2026 Primary Election results: Moore, Retter win

8,044 Wayne County voters have decided who will advance beyond the May 5, 2026, primary election, and in some cases, they’ve likely picked the winners of the fall general election.

Primary races were decided for various county races, and results are being finalized for state and federal races. Click or scroll to read the results:

• U.S. House of Representatives
• Indiana Senate District 27
• Indiana House District 56
• Wayne County Commissioners
• Wayne County Council
• Wayne County Sheriff
• GOP State Convention Delegates
• Additional Races

U.S. House of Representatives

While none of the candidates live in Wayne County, local voters had the chance to select their next representative for Indiana’s District 6 in Congress.

Primaries were contested for the House of Representative seat for both Republican and Democratic parties.

Results were not available for the entire district, but Wayne County voters chose Jefferson Shreve as their Republican candidate and Cynthia “Cinde” Wirth as their Democratic candidate.

Shreve, a first-term incumbent, faced challenger Sarah Janisse Brown. In Wayne County, Shreve received 3,285 votes (57.73%) to Brown’s 2,405 (42.27%).

The four Democrats who ran were William Kory Amyx, Nicholas Frederick Baker, David Lawrence Boyd and Wirth.

Wirth received 883 votes (48.17%), followed by Amyx’s 395 (21.55%), Baker’s 388 (21.17%) and Boyd’s 167 (9.11%).

Indiana Senate District 27

Three-term Indiana State Sen. Jeff Raatz overcame challenger Anthony Jones in Wayne County’s primary. Raatz earned 73.35% with 4,245 votes. Jones received 1,542 votes (26.65%).

The winner has not yet been declared because results are not yet available for all of District 27, which also includes Henry and Union counties and portions of Franklin County.

Raatz, who was first elected in 2014, said it’s always good to have competition in both the primary and general election, as it tells candidates whether voters are happy. He said he will work hard in the second half of the campaign as well.

When it comes to legislation, Raatz said he probably hasn’t pleased everyone, but he works hard to hear and understand what voters want. He said the economy and education are important issues for them.

“We’re doing everything we can to make east central Indiana a favorable place to live on the map,” he said.

Raatz has risen in leadership roles to serve as chair of Indiana’s Senate Committee on Education and Career Development and as a member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and Senate School Funding Subcommittee.

Jones, a political newcomer, said he was inspired to run after seeing Raatz vote no on Senate Bill 85 that would protect patients’ paychecks and homes from medical debt collectors and promote charity care and payment plans.

Democrat Ron Itnyre of Richmond faces Raatz this fall. Itnyre, a senior lecturer of biology and director of the Office of Sustainability at Indiana University East, ran against Raatz in 2022.

Indiana House District 56

Although they were running for a new office, candidates for Indiana House of Representatives District 56 had local name recognition.

Randy Retter won with 3,188 votes, or 52.77%. Pete Zaleski finished second with 2,588 votes, or 42.84%. Adam Blanton, who withdrew from the race after the filing deadline and remained on the ballot, received 265 votes (4.39%).

Retter and Zaleski both touted prior government experience. Retter is concluding his second term as county sheriff after serving his department in several roles.

Retter said he believed he prevailed in the primary because of the level of trust he had developed with the community during his two terms as sheriff, noting people said they feel comfortable and safe.

As he was searching for what to do after retiring from the sheriff’s department, Retter said he wanted to utilize his experience and connections with county government, the business community and citizens, and didn’t want that to go to waste.

Retter expressed gratitude to God, his wife and daughter, campaign team and volunteers for their dedication during the primary.

Zaleski previously served on Wayne County Council and Richmond Community Schools’ board. Zaleski also served on Economic Development Corp. of Wayne County’s board, Wayne County Board of Health and Richmond Redevelopment Commission.

Zaleski, who owns Phillips Drugs in Richmond, noted his community and professional experience in health care as a pharmacist, plus knowledge of health departments and small business ownership.

Zaleski said he was disappointed in the results but congratulated Retter on his victory. “I appreciate that we both ran a clean campaign. I hope people continue that in the future,” Zaleski said. “I hope that everyone that supported me will support Randy in the future.”

Zaleski said he would evaluate future opportunities for elected office, but has no plans at this time.

The GOP winner faces Democrat Tom Rockwell in the fall. Rockwell serves as a pastor of a small rural church and as a denominational leader.

Wayne County Commissioners

Wayne County faces important issues such as a courthouse elevator project, fairgrounds improvements and housing, and Brad Dwenger wants to continue working on those projects.

The incumbent District 1 representative on the Board of Commissioners won a three-candidate race for the Republican nomination. As yet, Dwenger has no general election opponent. Independent or minor party candidates have until noon June 30 to file their candidacy, and Democrat and Libertarian candidates have until noon July 3 to file candidacy for the seat.

Dwenger received 46.78% of the vote, totaling 2,641 votes. Current auditor Mark Hoelscher received 1,570 votes (27.81%) and Howard Price received 1,434 (25.40%).

“We have a lot of momentum, and me, Jeff (Plasterer) and Aaron (Roberts) make a good team,” Dwenger said. “We have a balance, with Jeff good at finance and me and Aaron more with the warm and fuzzies with the staff. I want to thank everybody who voted for me, and my supporters.”

Dwenger is concluding his first commissioners term. He unseated Ken Paust, who had served since 2007, during the 2022 Republican primary and did not face general election opposition.

