of the vote.

In Montgomery County: Of Montgomery County’s provisional ballots, one was in Senate District 23, which covers the western edge of the county, Clerk Sondra Sixberry said. Copenhaver picked up that one during an election board meeting Monday afternoon in Crawfordsville, Sixberry reported.

Copenhaver won Montgomery County, which had the smallest number of voters in Senate District 23, with 63.7% of the vote.

The results Monday left three reported provisional ballots yet to count in two of the six counties included in Indiana Senate District 23.

That includes:

Parke County: One provisional ballot will be considered when the election board there meets at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 13, at the Parke County Courthouse in Rockville. The clerk’s office also reported one military ballot still outstanding. The deadline on the service member’s ballot is Friday. But the clerk’s office reported that the service member requested a Democratic ballot. Copenhaver won Parke County with 51.2% of the primary vote.

Tippecanoe County: Two provisional ballots in Indiana Senate District 23 will be reviewed by the election board at 1 p.m. Friday, May 15, at the Tippecanoe County Office Building in downtown Lafayette. That comes after a 10-day deadline for voters to clear up issues with provisional ballots and count military ballots that arrive after Election Day. Tippecanoe County Clerk Julie Roush said those were the only two ballots she knew of left to consider in that race. Deery won Tippecanoe County with 65.9% of the votes in the primary.

Warren County and Vermillion County: Both counties reported no provisional ballots left to consider and count from the May 5 primary.

Certified election results are due by 3 p.m. Friday.

The winner in the Republican primary will face David Sanders, a West Lafayette City Council member, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

For more coverage

Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.

DID THESE CROSSOVER VOTES SAVE SEN. SPENCER DEERY?

If Spencer Deery’s four-vote spread stands as election boards across the six counties in the sprawling Indiana Senate District 23 this week consider a final handful of provisional ballots, the balance tipping his way over Donald Trump-backed Paula Copenhaver could point back to the ballots pulled by Sam Cody and voters like him.

Cody, a Warren County resident whose job is coordinating volunteers for the NICHES Land Trust, said he pulled a Republican primary ballot for the first time in his life Tuesday. He voted for Deery, a West Lafayette Republican running for a second term. He said he left the rest of the ballot blank.

Cody said this week that he pretty much knew what he needed to do in fall 2025, when resistance in the Indiana Senate started to unravel a push from President Trump and his allies to redraw Indiana’s congressional maps to make it easier to pick up Republican seats in the U.S. House.

Deery’s opposition to Trump’s plan made him a target, ultimately including more than $2 million in dark money campaign advertising designed as payback. He wound up being one of seven Republican incumbents in the Senate who bore the brunt of roughly $12 million spent aiming at unseating them.

“When we, I guess as a state, said no to this whole redistricting effort, that made me feel pretty proud to be an Indiana Hoosier,” Cody said. “So, just as soon as I heard that there was going to be a push to get rid of those folks, I just felt like my vote would be better spent there, helping in that race, and that I could trust the other Democrats around me to make a good choice in the primaries. I felt I could be a little bit more strategic with my vote if I can push it over the edge a little bit. And it ended up looking like it may be that way.”

How many people who typically pull Democratic ballots in primary switched to make similarly strategic votes in an Indiana Senate District 23 race isn’t clear.

But in Tippecanoe County – where Deery took nearly two-thirds of Tuesday’s vote and the only county of the six where he topped Copenhaver – there were signs that it could have made the difference.

Ken Jones, Tippecanoe County Democratic Party chairman, said he tried to dissuade voters from crossing over to vote in a pair of hotly contested primaries in the two Indiana Senate districts in the county. (Incumbent Sen. Ron Alting survived a challenge from Richard Bagsby in the Indiana Senate District 22 Republican primary, which covered the east half of Tippecanoe County and all of Carroll County.)

“Partly because we had candidate choice this time, and I felt it was important for them to make their views known on our candidates,” Jones said. “Second, I don’t think it normally matters. Not the case this time.”

Jones said an initial party analysis of unofficial Tippecanoe County precinct results gave hints.

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COUNTY MULLS LOCAL INCOME TAX FOR JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER

The potential of adding a 0.1% local income tax – one that would mean an additional $50 a year to someone with an annual salary of $50,000 – as soon as the start of 2027 for the county’s jail or proposed juvenile detention facility will be up for discussion during a public hearing Tuesday before the Tippecanoe County Council.

Ben Murray, a Tippecanoe County Council member, said consideration for the tax – one allowed by the state for correctional or rehabilitation facilities and one that comes as the county deals with impending fallout of the property tax reforms of 2025’s Senate Bill 1 – is in early stages as the county revisits the question of building and operating a juvenile center and preparing for a future work on the county jail.

“This isn’t anywhere near a vote, right now,” Murray said. “All we’re doing Tuesday is getting public feedback. We’re proposing it as a possible solution, especially since the legislature has wanted more local control of fiscal matters. … This is one way to possibly go.”

Murray said the 0.1% local income tax would raise an estimated $6.2 million to $6.3 million a year.

Tippecanoe County has 1.28% in current local income taxes, including those designated for economic development and the most recent one, for public safety, approved in 2019.

Murray said a potential vote on the income tax proposal likely wouldn’t come until late summer. A county council vote between Sept. 1 and Oct. 31 would be in time to start collecting it Jan. 1, 2027.

“Looking at the numbers, it’s tough, understanding where we are with inflation, where we are in the world with expenses, where we are with just the cost of living,” Murray said. “It’s very difficult to wrap your head around taking more. … It’s needed to invest in the public safety of the county, but that’s why I’m not guaranteeing it’s going to go to a vote.”

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A few notes, catching up post-election …

WAITING ON ELECTION BOARD MOVES IN INDIANA SENATE DISTRICT 23’S TIGHT FINISH

Expect a key moment Monday morning in a closely-watched Indiana Senate District 23 race in which both candidates declared victory in Tuesday’s primary in a contest separated – unofficially at this point – by four votes.

The Fountain County Election Board announced Thursday that it will meet Monday morning to audit seven provisional ballots and whether they qualify to be counted with the May 5 primary results, including in the contentious race between state Sen. Spencer Deery and Paula Copenhaver.

Of note: Fountain County, one of six counties in Senate District 23, is home turf for Copenhaver, former county clerk there and chair of the county Republican Party.

Meanwhile, Tippecanoe County Clerk Julie Roush said Thursday that of the four provisional ballots and 11 mail-in ballots that have questions about missing signatures or other issues left to consider there, two come from Republican ballots in Senate District 23.

That would bring the number of provisional ballots across Senate District 23 to 15, including:

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You know you’ll find him here each week with …

By Tim Brouk / For Based in Lafayette

Editor’s note: This edition has been corrected to note changes in the Mosey’s Sixth and Main streets stage lineup since initial publication.

Sheeza, 8:30 p.m. Friday, May 8, Digby’s Pub, 133 N. Fourth St., Lafayette — Sheeza returns to downtown Lafayette with their mix of pop, funk, rock and folk just in time for Digby’s patio season. This show is free.

Mosey Down Main Street, 6-11 p.m. Saturday, May 9, downtown Lafayette — The first Mosey Down Main Street of 2026 will be bittersweet. It will be the first such event without its heart, soul and co-founder Ken McCammon. With Steve Bultinck, McCammon conceptualized one of Lafayette’s most cherished events — a free, monthly street festival that showcases local bands, artisans, food purveyors, makers, nonprofit organizations and most of all, Main Street. McCammon’s passion for keeping Mosey alive and well was evident, even into his 70s. But McCammon wouldn’t want folks to be too sad — he’d want them to Mosey on, early and often.

Among the bands slated to perform include Indianapolis “Star Wars” tribute act The Threepios, rock and country cover band Relentless, and Graciously Departed, a Grateful Dead tribute band and one of McCammon’s favorite local acts. And like every first Mosey of the year, the Tippecanoe Ancient Fife and Drum Corps will open the Moseying for all. Here is the band schedule for your aural Mosey pleasures.

First Farmers Stage, Sixth and Main streets

• 6 p.m. — Star City Rhythm Revival

• 7:20 p.m. — The Cheese Weasels

• 8:40 p.m. — Other Plans

• 10 p.m. — Graciously Departed

Q106.7 Stage, Eighth and Main streets

• 6 p.m. — YuNG MBA

• 7:20 p.m. — Nanu Nanu

• 8:40 p.m. — Friends of X and Unusual Suspects

• 10 p.m. — Xman and the Scratch Thing

Ninth and Main streets

• 7 p.m. — Oasis Belly Dance Troupe

East End Stage, 11th and Main streets

• 6 p.m. — Jordan Friend

• 7:20 p.m. — The Threepios

• 8:40 p.m. — Blues Berry Bones

• 10 p.m. — Relentless

Here’s an interactive map to vendors, food trucks and the rest:

To Violently Vomit, Vulnificus, Protrusion and Shoved into Traffic, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 9, North End Pub, 2100 Elmwood Ave., Lafayette — Another week, another excellent metal show at North End Pub featuring great band names. To Violently Vomit features former members of Disgorge, a 1990s and early 2000s death metal standout. The quintet led by guitarist Diego Sanchez have been slinging brutality for more than 15 years. Vulnificus, still riding high from its 2025 release “Inclination,” will join in on the brutal fun along with Lafayette’s own Shoved into Traffic and Protrusion, which will be supporting its recent full-length album “The Last Suppuration.” $15.

The Slackers with The Operators, 7 p.m. Sunday, May 10, Duncan Hall, 619 Ferry St., Lafayette — After brunch, take mom skanking with The Slackers, one of New York’s most celebrated ska bands. Fit her with a porkpie hat for the rockin’-est rocksteady beat of the band led by vocalist and guitarist Vic Ruggerio. Formed 35 years ago, The Slackers have released 15 albums and a handful of EPs, including its newest, “Money Is King.” This show is part of a quick Midwest jaunt for the band and should be the mother of all Lafayette ska shows for 2026. Indianapolis favorites The Operators will open. Tickets.

ATLYS, 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 13, The Arts Federation, 638 North St., Lafayette — Chicago string quartet ATLYS returns to Lafayette with a set of pop, popular soundtrack songs, and even music from video games arranged for violins, viola and cello. Taking a “Bridgerton” style to the songs make 21^st century tunes sound centuries old — yet still fresh. ATLYS features former Lafayette resident Jinty McTavish on violin and much youthful energy. The women have performed all over these United States including gracing the famed Red Rocks in Morrison, Colorado. Next week, ATLYS will kick-off a short Midwest run in Lafayette before gigs in Chicago and Madison, Wisconsin. This concert is presented by the Songwriters Association of Mid-North Indiana.

