2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Crawford County Sheriff

Voted on across Crawford County. Open seat: Jeff Howell is not on the ballot.

Find your exact ballot All Crawford 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].

Crawford 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

$1,193,209

8.9% of the county's adopted 2026 budget · 87% more than 2019, before inflation

2019 $636,9402026 $1,193,209

The year-by-year figures

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

2019: $636,940
2020: $673,568
2021: $688,975
2022: $859,945
2023: $964,200
2024: $1,112,301
2025: $1,016,587
2026: $1,193,209

Budget lines counted: 0005 COUNTY SHERIFF; fund 9554 Sheriffs Sale Program; fund 9567 Crawford Co. Sheriff Transport

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

Elected official's pay, 2026 budget line

$91,756

From the county budget; verify against the county's 2026 salary ordinance. A line can include longevity pay or a second role.

Budgeted separately, not included above: jail/detention center (depts 0380, 0381), $848,643.

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.
Includes $207,000 in funds named for the office (for example a commissary or perpetuation fund) that are not coded to its department.

Also on the record for this office

rated capacity: 78.0
latest jail count: 42
count date: 2024 (Vera v3.1)
IDOC holds: 0
IDOC holds date: 2026-08-01
federal (USMS/ICE) housing: not found
jail operating budget 2026: 848643.0
sheriff dept actual 2025: 969132.0
jail actual 2025: 838890.0

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

$54.72

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 19 counties with under 25,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Jail occupancy · 2024 (Vera v3.1)

54.0%

Latest jail count as a share of rated capacity.

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 12 of 17 counties with under 25,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Average daily jail population · 2024

People held on an average day.

Position 24 of 30 counties with under 25,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Share of people in jail awaiting trial · 2019

90.0%

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 5 of 29 counties with under 25,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

About this race

Crawford County, in south-central Indiana with its seat in English, elects a sheriff to a four-year term. Sheriff Jeff Howell is term-limited, so the seat is open ^[17].
Five candidates filed: Republicans Will Breeding, Justin S. Froman, Justin M. Lutz and Robert L. "Bob" Shaw, and Democrat Dan Hogle ^[20].
May 5, 2026 primary: Unofficial results released the day after the election showed Breeding 629, Froman 614, Lutz 334 and Shaw 22. The Clarion News reported problems with the primary, including ballots that listed the wrong county council districts, machine malfunctions and delayed counting. A revised count adding 61 ballots followed less than an hour after the first ^[21]. Breeding is the Republican nominee on the general-election ballot ^[6].
Hogle was unopposed in the Democratic primary ^[17].
Deputy pay and recruitment have been a recent issue for the office, with the county council moving in 2025 to raise deputy salaries using public-safety tax funds ^[19].
No general-election forum or debate for this race was found.

Candidates on the ballot

Will Breeding

Republican

Republican nominee and chief deputy of the Crawford County Sheriff's Department since 2018 ^[18]. He says he would build on changes made under Sheriff Howell, especially in training, grants and pay ^[18].

Breeding's background

Chief deputy, Crawford County Sheriff's Department, since September 2018 ^[18].
Previously a correctional officer (2013–2014) and reserve deputy (2013–2014) in the sheriff's department, Marengo marshal (2014), and a deputy since September 2014 ^[18].
Holds an associate degree in conservation law enforcement and a bachelor's degree in homeland security from Vincennes University. He was an honor graduate of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and is a certified basic, firearms and patrol-rifle instructor. He has attended Purdue Global Law School since 2025 ^[18].
First run for elected office ^[18].

Breeding's positions

Staffing & pay

Would keep providing training for deputies. He notes the department now has three instructors on staff and can exceed minimum training mandates at no added cost to taxpayers ^[18].

Budget

Said he has secured, and would keep securing, grant funding to ease the burden on taxpayers ^[18].

Transparency

Said he wants to keep building community trust and pledged to follow through on his stated plans. He also said his decisions would be made without bias or favoritism ^[18].

