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2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Cass County Sheriff

Voted on across Cass County. Open seat: Edward (Ed) C. Schroder is not on the ballot.

Find your exact ballotAll Cass County races

What this office does

The sheriff is an elected county officer created by the Indiana Constitution who arrests offenders, keeps the peace, serves court papers, keeps order in county courts and runs the county jail [1, 2]. The Indiana Sheriffs' Association describes sheriffs as constitutional officers elected by the people, whose work includes operating jails, serving civil process, providing court security and coordinating emergency response [3]. Every county elects its sheriff in 2026 for a four-year term, and no one may serve as sheriff more than eight years in any twelve-year period [1].

The job in full — the duties the Indiana Code puts in it, the term, what it pays and who sets that, and what to ask a candidate.

Term
4 years; the sheriff serves until a successor is elected and qualified [4, 1]
Elected
Countywide by the county's voters on the partisan general election ballot; all county sheriffs are elected in 2026 [1]
Term limit
No more than eight years in any period of twelve years (Indiana Constitution, Article 6, Section 2) [1]
Qualifications
Must have lived in the county for at least one year before the election, be registered to vote in the county by the filing deadline, and file a statement of economic interests; a sheriff who moves out of the county forfeits the office [1, 4]
Pay
A county may pay the sheriff a salary from the county general fund of at least 50% to 100% of the state minimum salary of a full-time prosecuting attorney, depending on county population [5]
On the 2026 ballot
92 races; 26 contested [6]
What the law puts in this job (13)
  • Arrests without a warrant people who commit an offense in the sheriff's view, brings them before a county court, and holds them while the arrest is investigated [2].
  • Suppresses breaches of the peace and pursues and jails felons [2].
  • Takes care of the county jail and the prisoners held there [2, 3].
  • Serves and carries out legal papers (process) directed to the sheriff by courts and the county commissioners [2].
  • Attends and keeps order in all courts of the county, which the Sheriffs' Association describes as providing court security [2, 3].
  • Takes photographs, fingerprints and other identification data from people held for crimes, and DNA samples for felonies [2].
  • Reports twice a year to the Indiana Department of Correction the average daily cost of holding a jail prisoner [2].
  • Holds state prisoners, including people convicted of Level 6 felonies, in the county jail, for which the state reimburses counties at a daily rate set in the state budget [7].
  • Coordinates emergency response and works with local police, prosecutors and community partners [3].
  • In a county whose council creates a sheriff's merit board by ordinance, appoints three of its five members, while the county police officers elect the other two; no more than two sheriff appointees and one elected member may belong to the same party [8].
  • Must report information to federal authorities when a person arrested for a felony or misdemeanor is believed to lack legal immigration status, and, since July 2026, notify the judge setting bail when holding a person subject to an immigration detainer [9, 10].
  • May supervise and inspect businesses such as pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers [2].
  • What the sheriff does not control: the county commissioners must establish and maintain the county jail building [11]; the county makes the appropriation for feeding prisoners and sets the sheriff's salary [5]; the prosecuting attorney decides which crimes to prosecute [12]; and judges decide bail [13].

Cass County's numbers for this office

Legal Insights county office research (Oct. 13, 2026): Indiana Gateway budgets 2019-2026 and the indicator sources linked on each line.

This office's 2026 budget

$3,728,114

7.1% of the county's adopted 2026 budget · 85% more than 2019, before inflation

2019: $2,017,0302020: $2,192,6602021: $2,204,4972022: $2,476,5072023: $2,795,1012024: $3,189,9082025: $3,605,5032026: $3,728,114
2019 $2,017,0302026 $3,728,114
The year-by-year figures

Adopted budget, all funds, 2019-2026 (not adjusted for inflation)

  • 2019: $2,017,030
  • 2020: $2,192,660
  • 2021: $2,204,497
  • 2022: $2,476,507
  • 2023: $2,795,101
  • 2024: $3,189,908
  • 2025: $3,605,503
  • 2026: $3,728,114

Budget lines counted: 0005 COUNTY SHERIFF

Adopted 2026 county budget (Form 1 line items, Form 4B) and earlier years' budgets

Budgeted separately, not included above: jail/detention center (depts 0380, 0381), $4.5 million.