Tim Brouk is a longtime arts and entertainment reporter. He writes here (almost) weekly, tracking things to do for Based in Lafayette.

Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.

DEERY PICKS UP 1 MORE VOTE OVER COPENHAVER, RESULTS COULD HINGE ON HANDFUL OF PROVISIONALS

The morning after two candidates declared victory in the race for the Republican nomination in Indiana Senate District 23, incumbent Spencer Deery picked up an additional vote to take the margin to four votes over challenger Paula Copenhaver.

Election officials in Tippecanoe County – one of six counties that include parts of Indiana Senate District 23 – recorded votes from five absentee ballots that had been dropped off at vote centers before polls closed at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Among those five was one Republican ballot from Senate District 23, county clerk Julie Roush said.

The new unofficial tally: 6,335 to 6,331, in Deery’s favor.

Still in play in Tippecanoe County, though, are four provisional ballots – those cast but still requiring voters to provide a valid ID or other proof that they’re registered before they’re counted – and 11 mail-in ballots that have questions about missing signatures or other issues, county election officials said Wednesday. Voters have until noon May 13 to provide the necessary proof for their ballots to count.

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With West Lafayette’s version opening Wednesday, the farmers markets are in season …

Ramping up for the 2026 season

By Carol Bangert/For Based in Lafayette

A brisk north wind added a nice touch as I made my way into the farmers market in downtown Lafayette. “Sweeet,” I thought as I zipped my jacket up to my chin. To be honest, the cold snap over the last few days left me pessimistic about the first market of the season. What kind of produce would I see, and what would the crowds be like?

Short answer: An abundance of offerings from area farms, and crowds that rivaled anything I’d see on a mid-June market day. In other words, all was right with the world.

In-season produce was beautifully displayed in booths tucked between food vendors, crafts and vibrant arrangements of flowers, hanging baskets and perennials. The produce selection was promising in both variety and quality. In this first Market Report, I’m going to contain myself and focus on just a few opening day stars.

Let’s start with wheat grass. First, it’s beautiful, and if you did nothing with it in the kitchen, it still would make a lovely addition to your windowsill. The clump of spikey, bright green leaves is a piece of art in and of itself. Chad Scott of Bear Fruit Farm says the plant is most often juiced for wheatgrass shots (the kind you drink, not the needle variety). The plant is chockful of vitamins and minerals and is celebrated as a superfood.

Around the corner at Fairstream Farms, owner Daniel Fagerstrom displayed a dozen or so early spring offerings, but the ramps caught my eye. The plants – with purple stems and olive green leaves – have a limited run each spring, and Fagerstrom says he may not have many after next week. The plants are considered a leek, have a distinct onion/garlic taste and can be used in any dish calling for onions. The entire plant is edible, and I used the bunch I purchased as a topping for polenta, sliced and sauteed along with mushrooms and topped with parmesan. My little homage to spring.

Across Fifth Street at Wabash & Riley Honey Co. I encountered walking onions – no, they weren’t actually ambulatory, but that would be pretty cool. They resemble spring onions I see at other booths – verdant and inviting. But I was curious about the name, so I asked the young man working the booth about it. He didn’t have an answer for me, but a quick web search explained that the onions spread by producing small bulbs at the top of the stalk; the stalks bend over from the weight and the bulb takes root, appearing to walk across the ground. How cool is that? I had to try them, if for no other reason than I applaud their can-do attitude.

The north winds pushed me to the south end of the market, where I stopped at Bloomers Greenhouse. A lovely display of spring herbs invites visitors to pause and consider the possibilities. I’ve grown herbs for decades and love to experiment with new plants – by the way, herbs are a fun, inexpensive way to introduce your fingers to garden dirt. I asked Kaitlyn Calbaugh of Bloomers to point out the most unique herb they offer. Without hesitation she picked up a pot of mammoth basil. She explained that the leaves grow to an impressive size, and that the leaves can be used like lettuce in a wrap (that big). I was sold, and my mammoth basil now occupies a sunny spot on my deck.

Finally, fungi. At Mr. Woody’s Mushrooms, James Mundell proudly displayed boxes of maitake, commonly known as hen of the woods because of their appearance. (I guess if you squint, the clusters could look like hens in the woods.) Mundell says, “These took me five years to grow. The temperature is really picky, and they’ve been finicky.” Then he got all science-y on me and started describing temperature conditions and substrate. Bottom line: Even though he’s cracked the maitake code, Mundell says availability will be hit or miss, so get them while you can. His go-to preparation: slice the mushrooms, then sauté or lightly batter and pan fry.

A final note: I picked up the most beautiful little box of ruby-ripe strawberries at the Beck Farms stall. The strawberries were grown in a greenhouse, but several growers remarked that the crop is a few weeks early this year, so get ready to grab one of spring’s most iconic and ethereal gifts.

Other early-May produce at the market includes:

• Asparagus

• Red and green onions

• Radishes

• Greens (kale, mustard, arugula, lettuce varieties)

• Lots of herbs ready to pot or place in your garden (I spotted mint, oregano, basil, cilantro, sage, lavender, thyme and more)

• Rhubarb

DAYS/HOURS FOR THE MARKETS

West Lafayette Farmers Market: 3:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, through October. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the West Lafayette market. The market is held at Cumberland Park in West Lafayette with more than 50 vendors.

Lafayette Farmers Market: 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturdays, through October, on Fifth Street between Columbia Street and mid-block to Ferry Street, and Main Street between Fourth and Sixth streets.

Purdue Farmers Market: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursdays, through October. The Purdue Farmers Market is held on the Memorial Mall on Purdue’s campus. This market is a concession-heavy market that allows students, faculty and staff to have lunch options in a unique outdoor setting.

Carol Bangert, editor of Greater Lafayette Magazine, has been a regular at Greater Lafayette farmers markets for more than 20 years. From May through October, she’ll scout out in-season produce at the markets and report back on fresh finds and how to use them.

Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.

Indiana Senate District 22: Alting hangs on

State Sen. Ron Alting, a Lafayette Republican who is the longest-serving current Indiana senator, survived a primary challenge from the right by Richard Bagsby.

“I think the most successful accomplishment is that I’m still a kid from South Fourth Street, Lafayette,” Alting said Tuesday night, after picking up 59.1% of the vote. “If you deliver results, you’re going to be OK. If you stop delivering results, then you’re done. … Long story short, I think it’s because they know Ronnie.”

Bagsby, who ran unsuccessfully in Indiana House District in the 2022 primary, portrayed Alting as not conservative enough for a Senate District 22 that spreads from Lafayette into eastern Tippecanoe County and up into Carroll County. He singled out votes Alting made on a series of social issues, including his reluctance to side with a total abortion ban, and his support of the LGBTQ community.

Alting, first elected to the Indiana Senate in 1998, still wound up with an endorsement from President Donald Trump based on his vote for the failed, White House-backed redistricting plan.

“We gave it our best shot,” Bagsby, a minister and construction business owner, said. “We were up against all odds – Trump, (Senate Majority Campaign Committee), a 28-year incumbent. We put the work in, put the time in, had the volunteers and the groundwork. And the numbers came up short.”

How much of a role did the Trump endorsement play in a campaign where Alting was challenged by someone who positioned himself as more conservative?

“I think it was minimal,” Alting said. “I still think it’s the candidate. You can have the president of the United States endorse you, but if you’re not producing, you’re not yourself, if you don’t show compassion, if you’re not working hard, people know.”

On the Democratic ticket in Senate District 22, Natasha Baker took 62.1% of the vote over Marlena Edmondson. Baker, a teacher from Battle Ground, built a pervasive social media presence based on issues surrounding families, public education and health care.

“I learned that social media can be very powerful in reaching people who are not engaged and that have never voted before,” Baker said Tuesday evening. “I need to continue working on social media to reach out to people who are like me and moms and teachers that don’t normally vote or pay attention to politics. I think it’s really empowering for them to see someone who looks like them and has a lot in common with them stepping up into politics. I need to continue being true to myself and reaching those people.”

Other Indiana General Assembly races

House District 27: Tracy Brown, Tippecanoe County commissioner and former county sheriff, cruised to a primary victory with 79% over the vote over Republican Oscar Alvarez, setting up a high-profile local battle with state Rep. Sheila Klinker. Klinker, a Lafayette Democrat first elected in 1982, will face her more formidable test in nearly a decade in a district centered in Lafayette.

“I know what lies ahead,” Brown said Tuesday night. “It’s not about signs. It’s about voter connection and what are the needs in District 27.”

Klinker said she’d lean into familiar issues she’s campaigned on in the past, including finding ways to support teachers and setting up schools for success. She said she also understood who she’d be facing.

“Because I consider Tracy a friend of mine,” Klinker said. “Hopefully, it will be a fair contest and we’ll talk about what we’re going to do for people, rather than some negativity like we’ve seen in some of these races this time.”

House District 13: Brenna Geswein, an engineer from Lafayette, received 78.5% of the vote over Ed Moyer Jr., a retired educator from Hillsboro, in the Democratic primary in Indiana House District 13 to face state Rep. Matt Commons, a Williamsport Republican running for a second term. In his first race, in 2024, Commons took 73.7% of the vote over Moyer in a district that includes a large part of southern and northern Tippecanoe County, along with all of Benton and Warren counties, and portions of Fountain, Jasper, Montgomery, Newton and White counties.

House District 26: State Rep. Chris Campbell, a West Lafayette Democrat looking for a fifth two-year term, and Republican Magdalaine Davis will face each other in the November election. Neither had opposition in the primary in a district that includes West Lafayette and parts of western Tippecanoe County.

Indiana House District 41: State Rep. Mark Genda, a Frankfort Republican, and Democrat Jackson Hayes had not primary opponents in a district that includes southern portions of Tippecanoe County.

House District 38: State Rep. Heath VanNatter, a Howard County Republican, beat challenger Mark Hufford with 58.5% of the vote. He will face Democrat Nate Stout, who ran unopposed in the primary.

U.S. House 4^th District

U.S. Rep. Jim Baird eased to another Republican nomination in Indiana’s 4^th District, getting 60.5% of the vote over challengers Craig Haggard and John Piper. Haggard finished in second, 30 percentage points behind.

As the polls were about to close Tuesday, Haggard, a Republican state representative from Mooresville, said he went into his primary challenge of Baird knowing it would be an uphill battle and figuring 2026 wouldn’t be the last for him.

