Brad Dwenger, who represents eastern Wayne County as a county commissioner, faces two challengers in May’s primary.
Howard Price filed last week for the District 1 opportunity, joining fellow Republicans Dwenger and Mark Hoelscher on the ballot.
Price ran for Richmond mayor in 2023. He returned to Richmond after serving in the Air Force and as a simulator instructor with companies such as Boeing and researching foreign missiles at Wright Patterson Air Force Base’s Foreign Technology Division. He earned a Master of Business Administration from Phillips University. Price now volunteers with several organizations and speaks at government meetings about the need to clean up Richmond’s trash and blighted properties.
Hoelscher is concluding his term as county auditor at the end of 2026. It’s a position he previously held in the 1970s. The Richmond High School and Ball State graduate formerly served as business manager for Northeastern schools and owned a business.
When he ran for commissioner in 2022, defeating Ken Paust in the primary, Dwenger noted he was president of B.A. Dwenger Appraisals and a reserve deputy sheriff for Wayne County Sheriff’s Department. The Air Force veteran is also a former vice chair of the board for a local credit union and a former senior vice president of a mortgage bank in Jackson, Tennessee.
A version of this article appeared in the February 11 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.