MORGAN COUNTY — The political changes that swept the nation last week following the 2026 midterm elections reached Morgan County, where 2027 will see a new judge, new school board members, new faces on town councils and more.
And most of the candidates involved, win or lose, are just glad it’s over.
A little more than 38 percent of registered voters in Morgan County made their voices heard this cycle — amounting to 20,920 voters — and while many residents made remarks about long lines at polling locations, turnout was actually down from 2022’s midterms, when 21,552 voters cast a ballot, or 41 percent of voters.
Turnout surged, however, in Monrovia and Mooresville, where the number of voters deciding school board and town council races rose significantly compared to 2022 counts.
And what did the voters want in 2026? Much of the time, it was not the incumbent.
An early preview of the sentiment came during the May primary elections, when Superior Court Judge Dakota VanLeeuwen lost her Republican primary to challenger Jerry Smith.
For the most part, the anti-incumbent trend continued last week, when school board members throughout the county were not reelected and longtime town council members lost their seats.
Much of the time, this meant that new Republicans were given a chance to take over for members who have lost favor with the electorate, but several Republican seats throughout the county were surrendered to Democrats, Libertarians and Independents.
“Republicans were strong in Morgan County,” said Republican Party chair Carole Snyder last week. “Monrovia was the exception. They’re not happy with their leadership up there.”
The county still belongs to the Republican Party, but voters made it clear last week that at least some things need to change.
Smith holds on
That sentiment is perhaps best exemplified by Smith’s election on the Republican ticket. Libertarian candidate Jarrett Ksenak mounted a strong challenge to Smith’s campaign, but ultimately, Morgan County voters reaffirmed their trust in the candidate they elected back in the May primary.
“I’m very pleased it’s over,” said Smith to The Correspondent following his victory. “I’m looking forward to having a bit of my personal life back.”
Smith prevailed in what turned out to be a hotly contested campaign, as Republicans and Libertarians bickered with each other on social media.
The parties carried their grievances out into the real world as well, as two Republicans distributed anti-Libertarian fliers in Madison Township where Libertarian Matt Pranger was running for reelection on the township advisory board.
The two parties also had a number of disputes involving signage, from fights over where signs could be placed to complaints before the county Election Board over unauthorized sign placement.
Despite the feisty nature of the campaign, Smith said he was ready to let bygones be bygones.
“They will be treated fairly in my courtroom,” Smith said of those who supported Ksenak over him. “I believe I’m a level-headed and fair person. I have one simple motto: Stay humble, and always be kind. I treat everyone like a human being, whether they deserve it or not.
“I wish my opponent luck with his firm,” Smith added about Ksenak.
The Libertarian Party of Morgan County congratulated Smith in a statement to The Correspondent, and they thanked Ksenak for his campaign.
“The judicial race did not end as we had hoped,” the Party’s statement read. “The people have spoken. Although we fell short of our ultimate goal, we are encouraged that 41 percent of voters were willing to split their tickets, some despite immense political pressure, to support an exceptionally qualified candidate without a traditional party label. Our party has never approached these numbers in a contested county race, and we do not take that support lightly.”
Though Ksenak lost, the Libertarians did have some success at the ballot box, as Pranger narrowly secured his election to the Madison Township advisory board, becoming the first declared Libertarian ever elected in Morgan County.
“It’s surreal,” Pranger told The Correspondent about his historic election. “This is a major win as far as moving the needle forward on what Libertarians can do in Morgan County.”
Pranger took third place in a fourway race, and the Madison Township board will now consist of himself and two of his Republican competitors. A third Republican, incumbent board member Nelson Hoggatt, took fourth place, and will not join the other candidates on the board in January.
Pranger credited his victory with his Election Day campaigning, as he worked the polls all day trying to sway voters to choose him instead of voting straight-ticket. He also joked that he was appreciative of criticism from those in the Republican Party, saying that they helped get his name out there.
“This campaign’s behind me, and I love it,” Pranger said.
Democrats make gains
Libertarians were not the only ones who made inroads in Morgan County — two local Democrats were able to win seats against Republican competitors last week.
The most prominent win for the Democrats was Philip Fowler’s reelection to the Monrovia Town Council. Fowler, formerly a Republican, joined the Democratic Party in late 2024 following the reelection of Donald Trump to the presidency.
Before he had officially left the GOP, Fowler had already drawn the ire of local Republican leadership for promoting Trump’s opponent, Kamala Harris, in the 2024 presidential race.
That “insult” was surely not forgotten, as Republican Party chair Carole Snyder attempted to challenge Fowler’s candidacy in the May Democratic Party primary after discovery was made of a clerical error that initially appeared to show that Fowler did not live in the district he was running to represent. Snyder eventually withdrew this challenge after it was proven that a mistake had been made, and Fowler really did live in the correct district.
Fowler then had to win in the general election, however, as Snyder enlisted Republican Doug Kenipe to run against him.
When the dust had settled last Tuesday, Fowler had won by just 36 votes.
“I didn’t expect it,” Fowler said. “I certainly didn’t count any chickens.”
Fowler chalked up his victory to the fact that a lot of people know him, as well as the fact that many voters were open to voting for non-Republican candidates.