“I say this, I’m running in 2028, win or lose,” Haggard said. “I’m not going anywhere. What would it say? I think if I fought for something and it didn’t work out and I just went away, that’s not that’s not my personality. Maybe I’m stubborn, maybe I’m dedicated, maybe sometimes people say I’m dumb for wanting to do this, go to Congress. But I’ve made this commitment. … I’m going to keep fighting either way.”

Baird, a Greencastle Republican first elected to Congress in 2018, had the endorsement of President Donald Trump. But Haggard campaigned on a theme that Baird was too often absent in the district the covers much of west-central Indiana, including Tippecanoe and surrounding counties.

“The more I did it, the more people started getting on board,” Haggard said. “The momentum started, and I just feeling energized and more and more optimistic with people that wanted some change.”

On the Democratic side, Drew Cox, a faculty member at Purdue, emerged from a field of eight Democrats who campaigned on varying messages about neutralizing a rightward shift in Congress and navigating the final two years of Trump’s presidency. Cox received 30.3% of the vote, topping the 22.8% for second-place finisher Joe Mackey. He’ll have an uphill climb, as all Democrats have in 4th District the leans hard to the right. Baird won his fourth term in 2024 with 64.8% of the vote. The results had been similar in races dating back a couple of decades.

Local offices

County commissioner: Republican Julie Roush, in the final year of her second term as county clerk, will face Democrat Andrea Burniske in the November general election for Tippecanoe County commissioner in District 1. Roush beat James Waters in the Republican primary with 74.5% of the vote. Burniske won in a field of four, getting 52.4% of the vote. Commissioner candidates run in districts according to where they live, but voters across the county will have this race on their ballots. Commissioners are elected to four-year terms as the executive branch of county government, overseeing policy.

County clerk: In a race of clerk’s office employees, Carrie Sanders edged Abby Myers by 136 votes for the Republican nomination to replace current clerk Julie Roush. “We both worked really hard and she had a lot of great people supporting her,” Sanders said. “And so did I. I’m just getting my bearings and getting ready for Round 2.” Sanders will face Karan Benner, the Democratic nominee who ran unopposed in the primary.

The Republican primary had been a bit salty after Myers was fined by the county Election Board over how she recorded a donation on her campaign finance report – a matter Myers said was politically motivated and took to court for a judicial review. (Sanders had distanced herself, saying she had nothing to do with the questions about Myers’ campaign finance paperwork.) That case is just starting to wind its way through the court.

Tippecanoe County Council: In the lone primary for county council, incumbent Jody Hamilton beat Jon Chapin for the Republican nomination in District 2. No Democratic candidate was on the primary ballot. Here’s how the races shaped up in the other three districts:

• District 1: Ben Murray*, D; Trent Richter, R

• County Council, District 3: Lynn Beck, R

• County Council, District 4: Lisa Dullum*, D

County races that had no primary challenges (incumbents marked with an asterisk):

• Assessor: Anthony Hustedt-Mai, R; Kaitlyn Butler, D

• Auditor: Jennifer Weston*, R; Eric Grossman, D

• Recorder: Kristy Martin*, R; Monica Casanova, D

• Prosecutor: Jason Biss, R

• Judge, Superior Court 1: Kevin McDaniel*, R

• Judge, Superior Court 2: Sarah Wyatt, R

• Judge, Superior Court 4: Matt Sandy*, R

• Judge, Superior Court 5: Kristen McVey*, R

• Judge, Superior Court 7: Dan Moore*, R

Wea Township trustee: In a race that had been built around accusations about transparency and accountability in the trustee’s office, challenger Alan Williams won by a 14-vote margin – or 50.3% — over incumbent Jim Slaven in the Republican primary. Alfonso Salazar Jr. is on the ballot as the Democratic Party nominee. Wea Township includes a southern portion of Lafayette, along with an area of unincorporated Tippecanoe County south of the city.

Fairfield Township trustee: Ted Hardesty, a former West Lafayette City Council member, beat Rocky Hession, former Fairfield Township Board member, with 60.6% of the vote for the Democratic Party nomination to replace Trustee Monica Casanova. Ray Williams will be the Republican nominee. Fairfield Township includes the roughly two-thirds of Lafayette, along with an area of unincorporated Tippecanoe County to the northeast of the city.

For more results

Here’s a link to unofficial results in Tippecanoe County.

Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.

State Sen. Spencer Deery, one seven incumbent senators at the heart of a retribution campaign fueled by President Donald Trump and White House allies, declared victory Tuesday night in an Indiana Senate District 23 race that showed a margin of 3 votes.

“I think that there’s no reason to question the numbers that we’ve had right now,” Deery, a West Lafayette Republican, said Tuesday, after arriving at the Tippecanoe County Office Building in downtown with family to thank supporters.

From Covington, on the other side of the sprawling state Senate district, Paula Copenhaver, Deery’s Trump-endorsed challenger, scoffed at the celebration when things remained so close.

“That’s what I heard,” Copenhaver told Based in Lafayette when told about Deery’s victory announcement. “Nothing like counting your chickens before they hatch.”

Unofficial results had the race at 6,334-6,331, in favor of Deery, Tuesday night. Official results won’t be certified until 10 days after the election.

Less than a half-hour after Deery’s announcement, Copenhaver declared victory of her own.

“After all provisional ballots are counted, we will prevail and be declared the winner of this race,” Copenhaver said. “I want to thank President Donald Trump for his unwavering support and endorsement. President Trump is the leader of our party, and it showed clearly tonight in his victories across the state.”

How many provisional ballots and others were left to count in a district that includes six counties wasn’t clear late Tuesday. In Tippecanoe County, where Deery won by a nearly two-thirds margin, county clerk Julie Roush said the county had 21 ballots cast provisionally or for other reasons hadn’t been counted, as of Tuesday night.

Asked if declaring victory under the circumstances was a bold move, Deery said he was comfortable.

“We’re grateful to pull this off,” Deery said. “Whether it’s a small margin or a large margin, a win is a win, and glad to have it.”

If it stands as Deery says, he would be one of two senators who survived in a primary day where Trump-backed challengers beat five incumbents who drew the ire of the White House and its allies.

The Indiana Senate District 23, along with seven other state Senate races where Trump’s forces poured millions of dollars into, became litmus tests for Trump’s ability to call fellow Republicans to heel.

Deery’s re-election campaign was targeted for his vote – not to mention outspoken opposition – on a Trump-backed plan to redraw Indiana’s congressional districts to make it easier to pick up two more of Indiana’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Deery was one on 21 Republican senators who balked at that idea and one seven incumbents in the 2026 primary to get a Trump-endorsed candidate.

As Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith said during the campaign, tagging Republicans who didn’t get on board with Trump: “Actually, retribution seems a little bit vindictive. I’m not trying to be vindictive here. I would call it a consequence of their actions.”

As Deery put it, during the debate over redistricting and again on a campaign trail where he was portrayed as a liberal in Republican clothing: “This is about if we want to allow others to dictate what happens in our state.”

Copenhaver, a former Fountain County clerk and a member of Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith’s staff, made Deery’s opposition to redistricting a central part of her motivation to run again, after placing third of four candidates in the 2022 GOP primary: “District 23 deserves a senator who is unapologetically willing to take on the radical Democrats’ socialist agenda. I’ll be a fighter for Hoosiers and a defender of the Indiana and America First Agenda.” And she stuck to that message throughout the campaign.

By candidate estimates and records tracking ad buys, more than $3 million was spent on the Senate District 23 race, between $2 million and $2.4 million of that coming from groups including two with ties to U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, an unabashed Trump fan.

Primary Election Day opened with headlines tracking this and other similar state Senate re-election bids in the AP, CNN, Politico and this from the New York Times, reflecting the general framing of the moment: “7 Midterm Elections on Tuesday Will Test Trump’s Power in Indiana.”

Trump weighed in Tuesday, while polls were open, on social media: “Good luck to those Great Indiana Senate Candidates who are running against people who couldn’t care less about our Country, or about keeping the Majority in Congress. There are eight Great Patriots running against long seated RINOS — Let’s see how those RINOS do tonight! President DONALD J. TRUMP”

In a statement Tuesday evening, Banks said: “Everyone in Indiana politics should have learned an important lesson today: President Trump is the single most popular Republican among Hoosier voters,” Banks said in a statement. “Indiana is a conservative state, and we deserve conservatives in our State Senate who have a pulse on Republican voters.”

Tuesday morning at the John Dennis Wellness Center in West Lafayette, Jon Edwards, of West Lafayette, said he typically sat out primaries, “unless we have a say in president or something.” He said he made an exception Tuesday, pulling a GOP ballot to vote for Deery.

“Against Trump, really,” Edwards said. “This whole thing’s been ridiculous. … I don’t see people around (West Lafayette) falling for it. But I can’t speak for other places where he might say jump and people jump.”

Deery said he wished things had gone better for other Republican colleagues targeted by Trump who did not win. He thanked those who endorsed or spoke up for him – “that’s a bold thing for them to do, to back me, given the revenge tours that were ongoing and the pressures.

And he took another swipe at dark money campaigns that brought reports of an estimated $9 millions into toppling those recalcitrant on the call to redistrict.

“I think Americans should be concerned,” Deery said. “Politicians do what works, and our campaign finance laws are such that you can raise money in unlimited ways from people that don’t even really care how you spend it. They just want influence. Now what the model is proving Is that not only can you use that to protect yourself within Congress, you can possibly protect yourself from the states exercising the will and listening to their voters.”

The winner in the Republican primary will face Democratic candidate David Sanders, a West Lafayette City Council member who teaches at Purdue, in the general election in November.

Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.

First up …

IT’S PRIMARY ELECTION DAY

The polls opened at 6 a.m. today and will be open until 6 p.m. for May 5 primary voting. In case you missed it last night, here’s a voter guide, including where to vote, who will be on ballots, candidate Q&As and what’s at stake in contested races.

NEW ZONING CODES AREN’T A DE FACTO BAN ON LARGE-SCALE SOLAR, COMMISSIONERS INSIST

Tippecanoe County commissioners rejected the idea that a rewrite of the county’s solar regulations – ones they unanimously approved Monday with new caps on the size of projects and increased distances panels and other components may be from neighboring property – amounted to a de facto ban on utility-scale solar in the county.

Commissioner Tracy Brown the new zoning codes, in the works since the county imposed a one-year moratorium in June 2025 to give a chance to get a better handle on massive projects, were a middle ground – and a new starting point.

