Voters send Republicans into office with rural support, but Kokomo turns purple
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The scorecard shows another successful campaign season for the Howard County Republican Party, but the results were significantly different from elections over the past decade. The Howard County Democratic Party put many races into play, especially within the City of Kokomo.
Voter turnout was a robust 41 percent, which exceeded historical expectations. Typically, when there is no presidential or senatorial race, citizens are notoriously difficult to get to the polls. Yet, Howard County turned out to make their voices heard.
And Republicans still held sway in most of the races. Max Engling prevailed over eventual victor Beau Bayh in the secretary of state race, and the other statewide Republicans also found victory locally, including Victoria Spartz, who eventually lost her seat in Congress to J.D. Ford.
Howard County’s representatives to the Indiana Statehouse also will wear the Republican label in January. Tracey Powell (Senate-21), Paula Davis (House-30), and Health Van Natter (House-38) were all victorious. But their races were anything but easy. Challenger Kirsten Root closed the gap by falling 52-48 to Powell, and Jack Chance also stayed on Davis’ heels with a 52-48 margin.
Locally, Nicole Cothern was successful in securing the Howard County Clerk’s office for the Republicans. as were Torie Kelley for recorder, Jeff Lipinski for Howard County Commissioner, and John Roberts and Frank Faulkner for Howard County Council.
By comparison, in 2024, a presidential election year, 64 percent of registered voters cast a ballot. Republicans were dominant, more than doubling the Democrats in straight-ticket voting.
In that season, Spartz held her seat with 62 percent of the vote. The District 30 seat went to Mike Karickhoff with 67 percent of the vote. And Van Natter retained his seat with 74 percent of the vote. In race after race, Republicans succeeded at a nearly 2-to-1 pace.
This year, Democrats closed those margins by more than 26 percent, making every race competitive, and in some cases, victory was found.
Cathy Stover, running for the third district seat on the Howard County Council, overwhelmed incumbent Tim Cuthbert with a 58-42 result. Alisha Davenport, running as a mid-season replacement for the Center Township Trustee’s seat, prevailed 53-47.
And in what will be the most impactful result from the 2026 election, locally, the Center Township Trustee board of directors returns to Democratic hands. Hannah Guillaume did something no candidate had ever done before by ensuring incumbent board member and long-time public official Linda Koontz did not finish at the top of the leaderboard. Guillaume will be joined by Essie Foster as the new faces on the board.
The closing of the gap mainly came from those living in Kokomo, where Bayh actually prevailed by approximately 1,000 votes. Unsurprisingly, the willingness of voters to split their ballots and vote for candidates from the Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, and even Lincoln parties resulted in a significant reduction in the straight-ticket gap that has propelled Republicans to victory consistently over the past 10 years.
Within Kokomo’s boundaries, Democrats saw the largest gains, with its candidates dominating the 1st District, and leading safely in the 2nd District. The 3rd district remained in the Republican column, with Taylor Township city residents shouldering the load. Harrison Township city voters ensured the 4th District was largely a toss-up, and there were even small cracks in the Republican-dominated 5th and 6th districts, where Democrats actually prevailed in a few precincts.
The winning candidates will take office Jan. 1, 2027, and shortly thereafter the municipal election season starts in Kokomo, in which the mayor, Kokomo Common Council, and city clerk’s positions will be contested.