Ready or not, it’s time for Hoosiers to place their votes. If you’re someone who doesn’t normally vote in the primary races, we encourage you to consider learning a bit about the candidates on your ballot and voting in the next week – if you haven’t already. There are so many contested races – esp. on the Republican ballot – from top to bottom, and in many cases, the candidate who wins the primary race on Tuesday will be heavily favored to win the race in November. For most races, the vote on Tuesday is THE vote to shape your government for the foreseeable future.
First, in case you’re not yet sure of all the races you have to vote for; here are two sites that will show you the races on your ballot. Please note that during a primary election, you will be asked if you would like a Republican or Democrat ballot – you can choose either one, but only one. You will only be voting to select the candidates of your choice on that ballot. Those that win the primary election will run against the top candidate in the opposing party during the general election in November. Build your virtual ballot at BallotPedia or Indiana Citizen.
Once you’ve figured out the races on your ballot, check the state’s website to see where you can vote – either early or on election day.
All Hoosiers across the state will have a chance to vote for three races:
- President: Trump and Haley on the GOP ballot; Biden uncontested on the DEM ballot
- US Senate: Banks uncontested on the GOP ballot; Carmichael & McCray on the DEM ballot
- Governor: Braun, Chambers, Crouch, Doden, Hill & Reitenour on the GOP ballot; McCormick uncontested on the DEM ballot
If you’re interested in learning more about your choices for Governor, there are several media outlets that have done profile pieces. Please use these to learn more before you vote.
Here in the Evansville region, we also get to choose a new US Congressman after Larry Bucshon announced he wouldn’t run for re-election. On the GOP Ballot, you’ll choose from Jim Case, Jeremy Heath, John Hostettler, Dominick Jack Kavanaugh, Mark Messmer, Luke Misner, Richard Moss, and Kristi Risk. On the DEM ballot, you have 4 choices: Erik Hurt, Peter Priest II, Edward Upton Sein, and Michael Talarzyk.
At the Statehouse level, only one of our area legislators has a Primary challenger: District 64 (northern Vanderburgh County, all of Posey and Knox Counties) where Dale Mallory is running against incumbent Matt Hostettler on the GOP ticket.
In each of our 4 regional counties, there are contested primary races for County Commissioner (except in Posey County) and often for the County Council-At-Large seats on the ballot this year. And, there are often decisions to be made in the races for the many other offices that manage the day-to-day operations in your community, such as Assessor, Auditor, Treasurer, Clerk, and Coroner.
Again, your virtual ballot above will tell you your choices. Most candidates – even those for local office – will have a website or at least a Facebook page that tells you more about them. Once you’ve seen the names on your virtual ballot, a few quick internet searches can help you learn more about the people asking for your vote.
If you have questions about voting or the candidates on your ballot, please reach out to your Rideout Public Affairs team members. We’ll do our best to answer them. Otherwise, please take time to get to the ballot box before 6:00 p.m. next Tuesday, May 7th!