“There will be people that walk out of this room that are elated of where we are right now, there’ll be people that will think that we should do more, and there’ll be people that think that we need to do less,” Brown said.

Brown had advocated for a 400-acre cap on projects, separated by a mile, after navigating through a proposed 1,700-acre Rainbow Trout Solar Project in western Tippecanoe County in 2025 that prompted a review of regulations the county developed at the start of the decade for projects of 10 acres or more.

Those limits were greeted by groans through the process, with solar advocates saying the county was essentially telling the industry it wasn’t interested.

“I have a very hard time believing you can’t take 400 acres – and multiple 400 acres across the county – and make electricity that benefits all of us,” Brown said. “To make that concrete formulation that it just doesn’t work, I believe that someone needs to sharpen their pencil. They need to come up with a way to make it work.”

Commissioner David Byers, a dairy farmer who said he cringed at any development that takes 40 acres of good ag ground, said he’d originally been in favor of an outright ban on large-scale solar projects.

“I was against this from the beginning, but I see this as a compromise,” Byers said. “Can it still happen? Yes. But we’re setting the parameters. … I don’t think we’re banning it.”

A string of people asking commissioners to reconsider the final product didn’t see it that way.

Read more

Early voting ended at noon Monday, ahead of Tuesday’s primary election, with a 173% increase in ballots requested since April 7 than during the last midterm primary in 2022. Early voting was up 53% from the primary in the 2024 presidential election, according to county election office figures.

As of Monday, 7,608 people had voted. That’s 6.5% of the 117,222 registered voters reported for Tippecanoe County when early voting stared, according to county numbers.

Polls will be open from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday in Tippecanoe County for a primary that features contested races for party nominations for seats in the Indiana General Assembly, U.S. House, county commissioner, county council and township positions.

If you’re just catching up, here’s a quick primer on where to vote, who will be on ballots, candidate Q&As and what’s at stake in contested races.

THE CANDIDATES AND THE RACES

Here are candidates who will be on Tippecanoe County ballots in the May 5 primary. (* = incumbent)

Tippecanoe County

• Commissioner, District 1: Julie Roush and James Waters, R; Andrea Burniske, Travis Dowell, Justin Kendall and AR Lane, D

• County Council, District 1: Ben Murray*, D; Trent Richter, R

• County Council, District 2: Jody Hamilton* and Jonathan Chapin, R

• County Council, District 3: Lynn Beck, R

• County Council, District 4: Lisa Dullum*, D

• County Clerk: Abby Myers and Carrie Sanders, R; Karan Benner, D

• Assessor: Anthony Hustedt-Mai, R; Kaitlyn Butler, D

• Auditor: Jennifer Weston*, R; Eric Grossman, D

• Recorder: Kristy Martin*, R; Monica Casanova, D

• Prosecutor: Jason Biss, R

• Judge, Superior Court 1: Kevin McDaniel*, R

• Judge, Superior Court 2: Sarah Wyatt, R

• Judge, Superior Court 4: Matt Sandy*, R

• Judge, Superior Court 5: Kristen McVey*, R

• Judge, Superior Court 7: Dan Moore*, R

Statehouse races

• House District 13: Matt Commons*, R; Brenna Geswein and Ed Moyer Jr., D

• House District 26: Chris Campbell*, D; Magdalaine Davis, R

• House District 27: Sheila Klinker*, D; Tracy Brown and Oscar Alvarez, R

• House District 38: Heath VanNatter* and Mark Hufford, R; and Nate Stout, D

• House District 41: Mark Genda*, R; Jackson Hayes, D

• Senate District 22: Ron Alting* and Richard Bagsby, R; Natasha Baker and Marlena Edmondson, D

• Senate District 23: Spencer Deery* and Paula Copenhaver, R; David Sanders, D

Federal

• U.S. House, District 4: Jim Baird*, Craig Haggard and John Piper, R; Drew Cox, Roger Day, Darin Griesey, Thomas Hall Jr., Joe Mackey, Jayden McCash, Paul McPherson and John Whetstone, D.

For a look at all candidates on Tippecanoe County primary ballots, including those for township trustee, township boards and state delegates, here are links to Democratic candidates and Republican candidates.

CANDIDATE Q&AS

Based in Lafayette asked a series of questions and gathered bios of candidates in contested races that will be on Tippecanoe County ballots.

U.S. House, 4^th District

U.S. Rep. Jim Baird, a farmer from Greencastle, is running for his fifth term since first winning Indiana’s 4^th District seat in 2018. He faces a primary challenge for a second consecutive race, this time from state Rep. Craig Haggard of Mooresville. Baird carries an endorsement from President Donald Trump, though Haggard, a fellow military veteran, has the backing from state Attorney General Todd Rokita, who had the 4^th District seat before Baird. Haggard has questioned Baird’s availability to the district that includes Tippecanoe County and surrounding counties. Baird or Haggard would face the winner from a crowded field of eight Democrats – Drew Cox, Roger Day, Darin Griesey, Thomas Hall, Joe Mackey, Jayden McCash, Paul McPherson and John Whetstone – looking to differentiate themselves in messages that largely have been about bolstering a defense against Trump policies in Congress.

Indiana Senate District 22

State Sen. Ron Alting, a Lafayette Republican and the longest-serving current member of the Indiana Senate, faces the most serious primary challenge since he was first elected in 1998. Richard Bagsby, a minister and construction business owner from Tippecanoe County, has spent a year on a campaign that contends Alting isn’t conservative enough to match a district that covers Lafayette, the eastern half of Tippecanoe County and Carroll County. Bagsby’s campaign has the backing of Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, who has been at odds with Alting, particularly over some votes on social issues Bagsby has been calling out, too. Alting landed a Trump endorsement, though, after he backed the president’s failed push to redraw congressional district lines. Ads backing Alting also have gone after Bagsby’s past criminal record and legal problems stemming from his business – things Bagsby has said are part of his story that he hasn’t tried to hide.

Natasha Baker, a teacher from Battle Ground, and Marlena Edmondson, a student service coordinator from Lafayette, are running for the Democratic nomination, each positioning themselves as alternatives to the GOP’s supermajority at the Statehouse.

Indiana Senate District 23

This Republican battle in Senate District 23 has been a centerpiece of a primary cycle seen as a test of Trump’s power in Indiana and among the state’s GOP. State Sen. Spencer Deery, a West Lafayette Republican facing his first re-election bid, is being challenged by Paula Copenhaver, the Fountain County Republican Party chair who finished third of four candidates in the 2022 GOP primary for the seat. Deery is among several Indiana senators targeted by massive campaign spending by Trump allies stewing over the Indiana Senate’s reluctance to sign on to the White House redistricting hopes. Deery was particularly outspoken against redistricting and has dealt with the brunt of a dark money campaign against him, now topping $2 million and looking to portray him as a liberal who won’t get on board with Trump. Copenhaver, endorsed by Trump and a staffer in Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith’s office, has boiled her campaign down to that essence. Deery has built his campaign to a question of whether Senate District 23 voters want to give that much control over Indiana issues to the White House and other national forces. This one will factor large in the scorecard on Trump’s influence, as detailed in the national attention coming for Indiana’s primary.

The winner will face David Sanders, a West Lafayette City Council member and associate professor of biology at Purdue, who is the lone Democrat on Tuesday’s ballot.

Indiana House races

Among the contested primaries Indiana House districts that include parts of Tippecanoe County:

Indiana House District 27: State Rep. Sheila Klinker, a Lafayette Democrat first elected to the Indiana House in 1982, faces what could be her most substantial challenges in several cycles in Republican Tracy Brown. Klinker had said this would be her final campaign. Brown, a Tippecanoe County commissioner, former county sheriff and chair of the county GOP, said he’d passed up running for the seat in the past and decided this was the time. First, Brown faces Oscar Alvarez in the Republican primary.

Indiana House District 13: A pair of Democrats are up for the party’s nomination to face state Rep. Matt Commons, a high school teacher and an Army combat veteran who won his first term in Indiana House District 13 in 2024. Brenna Geswein, an engineer from Lafayette, faces Ed Moyer Jr., a retired educator from Hillsboro. Moyer lost to Commons in the 2024 general election in a district that includes a large part of southern and northern Tippecanoe County, along with all of Benton and Warren counties, and portions of Fountain, Jasper, Montgomery, Newton and White counties.

Tippecanoe County races

Tippecanoe County commissioner, District 1: With Tracy Brown running in Indiana House District 27, both parties have contested races for the nomination to replace him on the three-member board. The two Republicans: Julie Roush and James Waters. The four Democrats: Andrea Burniske, Travis Dowell, Justin Kendall and AR Lane. Commissioner candidates run in districts according to where they live, but voters across the county will have this race on their ballots. Commissioners are elected to four-year terms as the executive branch of county government, overseeing policy.

Tippecanoe County Council: One of the four seats up for election in 2026 on the Tippecanoe County Council, the budget-setting piece of county government, features a contest race. Republican incumbent Jody Hamilton faces a challenge from Jonathan Chapin in the GOP primary. Here’s more on candidates already lined up for the November ballot:

Tippecanoe County clerk: Abby Myers and Carrie Sanders, each working in the clerk’s office, are vying for the Republican nomination to replace current clerk Julie Roush. Karan Benner will be the Democratic nominee. The Republican primary has been a bit salty after Myers was fined by the county Election Board over how she recorded a donation on her campaign finance report – a matter Myers said was politically motivated and took to court for a judicial review. (Sanders has distanced herself, saying she had nothing to do with the questions about Myers’ campaign finance paperwork.) That case is just starting to wind its way through the court.

Township races

Wea Township trustee: Incumbent Jim Slaven is being challenged by Alan Williams in the Republican primary. Alfonso Salazar Jr. is on the ballot as the Democratic Party nominee. Wea Township includes a southern portion of Lafayette, along with an area of unincorporated Tippecanoe County south of the city. The race has been built around accusations about transparency and accountability in the trustee’s office.

Fairfield Township trustee: With Trustee Monica Casanova, a Democrat elected in 2022, running for county recorder in 2026, Ted Hardesty, a former West Lafayette City Council member, and Rocky Hession, former Fairfield Township Board member, are vying for the Democratic Party nomination. Ray Williams will be the Republican nominee. Fairfield Township includes the roughly two-thirds of Lafayette, along with an area of unincorporated Tippecanoe County to the northeast of the city.

Others …

WHERE TO VOTE

Polls will be open 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday, May 5. In Tippecanoe County, registered voters may cast ballots at any available vote center. Voters in the primary will be asked to choose a Democratic or Republican ballot, which will have candidates from that party only.

