The Starke County Clerk’s Office has released an updated list of Starke County election candidates as of Friday afternoon, January 23rd.
New filings since the list was last reported on January 19th are as follows:
Democrat Scott Holton is running for Starke County Circuit Court Clerk.
Additional Convention Delegates have filed for candidacy, including Republicans Spencer England and Mark Gourley and Democrats Christine Lotter and Matthew Lotter.
Republican David (Dave) Pearman is running for Starke County Council member, District 3.
Two new candidates have filed to run for county sheriff against incumbent Jack Rosa: Democrat Brack Rowe, and Republican Matthew J. Topelian.
Multiple new people have filed for various precinct committeeman positions, including Democrats Jeff V. Berg, Cynthia Mann Kidder, Robert Schmidt, and Suzie Donna K. Woods.
Republican Michelle R Hounshell is running for Washington Township Board Member, and Republican Perry Thompson is running for Jackson Township Board Member.
New candidates for Township Trustee positions include Republican Mark Allen for Oregon Township Trustee, Democrat Sheri L. Bartoli for California Township, Republican Cathy Ewing Benko for Washington Township, and Democrat Katherine (Kay) Chaffins for Railroad Township.
The deadline to file for candidacy is Friday, February 6th, at noon Central Time, at the Clerk’s Office which is located in the Starke County Courthouse.
Offices up for the 2026 Primary Election include:
- Prosecuting Attorney
- Circuit Court Clerk
- Auditor
- Recorder
- Sheriff
- Coroner
- Assessor
- County Commissioner, District 2
- County Council, Districts 1-4
- Township Trustee and Advisory Board members for California, Center, Davis, Jackson, North Bend, Oregon, Railroad, Washington, and Wayne Townships
- Hamlet Clerk-Treasure
- Hamlet Town Council, Ward 1
- North Judson Town Council at Large
- Democratic Precinct Committeeman
- Both Republican and Democratic State Delegates
Paperwork to file for office is available online at https://starke.in.gov/homepage/departments/election/
