Your last-minute primer for the May 5 primary
A voter guide for Tuesday’s primary, including where to vote, who will be on ballots, candidate Q&As and what’s at stake in contested races.
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, 4th District
U.S. Rep. Jim Baird, a farmer from Greencastle, is running for his fifth term since first winning Indiana’s 4th 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 4th 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.
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