Lafayette

• Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road

• Lafayette Community Church of the Nazarene, 3801 Union St

• The Grove Covenant Church, 3600 S. Ninth St.

• Tippecanoe County Historical Association History Center, 522 Columbia St.

• Wea Ridge Baptist Church, 1051 E. County Road 430 South

• Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South

• Northend Community Center, 2000 Elmwood Ave.

West Lafayette

• Faith West Community Center, 1920 Northwestern Ave.

• Córdova Recreation Center, 355 N. Martin Jischke Drive

• Connection Point Church, 2541 Cumberland Ave.

• John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road

Outside Lafayette/West Lafayette

• Shadeland Town Hall, 2485 Indiana 25 West, Shadeland

• Tippecanoe Township Volunteer Fire Station No. 2, 448 W. County Road 650 North, West Lafayette

• Dayton Gathering Point Church, 7201 Wesleyan Drive, Dayton

• Battle Ground Fire Station, 112 North St., Battle Ground

YOUR BALLOT AND VOTER REGISTRATION CHECK

To check your voter registration and to see candidates who will be on your specific Republican or Democratic ballot, go to the Secretary of State’s portal at www.indianavoters.com.

PRIMARY DAY FORECAST

From Chad Evans at Chad’s Weather Blog: Periods of rain are expected Tuesday with falling afternoon temperatures as winds shift to the north. Temperatures will start around 56 degrees when polls open, warm up to 60 degrees by noon and start to drop into the upper-40s by the time polls close at 6 p.m.

Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.

FINAL VOTE MONDAY ON COUNTY’S PROPOSED UTILITY-SCALE SOLAR CODES

How much drama, if any, will play out Monday afternoon when a final cut of Tippecanoe County’s proposed revision of its solar energy system zoning codes goes to county commissioners isn’t clear.

Two of the three commissioners – Tracy Brown and Tom Murtaugh – voted to recommend the 11-page draft that came out of the Area Plan Commission April 15, after nine months of study and often contentious negotiations. The third commissioner, David Byers, spoken in public hearing in favor some of the major provisions in the collection acreage caps, new setback requirements and decommissioning rules.

If commissioners have second thoughts or revisions in mind, they would have to send them back to the APC for another public hearing before a final vote. With a one-year moratorium on industrial-scale solar projects under the current regulation set to expire June 2, that doesn’t seem likely Monday.

“I think there will still be some people there that will want to be heard,” Brown said this week. “But I think we’ve landed on good spot on this one. … I would also say that the ordinance can be amended at some point in time. We’re going to know a lot more as we watch other communities get into this process, as well.”

The recommendations came on the back end of a nine-month study of large-scale solar zoning codes developed by the county in 2021. The current regulations came under scrutiny in 2025, criticized that they weren’t equipped to handle a proposed 120-megawatt Rainbow Trout Solar Project, which would have covered 1,700 acres in two sections of western Tippecanoe County, near Montmorenci. The companies behind Rainbow Trout are in court now asking for a judicial review of an August 2025 Board of Zoning Appeals vote that rejected the project.

But process leading to the new proposal still had neighbors and large-scale solar advocates at odds – neighbors pushing for even tighter controls and solar companies contending that acreage caps and other codes, as presented, would be an effective ban.

Among the provisions in the proposed zoning codes the APC recommended in April:

• Large-scale solar projects would be allowed “by right” in industrial zones or for projects that go through the Board of Zoning Appeals special exception process in agricultural, agricultural-wooded or office research zones. That strips AA/select agriculture-zoned land from the list of where solar project may go in current regulations. There are 93,950 acres zoned AA/select agriculture in the county, according to APC figures. That includes parts of where the Rainbow Trout project had been slated to go. Making AA/select agriculture land off limits would remove roughly 41% of the acreage currently available for solar projects in unincorporated parts of Tippecanoe County, according to APC figures.

• Solar farms would have a 400-acre cap. Portions of a project would have to be contiguous within that cap. And projects would have to be at least one mile apart.

• The codes would limit solar development to a total of 6,000 acres in the county.

• Setbacks between a project’s footprint would bump up to 500 feet from neighboring properties. The current regulations have that set at 50 feet. The setbacks would increase when neighboring properties had panels on two or more sides, as well.

• Developers would need to pay for third-party reviews asked for by the county to deal with technical aspects of a project.

• The proposed ordinance expands on current guidelines for decommissioning a solar farm. That includes regulations on restoring soil, removing equipment and bonding requirements to pay for it, particularly if a company abandons a project.

Here’s more on the proposed codes, along with how the debate played out April 15 before the Area Plan Commission:

What’s next: The Tippecanoe County commissioners will meet at 2 p.m. Monday at the County Office Building, 20 N. Third St. in Lafayette. The meeting time moved from its regular 10 a.m. start time to 2 p.m. to accommodate the final day of early voting, which ends at noon Monday at the County Office Building.

The Lafayette and West Lafayette city councils are scheduled to consider the solar energy system zoning codes Monday evening. The Lafayette City Council meets at 6 p.m. Monday at city hall, 20 N. Sixth St. The West Lafayette City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. Monday at city hall, 222 N. Chauncey Ave.

For more coverage

HEADS UP ON A SUBSCRIPTION AND A CAUSE: I’ll keep flagging these opportunities to start or renew your Based in Lafayette subscription by chipping in on a good cause when they come around. Bidding at the Toast to Mental Health auction includes two ways: The first is a certification for a one-year subscription. The second is a meet-up over beer or coffee (winner’s choice) for the winner and up to three others, along with a one-year subscription. (Last year, I sweated the fact that the subscription WITHOUT having to hang out with me was doing better during the silent auction.) The Toast to Mental Health – benefiting Mental Health America Wabash Valley Region, NAMI West Central Indiana and Willowstone Family Services – is Thursday, May 7, at the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road. For ticket, here’s your link. And here’s a link to the silent auction.

LAST CALL FOR EARLY VOTING IN THE MAY 5 PRIMARY

Final day of early voting: The cutoff for early voting is 8 a.m.-noon Monday, May 4, at the Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St. in Lafayette.

Election Day vote centers: Voting on Tuesday, May 5, will be 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Registered voters in Tippecanoe County may choose any of these sites.

Lafayette

• Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road

• Lafayette Community Church of the Nazarene, 3801 Union St

• The Grove Covenant Church, 3600 S. Ninth St.

• Tippecanoe County Historical Association History Center, 522 Columbia St.

• Wea Ridge Baptist Church, 1051 E. County Road 430 South

• Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South

• Northend Community Center, 2000 Elmwood Ave.

West Lafayette

• Faith West Community Center, 1920 Northwestern Ave.

• Córdova Recreation Center, 355 N. Martin Jischke Drive

• Connection Point Church, 2541 Cumberland Ave.

• John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road

Outside Lafayette/West Lafayette

• Shadeland Town Hall, 2485 Indiana 25 West, Shadeland

• Tippecanoe Township Volunteer Fire Station No. 2, 448 W. County Road 650 North, West Lafayette

• Dayton Gathering Point Church, 7201 Wesleyan Drive, Dayton

• Battle Ground Fire Station, 112 North St., Battle Ground

How to check who is on your ballot: A good way to check – and then line everything up against the candidate Q&As below – is through the Indiana Secretary of State’s portal at www.indianavoters.com. There, you can check who will be on your ballot, based on your address and whether you plan to ask for a Republican or Democratic ballot. For a look at all candidates on Tippecanoe County primary ballots, including those for township trustee, township boards and state delegates, here are links to Democratic candidates and Republican candidates.

Candidate Q&As: Find Q&As in contested races in Tippecanoe County in this edition of BiL.

Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.

Some election notes heading into the final days of campaigning …

TURNOUT STILL OUTPACING PAST TWO PRIMARIES IN TIPPECANOE COUNTY

The number of people voting early in Tippecanoe County has nearly tripled this primary season over the last midterm election in 2022, after Saturday’s vote center totals were reported by the county election office.

With a half-day of early voting remaining Monday ahead of the May 5 primary, 7,227 people had asked for ballots, according to election office figures. That’s 2.8 times more than the 2,587 voters coming out early at the same point in the 2022 primary.

It’s also up 55% from the 4,640 ballots cast by this point in the 2024 presidential year primary in Tippecanoe County, according to county numbers.

“My hope is that it’s kind of a measurement of what’s to come on Election Day,” Tracy Brown, Tippecanoe County Republican Party chair also running in a contested primary in Indiana House District 27, said this week. (More from Brown later in this edition.)

The party split: So far, 51% of the ballots requested have been Republican, 49% Democratic, according to county numbers. The past two primaries leaned in the 64% range for Republican ballots by this point.

One other number: Early voting so far accounts for a 6.2% turnout of the county’s registered voters. The 2022 primary drew 9,263 voters, or 7.6% of the registered voters in the county at the time, according to county records. In 2024, the primary had 14,943 voters, or a 13% turnout.

THE MYSTERY OF A TEXAS SUPER PAC’S INTEREST IN A COUNTY COMMISSIONER PRIMARY

One of the mysteries that popped up in the closing stages of the primary election season in Tippecanoe County: Why is a super PAC based in Texas funding mailers in a county commissioner race in Lafayette, Indiana?

“Beats me,” Julie Roush, the current Tippecanoe County clerk running in a Republican primary for county commissioner, said this week.

Roush said she came home earlier this week to find on a counter a mailer with her face and a collection of her credentials touting her as a defender of private property rights, supporter of increased government transparency and a champion of responsible spending.

Roush said she was confused and that she hadn’t planned for mailers in the primary. Her first impression from the photo – “it is, to me, a terrible photo,” she said – was that it was a negative ad. Until she read the copy. Later, she got a text from a friend saying they’d seen a similar message on social media.

All of it was marked as paid for by Private Property Rights PAC, a political action committee based in Dallas, Texas. More mailings came during the week.

The disclaimer says the mailers were “not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.”

Roush said she had no heads up about mailers. She said she received a call after she announced her campaign from someone who mentioned property rights and that their group planned to endorse her. Roush said she thought it might have been tied to support she’d received from the Builders Association of Greater Lafayette. But she said she didn’t get many details at the time and planned to follow up after the primary.

“I feel grateful, don’t get me wrong,” Roush said this week. “But it made me wonder, what in the world and where did that come from? … Why did they choose me? Where did they even get my information? I’m telling you, I know nothing.”

Messages sent to the Private Property Rights PAC weren’t immediately answered this week.