  • Counties budget the jail differently: some put jail costs in the sheriff's department, others in a separate jail department. Compare the sheriff and jail together across counties.

Also on the record for this office

  • rated capacity: 220.0
  • latest jail count: 195
  • count date: 2024 (Vera v3.1)
  • IDOC holds: 11
  • IDOC holds date: 2026-08-01
  • federal (USMS/ICE) housing: y
  • jail operating budget 2026: 6201683.0
  • sheriff dept actual 2025: 3336164.0
  • jail actual 2025: 3777156.0
  • jail project: [Vera jail-construction file, unverified] 2019 Jail Expansion (Passed, $23.5M, beds 208->362)
  • dispatch/records systems: Sheriff: new records management system under a cooperative agreement (council, Jan. 17, 2025); Motorola dispatch console quote (Sept. 19, 2025) [https://casscoin.portal.civicclerk.com/ [file: 2025-01-17_Minutes 691]]

Measured, for this county

A position compares this county with counties of similar size. It is not a grade: for most measures a higher or lower number is neither good nor bad on its own.

Jail cost per inmate-day · 2025 spend / 2024 ADP

$53.07

2025 jail spending divided by the 2024 average daily population times 365.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: partial: the sheriff runs the jail and staffs it; the council funds it; state jail standards set minimum staffing; courts and prosecutors drive how many people are held

Position 12 of 21 counties with 25,000 to 50,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Average daily jail population · 2024

195

People held on an average day.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: partial: jail population depends on arrests, charging, bail and sentencing decisions by police, prosecutors and judges; the sheriff manages housing and transfers

Position 5 of 34 counties with 25,000 to 50,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Share of people in jail awaiting trial · 2023

72.0%

People held before trial as a share of the jail population.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: low to partial for the sheriff: pretrial detention is decided by courts (bail) and prosecutors (charging); the county funds pretrial services

Position 16 of 32 counties with 25,000 to 50,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Reported crimes per 1,000 residents · 2025

10.5

Offenses reported by police agencies county-wide (agencies with full-year reporting), not only the sheriff's office.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: low to partial: the sheriff patrols mainly unincorporated areas; city and town police cover most residents in larger counties

Position 2 of 28 counties with 25,000 to 50,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source

About this race

  • Cass County (county seat: Logansport) will elect a new sheriff on Nov. 3, 2026. Sheriff Ed Schroder, in office since 2019 after winning in 2018 and 2022, is not on the ballot [17, 18, 19, 6].
  • Four candidates filed: Republicans Dale Campbell (a lieutenant in the sheriff's office), Ryan Preston (a narcotics detective in the sheriff's office) and Brian Swartzell (a school resource officer), and Democrat A.J. Rozzi (a former Logansport police chief) [19, 16].
  • May 5, 2026 primary (unofficial county results): Preston won the Republican nomination with 1,798 votes (49.4%), ahead of Swartzell with 1,166 (32.0%) and Campbell with 678 (18.6%). Rozzi was unopposed for the Democratic nomination with 1,025 votes [24].
  • Both general-election candidates have local police backgrounds: Preston has worked in the sheriff's office since 2016 after starting with the Logansport Police Department in 2009, and Rozzi spent 35 years with the Logansport Police Department, including four years as chief [19, 25].
  • Stated priorities differ in emphasis. Preston focuses on mental health and addiction, including services for inmates, and on recruiting and keeping staff. Rozzi focuses on community relations (published office policies and county listening sessions), a review of the office's role in the Cass County Drug Task Force, rehabilitation programs and officer mentoring [26, 19].
  • No general-election forums or debates were found in sources reviewed.

