Mixed results

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Jay County Republicans opted to back an incumbent sheriff over a former sheriff, set the stage for an all-in-the-family contest for county commissioner and backed their party chairman in an unsuccessful bid for the GOP nomination for state representative.

Sheriff Dwane Ford earned a nomination for a second term in Tuesday’s primary election, and political newcomer Chad Aker knocked off incumbent Barry Hudson in the race for commissioner. Jenae Blasdel held off J.D. Prescott in Jay County, but dropped the overall District 33 state representative race to the rural Union City farmer.

Ford defeated former sheriff Ray Newton, who served from 2007 through 2015, in a race that was tight through most of the evening as votes were tallied before Ford pulled away to a convincing victory. Final totals showed Ford with 1,626 votes (58 percent) to Newton’s 1,171.

He is currently unopposed for the general election as there were no Democrats on the ballot for sheriff Tuesday. (Democrats did not run a candidate for sheriff in the 2010 or 2014 elections.)

Ford was thrilled with the show of support as he nears the end of his first term in office.

“I’m elated,” he said. “It’s good to know the community’s behind me. I’ve got a great family behind me, my wife and my kids.”

Newton, who is retiring from the Jay County Sheriff’s Office, knew he was facing an uphill battle.

“I knew it was going to be tough to beat an incumbent,” he said. “I’m glad it’s over.”

Aker unseated incumbent Jay County Commissioner Barry Hudson, who had been appointed by the party to fill a commissioner’s vacancy a year ago, in a three-man race. Aker received 1,113 votes (40 percent) to Hudson’s 987 while Caleb Lutes received 671.

Aker will now face his second-cousin, Brian Aker, in November. Brian Aker was unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Hudson quickly sought out Aker to offer his congratulations.

“He’s a good man,” he said. “I hope he’ll do the job.”

Aker was already looking forward to November.

“I’m just glad step one is over,” he said.

As to facing his second-cousin in the general election, he added, “It’s all good. There’s no animosity.”

And while county GOP chairman Jenae Blasdel won the Jay vote 1,445-1,265, Randolph County’s J.D. Prescott captured his county’s support by a margin of about 1,200 votes. The dominance at home lifted Prescott to a strong 4,472-2,834 victory as he pulled 61 percent of the vote.

“I’d like to thank Jenae for running a clean campaign,” said Prescott. “We both stayed positive.”

Prescott will face Winchester Mayor Shon Byrum in the fall. Byrum was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

“It’s made me a better citizen,” said Blasdel. “Thank you for making it so easy for me to run and be chairman at the same time.”

There were few contested races in the Democratic primary locally.

Jay County Democrats backed Courtney Tritch for the party’s nomination for Congress from the 3rd District. She recorded 308 votes locally to handily defeat Tommy A. Schrader (138) and John F. Roberson (129), a pair of perennial candidates from Fort Wayne, in the race for the nomination of the U.S. House of Representatives. Her victory was even more dominant in the district as a whole as she took 79 percent of the vote.

Tritch will face Republican incumbent Jim Banks, who had no primary opponent, in the fall.

In the Republican race for the nomination for Jay County Council District 2, it was Amy Runyon Barrett winning handily over Harold Towell, 482-328. Both Barrett and Towell were upbeat Tuesday night as results came in.

“It was enjoyable except for the outcome,” said Towell. “I learned a lot. The people spoke and that’s why we do this.”

Barrett said she was honored by the victory.

“If I get the opportunity to serve, I will do so to the best of my ability,” she said.

Redkey Democrats selected Charles “Red” Coons and Terri D. Taylor as their candidates for town council at-large over Nathan Cole and “Watermellon” Jim Phillips. Final totals showed Coons with 43, Taylor with 38, Cole with 20 and Phillips with 17.

Jay County Republicans followed the statewide trend, favoring Mike Braun over Todd Rokita and Luke Messer in an often-nasty race for the nomination for U.S. Senate. Braun, who was declared the GOP winner with 41 percent of the vote statewide, received 1,075 votes to Rokita’s 791 and Messer’s 721 in Jay County. He’ll face incumbent Democrat Joe Donnelly in November.

Local Republicans were also enthusiastic in their support for incumbent State Sen. Travis Holdman, who is seeking to extend his 10-year run representing District 19. Holdman, who is considered a likely candidate for Senate President Pro Tem, faced a challenge from Adams County attorney Eric Orr but won big.

Jay GOP voters supported Holdman over Orr 1,950-681 and he racked up 76 percent of the vote in the district to win 11,503-3,612.

In other local races:

•Republican voters favored Robin Alberson over Cherrie Geesaman for the party’s nominee as county assessor, 2,055-598.

•Democratic voters favored Nancy Cline over incumbent James Isenhart as the party’s nominee for Greene Township trustee, 29-21.

•Democrats favored Crystal Laux over Katina Miller as the party’s nominee for Bearcreek Township trustee, 48-5.

Tuesday’s voter turnout was just under 29 percent, with 3,483 ballots cast. More than 1,000 — nearly 30 percent — of those votes were cast prior to election day.