In the same neck of the woods, Democrat Ann Smock narrowly earned a place on the Monroe Township Advisory Board, taking third place in a fourway race against three Republicans. Smock defeated Republican up-and-comer Alec Willis by 31 votes to punch her ticket to the board.
And while Democrats had far more success in other parts of the state and across the nation, the Party can still be proud of its showing in Morgan County, as even their unsuccessful candidates performed better here than in 2022.
Democratic Secretary of State candidate Destiny Wells only secured 24 percent of the Morgan County vote in 2022; Beau Bayh, meanwhile, earned 34 percent of the Morgan County vote last Tuesday and would eventually become the first Democrat to win statewide in Indiana in more than a decade.
In 2022, Republican U.S. House member Jim Baird won almost 79 percent of the vote in Morgan County; four years later, he won with 67 percent of the vote, still comfortable, but nevertheless a big drop indicative of wider trends.
State Rep. Peggy Mayfield (R-District 60) had similar results. In 2022, she won with almost 79 percent of the vote, but four years later she won with 67 percent.
Whether or not the Democrats can hold or even improve upon these gains remains to be seen. It could be the case that last Tuesday’s elections were simply a sharp rebuke to the Republicans, rather than a full-throated endorsement of the Democrats.
“The Republicans have a really strong operation,” Fowler told The Correspondent. “It’s gonna take a whole lot more effort from us to break that. But hopefully, this is a sign of things to come.”
School board shifts
Some of the biggest upsets last Tuesday came from the county’s various school boards. The Metropolitan School District of Martinsville, Mooresville Consolidated School Corp. and the Monroe-Gregg School District will all see some new faces on the board come January.
In Mooresville, Republicans Matt Saner and Dave Oberle won their races unopposed, but board member Deon Brimmage, a Republican, took third place in a threeway contest that was won by Republican Sharon Atwood.
Brimmage was appointed to the Mooresville school board’s at-large seat in late 2024 following the death of former board member William Roberson.
This year’s at-large race in Mooresville drew 5,097 voters, an increase of 727 voters compared to 2022 when Saner ran for the seat unopposed.
Atwood told The Correspondent that she was “surprised” and “humbled” when she learned she had won the race, and credited her victory to her roots in Mooresville, saying that many people knew her.
Now that she’s a board member-elect, Atwood said she’d like to see the board take steps to help more students enter the trades, as well as ensure students are able to think for themselves instead of relying on artificial intelligence.
“I want what’s best for our students,” Atwood said. “I’m all about kids learning in a safe and moral place. I’m so thankful for my voters, and I’m honored to be chosen.”
Meanwhile in Martinsville, incumbent Dan Conway lost his reelection bid to fellow Republican Jordan Terrell in a race that saw more than a thousand fewer voters compared to 2022. Four years ago, 7,742 voters turned out to choose between Conway and then-incumbent Don Lipps; this year, 6,770 voters cast a ballot in the race between Conway and Terrell.
While most agenda items are approved by the MSD of Martinsville board unanimously, whenever a voice of dissent was heard it was almost always Conway’s. January will reveal if Terrell shares Conway’s voice, or if he is more aligned with the other board members.
Multiple attempts to reach Terrell for this story were unsuccessful.
In any case, the new MSD board will have its hands full come next year, as board member Luke Jackson’s seat was up for grabs this year, but no one filed to fill it. It will be the board’s job to appoint someone next year to replace Jackson, who served just one term.
In Monrovia, two new board members were elected last week to replace Brock Sears and Ky Kizzee, who decided not to run for reelection.
Justin Quinnette, an Independent, won his election unopposed.
Carl Gilbert, a Republican, defeated Independent candidate John Dowell and non-partisan candidate Sarah Ragsdale in the Monroe Township District 1 race.
Nearly 450 additional voters compared to 2022 turned out to cast a ballot in the District 1 race this year, a fact Gilbert attributed both to population growth in Monrovia as well as opposition to Google’s data center in Monroe Township, which Gilbert called a “huge driving factor” getting people to the polls.
Gilbert said he ran on three main ideas: making sure the cash-strapped school district spends its money wisely, giving teachers a voice in a district with high turnover rate among teaching staff and getting the community more involved with decision making.
Generational change
Several incumbents lost their races last week, but none who have served as long as Republican Loren Moore, who was unseated on the Monrovia Town Council after 20 years.
Taking his place will be Independent candidate Emily Parris, who decided to run as an Independent even though she holds “Republican values.” Parris made the decision to run after the May primaries, and thus could not run on the Republican ticket.
And despite the fact that many Morgan County voters typically select the straight-ticket Republican option on their ballots, the Independent candidate defeated Moore by a very comfortable margin — 256 votes to 150.
“People here are ready for change,” Parris told The Correspondent. “The people I spoke to during my campaign have felt unheard.”
Parris cited Google’s data center as a big reason so many people who typically don’t vote turned out last week. Additionally, she’s heard residents complain about rising utility costs, and small business owners in the community have expressed that the town is not always a welcoming place for business owners.
Parris said she wants the council to lead the town toward “responsible growth” while still maintaining Monrovia’s small town character.
In less than two months, Parris will assume her new office along with the rest of the newly elected candidates throughout Morgan County.