Dwenger also wants to make sure the about 400 county employees receive good pay and benefits.

“If they’re happy, they’ll provide excellent service to the citizens,” he said.

Hoelscher expressly stated that he targeted Dwenger with his decision to run for commissioners. Hoelscher originally filed to remain auditor, then changed to try and unseat Dwenger.

“If Howard hadn’t run, I would have beaten him, but that’s how it goes,” said Hoelscher, who lamented entering a three-candidate race. “I did what was right for the taxpayers, and that’s all I can feel comfortable with.”

Hoelscher, who will serve the final seven months of his auditor term before retiring, also noted the low voter turnout numbers, saying residents feel disenfranchised.

Wayne County Council

Incumbent Barry Ritter won the only contested Wayne County Council race.

Ritter totaled 54.37% of Republican votes in District 2 to defeat Bradley “Farmer Brad” Wood. Ritter received 970 votes to 814 (45.63%) for Wood.

Ritter, who currently chairs council’s personnel committee, was elected to council in 2022, running unopposed in the primary and general elections for the seat vacated by Rodger Smith. 

At this time, Ritter has no general election opponent. Independent or minor party candidates have until noon June 30 to file their candidacy, and Democrat and Libertarian candidates have until noon July 3 to file candidacy for the seat.

“I think having been reelected gives me the opportunity to continue working with the other council members and the commissioners and continue the great things we’re doing in Wayne County,” Ritter said. “I’m grateful for the voters who voted for me, and recognize Brad for running.”

Wood became interested in holding public office after speaking during council’s public hearing for local option highway user taxes, realizing citizens can only do so much at a speaker’s podium. He has used his technology skills to develop dashboards that track government meetings and provide information to residents.

“I think there’s momentum of the importance of providing information,” Wood said. “Without information, you can’t be informed, and without being informed, you can’t make things better.”

Wood said some residents were disappointed that they could not vote for the District 2 race. He is now interested in running for a council at-large seat when those are up for election in 2028.

“This is a stepping stone,” he said.

Ritter said he encouraged Wood to continue involvement in county government. The county must continue navigating a changing financial landscape resulting from state legislation altering property and income tax models.

“I think we’re going to continue making tough decisions as we navigate the revenue landscape,” Ritter said. “Our citizens expect a level of service, and we need to make sure we have quality employees that provide that service.”

Incumbent county council members Jeff Cappa in District 1 and Beth Leisure in District 3 were uncontested in the primary, and both currently are unopposed for the fall general election. Cappa replaced Bob Chamness during the current term.

Richard K. Tincher was unopposed for the Republican nomination in county council District 4. Democrat Tom Pennington was also unopposed in District 4, setting up a general election race to replace Misty Hollis. A Republican caucus selected Hollis to replace Tony Gillam when Gillam resigned because he moved outside the district.

Wayne County Sheriff

Alan Moore won the Republican primary race for Wayne County sheriff, bringing new but familiar leadership to the seat. Moore led with early and absentee voting, finishing with a final total of 3,654 (60.2%) to Weatherly’s 2,412 (39.7%).

Moore, Wayne County Sheriff Office’s chief deputy since 2022, campaigned on holding offenders accountable, delivering strong investigations and highlighting resources to prevent recidivism. He highlighted operating in transparency and modernizing management of law enforcement systems.

Moore says he has no sweeping changes planned, but will meet with administrative staff and expectant Chief Deputy David Winburn to make sure all are on the same page. 

“I want to set goals and expectations,” said Moore. 

Weatherly, Richmond’s current chief of police, has 20-plus years of law enforcement experience. He promoted county unity through community policing, aggressive and strategic crime enforcement focused on offenders and supporting jail staff and personnel. 

“Of course, not the results we hoped for, and the results speak for themselves,” Weatherly told WWN. “But we respect the process and congratulate all the winners this evening.” He said he wants nothing but the best for the community. 

Independent and minor party candidates would have until noon on June 30 to file for the November election. Democrat and Libertarian candidates have until noon July 3.

GOP State Convention Delegates

Eleven candidates from the Richmond area filed for six Republican state convention delegate positions. Other areas in the county weren’t contested.

Those winners were Jeff Cappa, Misty Hollis, Debra Berry, Jerry Purcell, Jane Bumbalough and Bob Bever. Additional candidates were Brad Dwenger, Clay Miller, Tara Pegg, Steve Rabe and Melinda Wilson.

Additional Races

While Republican Austin Shadle had no primary opponent for Judge of Superior Court 2, he faces independent candidate Jessica Richert in the fall.

As of now, those running unopposed in November include Ashley Green (prosecuting attorney), Amy Chenowith (county auditor), Mark Cox (Superior Court Judge 3), Debbie Tiemann (county recorder), and Timothy Smith (county assessor), along with many township trustees and township board members. They had no primary opponents.

In addition, Fountain City and Hagerstown each have two town council seats open this year. Currently, the ballot will show Republicans Michael Grey and Toney Wilson for Fountain City and Donnie Benedict and Bradley Clark for Hagerstown.

And, a few of Wayne County’s 15 townships do not yet have a trustee candidate or the needed three board candidates from either party.

The filing deadline is noon June 30 for independent or minority party candidates and noon July 3 for Democrats, Libertarians or Republicans to fill ballot vacancies.

For more information about filing to run for office, call 765-973-9304 or visit Wayne County’s voter registration office at the courthouse, 301 E. Main St., Richmond.

Chris Hardie contributed to this article.