From the PAC’s site, it is “dedicated to defending the fundamental right to private property ownership, a cornerstone of personal freedom and economic prosperity. Our mission is to protect landowners from government overreach, burdensome regulations, and zoning restrictions that threaten their ability to control their property.”

Of its local campaign support, the site says: “Your contributions empower us to advocate for fair and transparent policies within city councils, zoning boards, and county commissions. We engage with local stakeholders, provide expert testimony, and help shape ordinances that respect property owners’ rights and encourage responsible growth.”

Private Property Rights PAC’s latest campaign finance report shows disbursements of more than $568,000 for printing and postage between April 1 and April 15 to the Iowa-based consulting firm Right Strategies for non-federal races, according to Federal Election Commission reports. Another $86,000 was reported from the PAC in digital media and text messages in non-federal campaigns. The report doesn’t break that down by individual candidates or issues, so it isn’t clear what other campaigns are part of the PAC’s interests and where Roush’s campaign fits in among them.

Recent press releases from the PAC show it has backed candidates in township races in Pennsylvania in 2025, board of supervisors races in Virginia in 2023 and fought legislation in South Carolina in 2026 that would have regulated short-term rentals such as those offered through Airbnb.

Questions about dark money have been at the center of several Indiana Senate races, including Indiana Senate District 23, where state Sen. Spencer Deery is fending off a challenge by fellow Republican Paula Copenhaver in a campaign fueled by retribution from White House allies over the Senate’s rejection of President Donald Trump’s call to redraw congressional district maps in Indiana. Deery estimates that between $2 million and $2.4 million has been aimed at his campaign by several Trump-aligned super PACs, in a race he’s frame as one about whether a local race should be controlled by national interests.

Seeing national super PAC money funnel into a county race in the past week raised eyebrows – particularly when the candidate says she was unaware of and mystified by the support.

James Waters is running against Roush for the Republican nomination to replace Tracy Brown as commissioner. He said he was confused by the mailers and had a tough time answering questions from people who asked about Roush’s support from Dallas.

“First I thought, well, maybe she just found a less expensive-type company to do this work,” Waters said.

“But then I got another one that said right on there, paid for by (Private Property Rights PAC) and everything. OK now, wait a minute, why would an interest group out of Texas be willing to pay for all these mailings from like a thousand miles away?” Waters said. “I’m not saying that she said yes or no to anything, but it had me pondering. Are they just hoping they get on her good side, so if she does win that she might show them favor when it comes time for voting on their issues? I don’t know, it just kind of smells.”

Roush said she was still trying to figure it out.

“People have asked me,” Roush said. “I just don’t know what to tell them.”

The winner of the May 5 primary between Roush and Waters will face the winner of a Democratic contest in District 1 between Andrea Burniske, Travis Dowell, Justin Kendall and AR Lane.

ON TURNOUT: COUNTY GOP CHAIR TAKES STOCK

Earlier in the week, Ken Jones, Tippecanoe County Democratic Party chairman, took a stab at why the party’s early voting was up four-fold since the 2022 primary and more than double what it was at this point in the 2024 presidential year primary. His assessment: The number of races on the ballot. “I get the criticisms, well, Democrats never put anyone up and we don’t have a choice. Oh, we gave you a choice,” Jones said.

The numbers are way up for Republican ballots pulled, too – more than double from the last midterm primary in 2022.

Tracy Brown, the county GOP chairman, noted similar trend, saying that he’d “never seen people engaged at a level like this before.”

“I don’t know if it’s the 24-hour news cycle, with just so much out there about politics and policy,” Brown, currently in his final year as a Tippecanoe County commissioner, said. “Just look back over just the last year and look at the things that the commissioners have been involved in. We had the debate over the LEAP (pipeline) project, the solar project and a lot of other things that got people out. We’ve said for years we want people showing up and we want their input so that we can use that to come up with policy. And, wow, they’re coming out in droves. I think they also understand that local elected officials are the ones that really impact local policy and impact local lives. Don’t get me wrong, what goes on at the national stage or the statewide stage does, as well. But I think there’s kind of been an awakening to the importance of these local offices.”

Brown said that seems to be projecting forward, too: “We’re not even through the primary for 2026 and we’ve already got people talking about the municipal races coming up next year.”

Navigating some intense local Republican primary races – including tests of President Donald Trump’s influence (see: presidential endorsements in Indiana Senate Districts 22 and 23); state Rep. Craig Haggard challenging U.S. Rep. Jim Baird in U.S. House 4^th District; on down to a contest for the nomination for county clerk – what challenges does he see come May 6, after results are out?

“It’s just part of the process,” Brown said. “People pour not just their time but their entire lives into a campaign. Our expectations are that once the campaign is over and we have our we have our nominees from the primary, then everybody who ran, win or lose, has a duty to pull things together. Because ultimately, our goal is to elect Republicans in the fall.”

OTHER READS …

• The national takes on local races continued in Indiana Senate District 23, where the New York Times had a piece sizing up the Republican primary between state Sen. Spencer Deery, a first-term senator from West Lafayette, and Paula Copenhaver, a Trump-backed candidate from Fountain County. The scene from Rockville, on the other side of the sprawling Senate District 23: “Indiana Republicans Defied Trump. Will Voters Punish Them for It? The election on Tuesday will test the influence of President Trump, who endorsed challengers to Republican state senators who scuttled his push to redraw political maps.”

• The New York Times also looked at the broader play Trump has made in Indiana and in primary races in other states: “Trump’s Push for Electoral Retribution Heads to the Ballot Box. The president’s push to punish political enemies in his own party will play a starring role in a series of Republican primaries this month in which he has backed challengers.”

• And here’s a look at that race, via a BiL edition Saturday: The Trump-fueled revenge campaign in Indiana Senate District 23, already expected to rack up campaign spending equaling hundreds of dollars for every vote cast in the sprawling district, continues to bloat in the final push to the May 5 primary.

ABOUT THE PRIMARY

Final day of early voting: The cutoff for early voting is 8 a.m.-noon Monday, May 4, at the Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St. in Lafayette.

Election Day vote centers: Voting on Tuesday, May 5, will be 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Registered voters in Tippecanoe County may choose any of these sites.

Lafayette

• Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road

• Lafayette Community Church of the Nazarene, 3801 Union St

• The Grove Covenant Church, 3600 S. Ninth St.

• Tippecanoe County Historical Association History Center, 522 Columbia St.

• Wea Ridge Baptist Church, 1051 E. County Road 430 South

• Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South

• Northend Community Center, 2000 Elmwood Ave.

West Lafayette

• Faith West Community Center, 1920 Northwestern Ave.

• Córdova Recreation Center, 355 N. Martin Jischke Drive

• Connection Point Church, 2541 Cumberland Ave.

• John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road

Outside Lafayette/West Lafayette

• Shadeland Town Hall, 2485 Indiana 25 West, Shadeland

• Tippecanoe Township Volunteer Fire Station No. 2, 448 W. County Road 650 North, West Lafayette

• Dayton Gathering Point Church, 7201 Wesleyan Drive, Dayton

• Battle Ground Fire Station, 112 North St., Battle Ground

How to check who is on your ballot: A good way to check – and then line everything up against the candidate Q&As below – is through the Indiana Secretary of State’s portal at www.indianavoters.com. There, you can check who will be on your ballot, based on your address and whether you plan to ask for a Republican or Democratic ballot. For a look at all candidates on Tippecanoe County primary ballots, including those for township trustee, township boards and state delegates, here are links to Democratic candidates and Republican candidates.

Candidate Q&As: Find Q&As in contested races in Tippecanoe County in this edition of BiL.

Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.

THE COST OF TRUMP-FUELED REVENGE CAMPAIGN: HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS PER VOTE IN SENATE DIST. 23

The Trump-fueled revenge campaign in Indiana Senate District 23, already expected to rack up campaign spending equaling hundreds of dollars for every vote cast in the sprawling district, continues to bloat in the final push to the May 5 primary.

This week, state Sen. Spencer Deery, a West Lafayette Republican who is among eight incumbent senators targeted by White House allies after their stand against President Donald Trump’s press to redraw congressional maps in Indiana, sent out a signal to supporters to brace for a final-week infusion of $600,000 in dark money for TV and radio spots backing Trump-endorsed challenger Paula Copenhaver in the GOP primary.

His point: “These outside groups wouldn’t spend that kind of money right now if they thought this race was already decided. Get out and vote and send a message that Indiana voters don’t want outsiders picking their leaders.”

By Deery’s calculations, campaign spending boosting Copenhaver – or in most cases, tearing into the first-term senator as a fake Republican who won’t get on board with the president – is in the $2.4 million range, much of it reportedly from dark money sources tied to Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Banks.

Money stoking Deery’s campaign, including a share of the $2 million the Senate Majority Campaign Committee had put into the campaigns of eight incumbents targeted by Trump forces and an influx from a new Indiana First political action committee assembled by Indiana Senate leader Rod Bray, will be around $1 million, he estimated. That’s including an attack ad on Copenhaver, still playing in heavy rotation, that calls her out for her part in a $120,000 civil judgment from 2006 over a business dispute.

By comparison, Deery spent roughly $140,000 in a four-way Republican primary when he won the open seat in May 2022. Copenhaver, a former Fountain County clerk and chair of the Fountain County Republican Party, finished third of four in that primary, which drew 10,860 voters in a district that includes parts of six counties, stretching from West Lafayette to the covered bridges of Parke County.

If those campaign spending figures hold and Indiana Senate District 23 turnout is similar, beating Deery could cost about $440 a vote to get more than half of those 10,860 voters needed to win.

Read more

• Support for this edition also comes from the Lafayette Master Chorale, presenting E Pluribus Unum: Out of Many, One Song at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 2, at St. Mary Cathedral, 1207 Columbia St., Lafayette. Patriotic fanfares and Americana will headline this celebration, as the Lafayette Master Chorale celebrates the United States during its Semiquincentennial. Enjoy music from some of the USA’s finest composers, all with a tale to tell, all wrapped up in the red, white and blue. Get tickets here.

3, INCLUDING MAGA DRIVER WHO GRABBED RIFLE AT 2025 ANTI-TRUMP RALLY IN LAFAYETTE, CHARGED

More than a year after a confrontation during an April 2025 “Hands Off” demonstration outside the Tippecanoe County Courthouse – which included a Lafayette man dressed in Trump apparel grabbing a gun from a truck he left in traffic – a special prosecutor late Thursday filed misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct against three people involved in the scene.

