Highland County Board of Elections releases unofficial list of candidates for March 2024 primary

Highland County voters will have at least one local contested primary March 19, according to an unofficial list released by the Highland County Board of Elections Thursday afternoon.

All of the following prospective candidates are unofficial, as the Board of Elections will be certifying petitions on Jan. 2. 

Two Republican candidates have filed to run for Highland County sheriff in Randy Sanders and Brandon Stratton, as both have been campaigning since before the Nov. 7 general election.

Sanders has over 40 years of law enforcement experience, including with the Hillsboro Police Department, Highland County Sheriff's Office, Southwest Regional Drug Unit, Ross County Sheriff's Office and U.S. 23 Major Crimes Task Force, according to his campaign Facebook. He is currently the Chief Investigator of the Highland County Task Force, working with the Highland County Prosecutor’s Office.

Stratton has 30 years of law enforcement experience, 25 years of which have been with the Highland County Sheriff’s Office, according to his campaign Facebook. He has been the HCSO Chief Deputy for nine years, “managing all divisions of operations” under Sheriff Donnie Barrera, his Facebook says.

Barrera, a Republican who has served as sheriff since November 2014, is not seeking another term in office.

Currently, there is only one other area contested primary race listed, with Ellen Yvette Clark filing to oppose Bob Peterson in the race for State Representative for the 91st Ohio House District. Peterson, of Sabina, was elected to a two-year term in November 2022. According to her LinkedIn page, Clark, of Hillsboro, is a licensed practical nurse.

In addition to being a presidential election year, the 2024 election cycle will also see several county races. According to the unofficial candidate filing list, incumbents are seeking reelection for all of their respective offices, with no opposition, including:

• County Commissioners Terry Britton (term commencing Jan. 3) and David Daniels (term commencing Jan. 2);

• Prosecutor Anneka Collins;

• Clerk of Common Pleas Court Dwight “Ike” Hodson;

• Recorder Chad McConnaughey;

• Engineer Chris Fauber;

• Coroner Jeff Beery; and

• Treasurer Vickie Warnock.

Also up for election are Republican County Central Committee seats. Those filing petitions include the following candidates (changes based on the committee members listed by the Board of Elections site are noted):

• Greenfield North, Phyllis Matlack;

• Greenfield South, Dean Waddell;

• Hillsboro Northeast, Tracy Aranyos;

• Hillsboro Northwest, Charles Walker;

• Hillsboro Southeast, Roger Huffman;

• Hillsboro Southwest A, Jan Vosper;

• Hillsboro Southwest B, Richard Donley;

• Leesburg, Shawn Priest;

• Fairfield East, Mel McKenzie;

• Fairfield West, Ken Davis;

• Lynchburg, Chris Toller (Terry Burden current member);

• Dodson, Richard Warner Jr. (Bill Fawley current member);

• Whiteoak, Linda Roush;

• Brushcreek, Jeff Ryan;

• Concord, Chuck Emery;

• Jackson, Philip Weyrich;

• Liberty Northwest, Montey Scott;

• Liberty South, Terry Britton;

• Marshall, John Abell (Thomas Shawhan current member); 

• New Market, Joanna Mahan (Donnie Barrera current member);

• Paint North, Steven Karnes;

• Paint Southwest, Roger Ruggles;

• Penn, Tina Hughes (Jeff Duncan current member);

• Salem, Karen Faust;

• Union, Angela Smith (Peggy Hite current member); and

• Washington, John Setty.

No candidates filed for Clay, Hamer, Liberty Northeast, Madison or Paint Southeast, according to the Board of Elections.

In other races, the Ohio Secretary of State’s office announced the following candidates filing petitions for U.S. president, U.S. Senate and Ohio Supreme Court races:

• President: Republicans Ryan Binkley Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy and Donald Trump; and Democrats Joe Biden (incumbent), Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson.

• U.S. Senate: Republicans Matt Dolan, Frank LaRose, Bernie Moreno and Doug Stuart; and Democrat Sherrod Brown (incumbent).

• Ohio Supreme Court: Republicans Joseph Deters (appointed, but running for Melody Stewart’s seat), Dan Hawkins and Megan Shanahan; and Democrats Michael Donnelly (incumbent), Lisa Forbes, Terri Jamison and Melody Stewart (incumbent). 

For U.S. Congress, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported Wednesday that 14 total candidates have filed, seeking the Second District seat currently held by Republican Brad Wenstrup. Those candidates include:

• Republicans Niraj Antani, Kim Georgeton, Phil Heimlich, Matthew Henderson, Ron Hood, Tom Hwang, Larry Kidd, Derek Myers, Tim O'Hara, Charles Tassell, David Taylor and Shane Wilkin; and Democrats Samantha Meadows and Joe Wessels.
 
(For more, read the Enquirer’s story at: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2023/12/20/who-is-runnin….)

Also up for election will be two seats on the Fourth District Court of Appeals currently held by Michael Hess and Jason Smith; the Republican State Central Committee male and female representatives and the 10th District member of the State Board of Education. 

The Highland County Court judicial seat is also up for election in 2024, but not until November.

A list of issues and options has also not been released, but at least one — a levy for Highland County Children Services — is expected to appear on the ballot.

Check back to highlandcountypress.com for more information on the March 19 primary election as candidates are certified.