How Breeding would run the office

Continue in-house deputy training ^[18].
Pursue grants to offset costs to taxpayers ^[18].
Apply what he has learned in law school to benefit the community ^[18].

Breeding on the current officeholder

Has served as Sheriff Howell's chief deputy. He called the department's improvements over the past eight years "phenomenal" and cited better training, equipment, grants and pay. He also said "we are not without faults" and wants to keep improving the department ^[18].

How Breeding got on the ballot

Led the four-way Republican primary on May 5, 2026, in unofficial results: 629 votes to Justin Froman's 614, Justin Lutz's 334 and Robert Shaw's 22 ^[21].
Listed as the Republican candidate on the general-election ballot ^[6].

What we could not find about Breeding

Final certified primary totals were not found. The 629–614 margin over Justin Froman comes from an early unofficial count, and a revised count followed.
No positions were found on the jail, drugs, school safety or immigration detainers. No campaign website or general-election coverage was found.
No endorsements or campaign-finance figures were found.

Sources for Breeding

4 seek GOP nod in CC sheriff's race: Will Breeding (candidate questionnaire) (The Clarion News)

Dan Hogle

Democratic

Democratic nominee, unopposed in the May 2026 primary ^[17]. No reporting on his background or positions was found.

How Hogle got on the ballot

Filed as a Democrat ^[20] and was unopposed in the May 5, 2026 primary ^[17].
Listed as the Democratic candidate on the general-election ballot ^[6].

What we could not find about Hogle

Coverage is essentially absent. The Clarion News published questionnaire answers only from the Republican primary candidates, and searches found no profile, campaign website, social-media page or news coverage of Hogle.
His occupation and any law-enforcement experience are unknown.
No general-election forum was found.
No background information was found in the sources reviewed.
No statements by Hogle about Sheriff Howell's record or the office's direction were found.
No endorsements or campaign-finance figures were found.

Sources for Hogle

4 seek GOP nod in CC sheriff's race (The Clarion News)

Key points

Crawford County, in south-central Indiana with its seat in English, elects a sheriff to a four-year term. Sheriff Jeff Howell is term-limited, so the seat is open. (The Clarion News)
In March 2025 the sheriff reported deputy pay $6,000+ below neighbors and hiring difficulty; PS LIT raised new-deputy pay from $36,070 to $45,020 and funded EMT and EMS director raises. The PS LIT rate is 0.45% plus a 0.20% EMS rate. (madisoncourier.com)

Sources

Researched Sunday, October 11, 2026

2026 Indiana Candidate Guide (County Offices: County Sheriff) (Indiana Election Division)
Indiana Code 36-2-13-5: Duties of sheriff (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
2026 ISA President Statement (Jeffrey A. Balon, Porter County Sheriff) (Indiana Sheriffs' Association)
Indiana Code 36-2-13-2: Sheriff residency and term (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
Indiana Code 36-2-13-2.8: Sheriff's salary (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
Indiana Department of Correction readies to pay $12 million in jail back payments (Indiana Capital Chronicle (via Inside INdiana Business))
Indiana Code 36-8-10-3: Sheriff's merit board (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
Braun signs bill into law requiring jails to tell ICE about potential immigration violations (Network Indiana (via WMNC 95.3))
Illegally in Indiana: New state law aims at cracking down on illegal immigration (WNDU)
Indiana Code 36-2-2-24: County courthouse, jail and offices (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
Indiana Code 33-39-1-5: Duties of prosecuting attorneys (FindLaw (Indiana Code, current as of 2026-01-01))
Amendment to deny bail to some offenders moves closer to November ballot (WFYI (via Indiana Public Media))
4 seek GOP nod in CC sheriff's race (The Clarion News)
4 seek GOP nod in CC sheriff's race: Will Breeding (candidate questionnaire) (The Clarion News)
Council moves ahead with pay increases for deputies, EMTs, EMS director (The Clarion News)
2026 Candidates (Crawford County, Indiana)
Primary plagued with issues (The Clarion News)

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.