James Jordan, 44, and his wife, Jessica Jordan, 38, now with a Lebanon address, were charged for their roles in a confrontation in the street that included James Jordan getting headbutted before grabbing a Ruger 5.56mm rifle from the cab of his Ford F-150 pickup truck and going back into the crowd.

Jeremy Marks, 37, of Lafayette, was charged with disorderly conduct after admitting to police that he’d delivered the headbutt after trying to stop Jordan from bodying his way into a crowd of people in a crosswalk, as they looked to get across Third Street to the sidewalk outside the courthouse.

Initial hearings for Jordans were set for May 29 in Tippecanoe Superior Court 4. An initial hearing for Marks was set for May 27 in Tippecanoe Superior Court 7, according to court records.

The charges are class B misdemeanors, which carry a potential for up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

The charges came to light Friday morning during what had been a scheduled status hearing ordered by Tippecanoe Circuit Court Judge Sean Persin to get an update from Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter. Carter had been assigned to review the Lafayette police investigation as special prosecutor on April 23, 2025. According to Persin’s order, the notice to appear had asked whether Carter needed more time or whether another special prosecutor needed to step in.

Neither Carter nor his deputy prosecutor, Jovanni Miramontes, came to Circuit Court Friday morning to discuss the charges or about missing deadlines in recent months set out by the judge. One attorney involved in the case learned about the charges only when Persin told the courtroom that he’d been informed that they’d been filed.

Attempts to reach the James or Jessica Jordan were not immediately successful Friday. Marks declined to comment.

The results of the special prosecutor’s review of the case had been highly anticipated in a situation that contributed to additional safety measures installed during similar rallies that have come in the year that followed.

The probable cause affidavit filed with the charges included differing descriptions of James Jordan going through the crowd that day, ranging from police saying he’d kept the gun at his side with the barrel pointing to the ground to a witness saying he “began waving it menacingly at the crowd.”

Read more

WITH EARLY VOTING UP, TIPPECANOE COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CHAIR TAKES STOCK

Early voting continued to run way hotter, so far, in Tippecanoe County than either of the past two primaries. Heading into Thursday’s expanded vote center sites, the county election office had 4,474 ballots cast in person and by mail since April 7, ahead of the May 5 primary.

“We continue to be miles ahead of the last two cycles,” Mike Smith, part of the county elections office staff, said.

That’s 2.5 times as many as the 1,795 ballots cast by the same point in 2022, the last, comparable midterm primary, according to county figures. And it’s up 44% from the same point during the 2024 presidential year primary in Tippecanoe County.

The numbers are up for both parties’ tickets, with more than double the Republican ballots pulled this year compared to 2022. For Democratic ballots, the numbers are 3.8 times more.

Republican ballots requested in the open primary edged ahead of those pulled on the Democratic side after Wednesday’s voting – 2,323 to 2,151. The past two primaries tilted heavier toward the R’s at roughly 64% by this point.

On the Democratic side, a few questions, then, for Ken Jones, the county’s party chairman, about what he sees in those numbers, with less than a week to the primary.

“I think it’s the number of races,” Jones said Wednesday. “And I think it’s who’s in the races, up and down. You see races like Indiana Senate (District) 22, where it’s contested with Marlena (Edmondson) and Natasha (Baker), and both really worked hard. And to me, I look at them, and it’s like that’s the generational shift. I think finally younger voters are starting to see people that look like them. I think that’s exciting, finally like, hey, people who are like me are actually showing up on the ballot, and I think that’s motivating.”

Jones said a concerted effort to get Democrats into local races traditionally dominated by Republicans, even those that aren’t contested in the primary, might have contributed to the early voting push. Having a crowded county commissioner race – one featuring four candidates running for the Democratic nomination in District 1: Andrea Burniske, Travis Dowell, Justin Kendall and AR Lane – could have, too. The winner in that race will face either Julie Roush or James Waters, who are running in the Republican primary.

“We found four people for a district-based race, which was astounding,” Jones said. “I was sweating it and didn’t know that we’d find any. Then we found four. … I get the criticisms, well, Democrats never put anyone up and we don’t have a choice. Oh, we gave you a choice.”

Does it signal anything for the general election, once the primary’s sorted out?

Jones said he took the early vote as evidence of what he called a “blue-ing” of Tippecanoe County. He rejected the idea that 2026 found the party just in rebuilding mode or riding a momentary wave.

“We’re in it to win,” Jones said. “We’re far from helpless. In a lot of ways, we’re thinking about ‘27 and ‘28 already. And I think we’ll do well in ’26. It’s not a given. We’ve got to work hard. But I don’t see us having to fight for the scraps of the Republicans decide to leave us. I think it’s up to us to, honestly, put out qualified candidates with the political persuasion and the policies, etc., that appeal to our voters. I think we’re doing it.”

The Democratic ballot in Tippecanoe County also features 80 candidates – choose up to 56 – looking to be a delegate to the party’s state convention. How much of that early bump in Democratic ballots can be attributed to those 80 delegate candidates and a few of their friends getting to the polls before May 5?

“Hard to say, but that could be another reason,” Jones said. “It’s a proxy for the Secretary of State race, is the way it’s been framed. … The Secretary of State race is interesting, and if you think you’re voting for them in the primary, you’re not. The push was, I want those who are passionate about that race or about the party platform or whatever, here’s the path to get involved.”

Jones said that list of 80 includes “not a small number of former Republicans” that he wrote letters as party chair to allow them on the ballot, despite not meeting a state standard of voting in past Democratic primaries required by state law to automatically qualify.

“That is, honestly, not an uncommon conversation that I’m having,” Jones said. “It’s like, I used to vote this way, I can’t do it anyway. I think in Tippecanoe County, the Richard Lugar Republicans maybe don’t have a party anymore. … Maybe that’s what we’re seeing this year, too. We’re going to find out, right?”

EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS

Early voting continues through May 4 with contested races on Tippecanoe County ballots for U.S. House, several Indiana General Assembly seats, Tippecanoe County commissioner and Tippecanoe County Council seats, township position and state convention delegates. Voters may choose a Republican or Democratic ballot, but not both, when checking in at the voting site.

Through Friday, May 1

• Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road, Lafayette; noon-6 p.m.

• Wea Ridge Baptist Church, 1051 E. County Road 430 South, Lafayette; noon-6 p.m.

• Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South, Lafayette; noon-6 p.m.

• John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road, West Lafayette; noon-6 p.m.

• Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette; 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 2

• Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road, Lafayette; 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

• Wea Ridge Baptist Church, 1051 E. County Road 430 South, Lafayette; 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

• Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South, Lafayette; 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

• John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road, West Lafayette; 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

• Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette; 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Monday, May 4

• Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St. in Lafayette; 8 a.m.-noon

HOW TO CHECK WHO IS ON YOUR BALLOT

A good way to check – and then line everything up against candidate Q&As below – is through the Indiana Secretary of State’s portal at www.indianavoters.com. There, you can check who will be on your ballot, based on your address and whether you plan to ask for a Republican or Democratic ballot.

For a look at all candidates on Tippecanoe County primary ballots, including those for township trustee, township boards and state delegates, here are links to Democratic candidates and Republican candidates.

CANDIDATE Q&As

Find Q&As in contested races in Tippecanoe County in this edition of BiL …

WORK ON RAIL CROSSING WILL MEAN 4- TO 6-WEEK CLOSURE OF SOUTH STREET THIS SUMMER

A portion of South Street, one of the busiest routes in Lafayette, will be closed for four to six weeks at some point this summer, as part of a $3.1 million project to repair a rail crossing east of Sagamore Parkway and improve signals and pedestrian access stretching to the entrance of the U.S. Post Office.

The Lafayette Redevelopment Commission on Thursday awarded the project to Milestone Contractors. Part of the contract included a series of deadlines, including getting work done on the crossing in time to open traffic by Aug. 13 so it isn’t closed when Purdue students arrive for the start of the fall 2026 semester.

The full project, including trails, storm sewer improvements and new signals at Hamman Street and the Century Place post office entrance, is expected to be done by April 30, 2027, according to the contract.

The city has been negotiating with Norfolk Southern, the rail company that owns the tracks, on the project for some time. The tracks carry only a handful of trains each month at a spot that handles daily traffic of 22,840 vehicles on a street formerly designated as Indiana 26, according to Federal Railroad Administration counts.

The closure of South Street – the dates hadn’t been determined, as of Thursday – will allow access to the post office and local business. An official detour will include a route following Sagamore Parkway, Union Street and Creasy Lane, Jeromy Grenard, city engineer, said.

PURDUE DAY OF GIVING HAUL: $95.5 MILLION

Purdue reported it generated $95.5 million from 34,454 donations over 24 hours during Wednesday’s Day of Giving.

It was the second largest total in the event’s 13-year history, following the $105 million raised during the Day of Giving in 2025. Since 2014, Day of Giving has raised $697.6 million, according to Purdue.

The Daniels School of Business received $26.6 million, the most of any unit on campus, led by a $20 million from the Ricks Family Foundation to establish the Purdue Institute for Healthcare Systems Innovation at the university’s Indianapolis campus and a $4.295 million gift from a donor who asked to remain anonymous.

Purdue announced 19 gifts of $1 million or more during the Day of Giving, according to university figures.

Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.

Here’s host for this edition …

By Tim Brouk / For Based in Lafayette

West Lafayette Tacos, Nachos and Beerfest, 5-9 p.m. Friday, May 1, Brokerage Brewing Company, 2516 Covington St., West Lafayette — Three of the greatest things in life are tacos, nachos and beer, so huge thanks to West Lafayette’s Brokerage Brewing Company for presenting the second annual West Lafayette Tacos, Nachos and Beerfest. The all-ages event will gather several Mexican food trucks from Greater Lafayette and beyond in a festive atmosphere featuring live music and a “family fun zone” for the kids.

Opening receptions, 6 p.m. Friday, May 1, Art Museum of Greater Lafayette, 102 S. 10^th St., Lafayette — The newest shows at the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette open this weekend. Leading the way will be “Poetics of Metal” by Sishi Wang and Jessica Mohl. The women use metal to form evocative sculptures. Wang incorporates her Chinese culture into her work, which incorporates natural materials and forms. The Art Museum described Wang’s works as honoring “the moments that have profoundly shaped her — each piece capturing a feeling, an experience, or an aspect of herself. Together, they trace her identity as an individual, a daughter and a foreigner navigating the spaces between cultures.” This show runs through Aug. 2. Also opening will be “Time for Tea,” an exhibit that features unique and artistic teapots from local collectors.

