Local Primary winners emerge
JULIE POLLOCK ELLIOTT PHOTOS
Pictured above the Ric Hertel family were out in force at the courthouse annex Tuesday evening. They watched the numbers roll in until it was time for the final tally, when they could celebrate Hertel pulling ahead in the race for Ripley County Prosecuting Attorney. Ric and Lynn were flanked by their daughters and sons-in-law, along with their son. Pictured right, Liz Baumgartner, county clerk, Mark Horstman, county commissioner, Jason Smith with Homeland Security and Shawna Bushhorn, county assessor, were talking after numbers had rolled in for the evening. It was a relatively quick tally and Baumgartner said the evening went very smooth and the voting center process is now becoming familiar to voters in the county.
Quick primary results were received on a rainy election night in Ripley County for several contested Republican seats. By 7:30 p.m., the unofficial results were in for Ripley County Primary Election. In total, 3,952 votes were cast. That equivalates to 18.75% out of Ripley County’s 21,080 registered voters cast their votes in the primary election.
At the local level:
The Prosecuting Attorney race saw Ric Hertel take the lead by 634 votes, making it the third tightest race for the evening. Hertel and Frank Arkenberg, opposing Republican nominee, are both familiar names associated with the prosecuting attorney position in Ripley County. The results came in with Hertel receiving 59.49% (1,987) and Arkenberg with 40.51% (1,353).
“I am grateful for everyone who took time away from work and family and braved the weather yesterday to support me. I was overwhelmed by the turnout on election day and humbled by the support along the way. I am as excited about the possibility of an eighth term as I was the first one 28 years ago. The voters spoke loudly about the direction of the prosecutor’s office, and I want to continue giving a voice to crime victims, holding offenders accountable and protecting the community. There is still work to be done. My job is not finished,” Hertel told The Versailles Republican.
The race for Superior Court Judge between current Superior Court Judge Jeff Sharp and current Chief Deputy Prosecutor, Shane Tucker, saw Sharp take the winning votes with 2,283. Both nominees were highly recognized around the county as each campaigned strong and put their best foot forward to meet and speak with as many residents as possible, even going door to door on the coldest days of the year.
The race for County Council Member District 2 saw Bryan Franklin come out ahead of challenger Stan Wiedeman with a 63.29% margin and 569 votes to Wiedeman’s, 330.
Overall, the tightest race, saw Brian Meisberger narrowly taking the Shelby Twp. Trustee nomination over Vicki Taylor by only 27 votes. In addition, the contested Center Twp. Trustee bid was the second tightest race overall for the evening by only a 37-vote difference with Brenda Warren taking the lead over Robyn Thomas.
Kathleen Dickman, Timothy Osborne, and James Purdy took the three seats for Delaware Twp. Board with Katie Eadens narrowly missing a seat with only 12 votes less than Osborne.
The seats for Shelby Twp. Board resulted in Amanda Brunner, Lafe Dobbs and Amy Meisberger ahead with Tyler Bond a mere six votes behind Brunner.
Ryan King, Circuit Court Judge, had no opposition, along with several other Republican races in the county that included: Lisa Vestal, Auditor; Rob Bradley, Sheriff; Jeffrey French, Surveyor; Shawna Bushhorn, Assessor; Mark Horstman, Commissioner District 1; Ronald Decker, County Council District 1; Jay Gayheart, County Council District 3; David Tebbing, County Council District 4; Erick Taylor, Adams Twp. Trustee; Danielle McGee, Brown Twp. Trustee; Paul Hardy, Delaware Twp. Trustee; Annette Pindell, Jackson Twp. Trustee; Heather Hewitt, Johnson Twp. Trustee; Brandi Brunner, Otter Creek Twp. Trustee; Jeffery Poole, Washington Twp. Trustee; Robert Reiners, Alberta Schmidt and Carol Siebert, Adams Twp. Board; Gena Gullion, James Brian Meyer and Scott Stutler, Brown Twp. Board; Lorri Carpenter, Donna Linville and Sharon Menchhofer, Center Twp. Board; Larry Abplanalp, Denise Schmaltz and Jane Ann Vankirk, Jackson Twp. Board; Jayne Guidry, Johnson Twp. Board; Ruth Ann Adkinson and Tammy Wiley, Otter Creek Twp. Board; Charles Casebolt and Dawn Jordan, Washington Twp. Board; Cheryl Taylor, Sunman Clerk-Treasurer; Sarah Bauman, Versailles Clerk-Treasurer; Steve Mathes, Versailles Town Council; Dillon Davidson and Deb Schumate, Milan Town Council at large; Bill Roberts and Holley Rose, Osgood Town Council at large; Randall Zins, Sunman Town Council; Cynthia Melton, Otter Creek Twp. Trustee; and Debra Cutter, Washington Twp. Board.
At the state level:
Brad Meyer was the front runner in Ripley County with 234 votes for U.S. Representative Ninth District. Victoria Martz, Justin Chadwick, Erin Houchin, Lindsay Patterson and Alex Zimmerman were all unopposed.
Between all positions combined, there was a total of 7,763 undervotes which means candidates weren’t selected when the opportunity was available to do so. The 2026 General Election is set for November 3, 2026. Get out and do your civic duty.