Candidates on the ballot

Ryan Preston

Republican

Republican Ryan Preston is a narcotics detective in the Cass County Sheriff's Office with about 16 years in local law enforcement. He won a three-way Republican primary in May 2026 [19, 24].

Preston's background

  • Current job: narcotics detective with the Cass County Sheriff's Office [19].
  • Served eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps after enlisting in 2000, including a combat tour in Kabul, Afghanistan, about three years as a recruiter, and service as a platoon sergeant, according to his campaign site [25].
  • Hired by the Logansport Police Department in 2009 and attended the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in 2010. Roles there included patrolman, school resource officer at Lincoln Middle School, field training officer and pension board secretary, plus work with the Meth Suppression Unit [25].
  • Joined the Cass County Sheriff's Office in 2016. Roles there include deputy, school resource officer at Lewis Cass, K9 handler for eight years, and detective [25].
  • Also lists himself as a youth leader at Cornerstone Community Bible Church and co-owner of The Gathering Grounds coffee and ice cream shop in Walton [26].

Preston's positions

Jail & corrections

  • Says he is "committed to working with mental health and drug addiction professionals in our community and surrounding areas" so that inmates receive services [26, 19].

Drugs

  • Puts "a key emphasis on addressing both the mental health and drug crises," including "providing ongoing support to addicts, so that they are able to break free of addiction" [26].

Staffing & pay

  • Says his Marine Corps recruiting experience will help him "not only identify, but also attract top talent" to work at the sheriff's office and jail, and stresses "seeking and maintaining quality candidates" [26, 25, 19].

How Preston would run the office

  • Work with regional mental-health and addiction professionals on services for inmates [26].
  • Focus recruiting and retention on the sheriff's office and jail [26, 25].
  • Lead with "a hands-on, proactive leadership approach" [26].

Preston on the current officeholder

  • Open seat. Preston's campaign site says he would "build on the strong foundation of our current administration" [26]. No statements about his opponent were found.

How Preston got on the ballot

  • Filed as one of three Republican candidates before the February 2026 deadline [19].
  • Won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary with 1,798 votes (49.4%) over Brian Swartzell (1,166) and Dale Campbell (678), per unofficial county results [24].

Preston's endorsements and funding

  • Campaign site lists endorsements from U.S. Rep. Jim Baird, Howard County Sheriff Jerry Asher, and "Travis Yike & Jacob Pomasl," identified as retired Logansport police chief and Logansport mayor [27].

What we could not find about Preston

  • No statements found on jail capacity, budget requests, school resource officers, immigration-detainer agreements or transparency.
  • Campaign site lists only 2025 meet-and-greet events; no forums or debates found.
  • No fundraising reports found.
  • No campaign-finance reports were found in sources reviewed.

Preston's campaign website

Sources for Preston

August (Aj) Rozzi, Jr

Democratic

Democrat A.J. Rozzi is a part-time security officer at Ivy Tech Community College in Logansport. He spent 35 years with the Logansport Police Department, including four years as chief [19].

Rozzi's background

  • Current job: part-time security officer at Ivy Tech Community College in Logansport [19].
  • Served 35 years with the Logansport Police Department in a range of roles, including four years as chief [19].

Rozzi's positions

Transparency

  • Lists "improving law enforcement's relationship with the community" as a priority. As reported from his campaign site, this includes "developing and publishing the office's policies for consistency and establishing Cass County listening sessions" [19].

Drugs

  • Plans to "evaluate the Sheriff's Office's roles within the Cass County Drug Task Force," with the goal of "disrupting trafficking networks and dealers" [19].

Jail & corrections

  • Plans to "improve drug rehabilitation programs and support during incarceration" [19].

Staffing & pay

  • Supports stronger mentoring and field training for officers, citing research that "mentorship programs for law enforcement is able to create better officers" [19].

How Rozzi would run the office

  • Publish the sheriff's office's policies and hold county listening sessions [19].
  • Review the office's role in the Cass County Drug Task Force [19].
  • Improve drug rehabilitation programs and support for people in jail [19].
  • Strengthen mentoring and field training for officers [19].