Incel Castrator with Master Hunter, Damn Us All and Detached, 8 p.m. Saturday, May 2, North End Pub, 2100 Elmwood Ave., Lafayette — One of the best and most brutal — in the best possible sense — Indiana metal bands will be making its Lafayette debut this weekend. Incel Castrator not only has a brilliant name but the insane chops to pull off grindcore just as brilliantly — so fast, so heavy, so vocally guttural. The band’s debut album, “Consensual Cannibalism,” offers such short but nuclear sonic explosions between about two minutes to as brief as 24 seconds (“I SAW THE MICHIGAN DOGMAN”). Incel Castrator also wins song title of the year with “Gallons of Polluted Water Forced Through the Trachea of AI Tech Bros.” Regionals Master Hunter and Damn Us All and Cincinnati’s Detached will share the bill. $10.

Plus …

• Pop-up art gallery, 7 p.m.-midnight Friday, May 1 — The volume in North End Pub will be a little lower for one of its first forays into fine visual art. A pop-up art gallery will feature the works of local artists Wade Harrington, Ericka Kerrigan and Taylor Fortin. These talents will be selling works as well as demonstrating their skills with live painting throughout the night. DJ Circle T will be spinning artful vinyl throughout.

• NecroticGoreBeast with Carrion Vael, Atoll and Shoved into Traffic, 7 p.m. Thursday, April 30 — Our town’s Doom Room has gone international. Tonight, the local heavy metal promotions company will welcome Quebec City’s own NecroticGoreBeast. With a “slamming brutal death metal” sound, the French Canadian four piece has been stomping around North America for almost 10 years. It’s latest release, “Brute,” includes the title track and four other tracks not for the faint of heart. NCB will be joined by tourmates from Phoenix Atoll, Richmond death metal act Carrion Vael and Lafayette’s own Shoved into Traffic. $15.

Lafayette Master Chorale, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 2, St. Mary Cathedral, 1207 Columbia St., Lafayette — The Lafayette Master Chorale, formerly known as the Bach Chorale, will close out season 61 with a celebration of America’s 250^th birthday. “E Pluribus Unum: Out of Many, One Song” will feature patriotic songs and other selections from American composers — tunes from Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story,” “The Last Words of David” by Randall Thompson and an interesting take on “The Star-Spangled Banner” complete with additional lyrics. These excellent singers — almost 60 of them — will be backed by a 14-piece orchestra, which will sound extra glorious in St. Mary’s historic confines. Happy Semiquincentennial, America! $22 in advance, $25 at the door, $10 for students ages 18 and older; children are free with adults. Tickets.

Clave Caribe, 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, People’s Brewing Company, 2006 N. Ninth St., Lafayette — Your Cinco de Mayo celebrating could do no better than to take in Greater Lafayette’s top band for Latin and South American sounds. Clave Caribe is back from its winter break to ensure your May 5 is a hot one with sounds of cumbia, merengue, salsa and more. While Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, Clave Caribe’s members’ heritages are from all over the globe, which makes the band’s sound perfect for any occasion — as long as there’s a dancefloor. Tickets.

Tim Brouk is a longtime arts and entertainment reporter. He writes here (almost) weekly, tracking things to do for Based in Lafayette.

Bonus cuts …

• The Arts Federation will hold an opening reception from 6-8 p.m. Friday, May 1, for three exhibits – Kathleen Lee’s “Art, an Exploration;” Sunday Mahaja’s “Falling Pollinators;” and Brian Hitselberger’s “Poems.” All three will be up through May 29 in TAF galleries, 638 North St. in Lafayette.

• LaLa Gallery and Studio, 1816 Main St. in Lafayette, will bring its pop-ups from around the community closer to home for the Indiana Makers Market Yard Market from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, May 2, at the studio. The event will feature the work of Indiana makers, along with music from Annie Hatke at noon and Kelsey Patton at 1 p.m. Admission is free.

• The first day of the Lafayette Farmers Market is Saturday morning on Fifth Street, between Columbia and Ferry streets, and Main Street, between Fourth and Sixth streets. Here’s more of preview …

Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.

Look who’s back …

By Carol Bangert / For Based in Lafayette

I started counting down the days until May right after the first measurable snowfall in November. Ah, May. May means spring is on the way — and it signals the opening of area farmers markets.

Here in Tippecanoe County, we are blessed with three quality markets: in downtown Lafayette, in West Lafayette and on the Purdue campus. Each has its own vibe and spirit, but the assignment has been the same since the first market set up shop in downtown Lafayette almost 190 years ago: Create a gathering place for local farmers and artisans to showcase and sell their produce, meats and crafts.

If you have visions of filling your eco-friendly shopping bags with summer’s best produce, slow your roll. While a fresh baked cinnamon roll is always in season at the market, ripe heirloom tomatoes and slender green beans are not. But don’t worry. As with last season’s Market Report, I’ll get you dialed in to what’s in season at Greater Lafayette’s farmers markets – from tart rhubarb and jewel-toned radishes to snappy sweet corn, ethereal Vincennes melons and earthy winter squash.

Along the way, I’ll ask market vendors to share tips on how to use seasonal produce, including recipes and food pairings. Also, I’ll be checking out unique fruits, veg and other surprises that might add some zing to your menu planning. So, grab your reusable tote bags, and let’s start shopping.

If you’re a regular visitor to Lafayette’s farmers market, you’ll notice that the expanded footprint has returned, along with longtime vendors and some new faces. Shelby White, public relations and communications manager at Greater Lafayette Commerce, says there will be a record 120 vendors, 33 of them new. The footprint will be on Fifth Street between Columbia and mid-block to Ferry Street and Main Street between Fourth and Sixth streets.

I’ve pondered how to approach Market Report this year – after all, Nature sets a pretty consistent schedule when it comes to in-season produce, and there may not be a lot of new ground to plow. But I’m taking my cue from poet Mary Oliver, whose instructions for living a life are: “Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” I’m confident our farmers markets will not disappoint, and I look forward to sharing my discoveries with you.

Days and hours

• Lafayette Farmers Market: 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturdays, May through October. Opening day is Saturday, May 2.

• West Lafayette Farmers Market: 3:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, May through October. The market is held at Cumberland Park in West Lafayette with more than 50 vendors.

• Purdue Farmers Market: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursdays, May through October. The Purdue farmers market is held on the Memorial Mall on Purdue’s campus. This market is a concession-heavy market that allows students, faculty and staff to have lunch options in a unique outdoor setting.

Carol Bangert, editor of Greater Lafayette Magazine, has been a regular at Greater Lafayette farmers markets for more than 20 years. From May through October, she’ll scout out in-season produce at the markets and report back on fresh finds and how to use them.

Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.

Attorneys pressing an appeal for Richard Allen, a Delphi man convicted of the 2017 murders of eighth-graders Abby Williams and Libby German, this week motioned for oral arguments before the Indiana Court of Appeals, saying it “will put facts in context and answer any questions” in a “factually complex” case.

The motion, filed late Monday, came with Allen’s defense team’s reply to state arguments filed in March fighting the need for an appeal. His attorneys insisted in the new court filing that the initial four-week trial in 2024 was stacked against Allen with little opportunity to refute a prosecution built on “superficial inference stacking,” pulled together into “this story of tunnel vision into the wrong man.”

“The State’s case was a paper tiger, and the trial court systematically barred Allen from lighting a match,” Allen’s attorneys, Stacy Uliana and Mark Leeman, wrote in Monday’s filing.

Read more

First up: How about that wind last night? Chad Evans was reporting on his Weather Blog gusts of 60 mph and stronger during a line of storms that ripped through Monday evening.

As of noon, here were the outages that remained in Greater Lafayette, as reported by Duke Energy.

Now, for a few notes …

EARLY VOTING OUTPACES PAST TWO PRIMARIES IN TIPPECANOE COUNTY

The final push is on toward the May 5 primary, just a week away. Early voting spreads out in Tippecanoe County, starting today, too.

And early voting since April 7, when the first polls opened at the County Office Building, has outpaced the most recent midterm and presidential election years, according to Tippecanoe County elections office numbers.

At the start of this week, 2,682 Tippecanoe County resident cast ballots. That’s 2.8 times the 934 who voted by the same time in 2022, the most recent midterm primary election. And it’s nearly 1,000 more voters than during the 2024 presidential primary, up 57% from the 1,698 by the same time, according to county election office figures.

For context, the 2022 primary drew 9,263 voters, or 7.6% of the registered voters in the county at the time, according to county records. In 2024, the primary had 14,943 voters, or a 13% turnout.

Another trendline: Democratic ballots slightly outnumber those of Republican ballots pulled so far in this primary, 1,346 to 1,336. At this point in 2024 and 2022 primaries in Tippecanoe County, voters had asked for Republican ballots 60% and 62.5% of the time, according to county numbers.

EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS

Early voting ahead of the May 5 primary election through May 4 with contested races on Tippecanoe County ballots for U.S. House, several Indiana General Assembly seats, Tippecanoe County commissioner and Tippecanoe County Council seats, township position and state convention delegates. Voters may choose a Republican or Democratic ballot, but not both, when checking in at the voting site.

Tuesday-Friday, April 28-May 1

• Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road, Lafayette; noon-6 p.m.

• Wea Ridge Baptist Church, 1051 E. County Road 430 South, Lafayette; noon-6 p.m.

• Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South, Lafayette; noon-6 p.m.

• John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road, West Lafayette; noon-6 p.m.

• Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette; 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 2

• Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road, Lafayette; 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

• Wea Ridge Baptist Church, 1051 E. County Road 430 South, Lafayette; 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

• Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South, Lafayette; 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

• John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road, West Lafayette; 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

• Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette; 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Monday, May 4

• Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St. in Lafayette; 8 a.m.-noon

HOW TO CHECK WHO IS ON YOUR BALLOT

A good way to check – and then line everything up against the candidate Q&As below – is through the Indiana Secretary of State’s portal at www.indianavoters.com. There, you can check who will be on your ballot, based on your address and whether you plan to ask for a Republican or Democratic ballot.

For a look at all candidates on Tippecanoe County primary ballots, including those for township trustee, township boards and state delegates, here are links to Democratic candidates and Republican candidates.

CANDIDATE Q&As

THIS AND THAT/OTHER READS …

CLERK CANDIDATE’S CAMPAIGN FINANCE CHALLENGE WON’T NEED SPECIAL JUDGE: The first question Tippecanoe Circuit Court Judge Sean Persin asked attorneys Monday morning was whether they planned to ask for a special judge to handle a matter filed last week by Abby Myers, one of three candidates running for county clerk, a position that oversees courts and elections.

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