In what may be a first for the Grand Old Party in Marion County, three of the six Republican-endorsed candidates for countywide offices in the May 6 primary election are African-American.
Among other official candidates, the county GOP endorsed Emmitt Carney for sheriff, Terry Dove for county recorder and Duane Merchant for prosecutor.
Marion County Republican Party Executive Director Bryce Carpenter said the GOP has a very diverse ticket in skill levels, background and experience but that it does not seek out a candidate merely because of their racial background.
“What remains is these are the best people for all these positions,” Carpenter said.
Republicans are hoping that Carney and Merchant will be effective challengers in November to the Democratic incumbents, Sheriff John Layton and Prosecutor Terry Curry, although they have raised much less money so far.
Carney has a strong law enforcement background, having spent 25 years in Indianapolis as a special agent in the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. He spent six years before that as a state trooper in his native Kentucky.
Carney wasted no time in attacking Layton last month following a sheriff’s deputy’s arrest on felony battery and official misconduct charges in connection with an incident of alleged abuse at the Arrestee Processing Center.
“These frequent incidents of employee misconduct are a result of a lack of leadership,” Carney said in a news release posted on the county GOP website. “The vast majority of sheriff’s deputies are dedicated professionals who are being let down by the current sheriff’s lack of standards and accountability.”
As of the middle of April, Carney had raised $47,000 to take on Layton, who had raised $381,000.
Merchant is a 20-year veteran deputy prosecutor in the county prosecutor’s office. But the task of unseating his incumbent Democratic opponent in November will not be easy. Records show that he has only raised $250 this year, compared with Curry who has raised nearly $178,000 and has roughly $130,000 in cash on hand.
“The challenger is always going to be at a (fundraising) disadvantage to the incumbent. We expected that,” Carpenter said. So far, all the Republicans on the ballot have focused on gathering input from the community for the campaign and the county party has raised money that can be used for all the candidates.
Dove is running for Marion County recorder, which handles records relating to properties in the county. She is a senior managing member at Anointed Business Services, a business consulting firm specializing in women and minority businesses. But Dove also has public service experience in the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office.
According to her Facebook page, Dove was an authentication deputy for former Secretary of State Todd Rokita, and “acted as international liaison between the state of Indiana and many foreign embassies and foreign nationals.”
A woman of faith, Dove is a member of Overcoming Church in the Brightwood Martindale neighborhood on the Eastside.
Carpenter said the entire Republican ticket shows “the evolution of the growth of the party in Marion County and throughout the state. It shows the inclusiveness of the party.”