Rozzi on the current officeholder

  • Open seat. No statements by Rozzi about Sheriff Schroder's record or about his opponent were found in sources reviewed.

How Rozzi got on the ballot

  • Was the only Democrat to file for sheriff before the February 2026 filing deadline [19].
  • Won the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary unopposed, with 1,025 votes (unofficial results) [24].

What we could not find about Rozzi

  • Campaign website not found. The Pharos-Tribune (via Yahoo) quotes "his site," but its address was not located.
  • Dates of his Logansport Police Department service and of his time as chief could not be confirmed from freely available sources.
  • No statements found on jail staffing, budget, school resource officers or immigration-detainer agreements.
  • No endorsements or fundraising reports found.
  • Coverage of his campaign is thin; most detail comes from one February 2026 article.
  • No endorsements or campaign-finance reports were found in sources reviewed.

Sources for Rozzi

Key points

  • Cass County (county seat: Logansport) will elect a new sheriff on Nov. 3, 2026. Sheriff Ed Schroder, in office since 2019 after winning in 2018 and 2022, is not on the ballot. (Cass County, Indiana)
  • Ord. 2026-01 (Feb 20, 2026, unanimous) created a jail non-reverting fund taking 50% of inmate-housing revenue, mostly U.S. Marshals housing; $1.1 million was billed in 2025. (casscoin.portal.civicclerk.com)

Sources

Researched Sunday, October 11, 2026

  1. 2026 Indiana Candidate Guide (County Offices: County Sheriff) (Indiana Election Division)
  2. Indiana Code 36-2-13-5: Duties of sheriff (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  3. 2026 ISA President Statement (Jeffrey A. Balon, Porter County Sheriff) (Indiana Sheriffs' Association)
  4. Indiana Code 36-2-13-2: Sheriff residency and term (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  5. Indiana Code 36-2-13-2.8: Sheriff's salary (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  6. 2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
  7. Indiana Department of Correction readies to pay $12 million in jail back payments (Indiana Capital Chronicle (via Inside INdiana Business))
  8. Indiana Code 36-8-10-3: Sheriff's merit board (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  9. Braun signs bill into law requiring jails to tell ICE about potential immigration violations (Network Indiana (via WMNC 95.3))
  10. Illegally in Indiana: New state law aims at cracking down on illegal immigration (WNDU)
  11. Indiana Code 36-2-2-24: County courthouse, jail and offices (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  12. Indiana Code 33-39-1-5: Duties of prosecuting attorneys (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
  13. Amendment to deny bail to some offenders moves closer to November ballot (WFYI (via Indiana Public Media))
  14. Sheriff's Office (Cass County, Indiana)
  15. 2018 Cass County General Election, Precinct Report (official) (Cass County, Indiana)
  16. 2022 General Election, Cumulative Results Report (unofficial) (Cass County, Indiana)
  17. Four register as candidates for Cass County Sheriff (by James Bennett III; via Yahoo News) (Pharos-Tribune (Logansport))
  18. Cass County 2026 Primary Election, Cumulative Results Report (unofficial) (Cass County, Indiana)
  19. Experience (Ryan Preston for Sheriff (campaign site))
  20. Meet Ryan Preston (Ryan Preston for Sheriff (campaign site))
  21. Endorsements (Ryan Preston for Sheriff (campaign site))
What's included
the U.S. House, statewide offices, every Indiana House and Senate district on the ballot, Indiana's statewide public questions and judicial retention questions, and county, township, city, town and school board races from the Indiana Election Division's candidate list.
Everything else
Local races (county, city, school board, judges) and anything else on your ballot are on your official sample ballot: IndianaVoters.in.gov.
Candidate lists
As of Sunday, October 18, 2026.
At the polls
Indiana law lets you bring a list of candidates and public questions into the polling place, including one stored on your phone, as long as you don't electioneer. IC 3-11-8-18.5

This is not an official ballot. Confirm your registration, polling place and ballot with your election office through vote.gov.