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2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

St. Joseph County Sheriff

Voted on across St. Joseph County. Open seat: Bill Redman is not on the ballot.

Find your exact ballotAll St. Joseph 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].

St. Joseph 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

$24,028,036

11.0% of the county's adopted 2026 budget · 82% more than 2019, before inflation

2019: $13,226,9512020: $13,597,9902021: $14,032,4032022: $14,499,0092023: $15,667,1092024: $21,987,9782025: $23,282,2062026: $24,028,036
2019 $13,226,9512026 $24,028,036
The year-by-year figures

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

  • 2019: $13,226,951
  • 2020: $13,597,990
  • 2021: $14,032,403
  • 2022: $14,499,009
  • 2023: $15,667,109
  • 2024: $21,987,978
  • 2025: $23,282,206
  • 2026: $24,028,036

Budget lines counted: 0005 COUNTY SHERIFF

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

Elected official's pay, 2026 budget line

$186,186

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), $30.4 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: 830.0
  • latest jail count: 720
  • count date: Feb 2024 (WSBT/95.3 MNC: ~720 inmates)
  • IDOC holds: 31
  • IDOC holds date: 2026-08-01
  • federal (USMS/ICE) housing: y
  • jail operating budget 2026: 19973533.0
  • sheriff dept actual 2025: 18119864.0
  • jail actual 2025: 14068310.0
  • staffing note: Jail 47 COs short (Feb 2024), later 59 short; ~4% raise, starting pay $50,000 (2024); jail staffing a 2026 sheriff-race issue

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

$57.87

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 3 of 6 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Jail occupancy · Feb 2024 (WSBT/95.3 MNC: ~720 inmates)

87.0%

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 4 of 5 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Average daily jail population · 2024

666

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 11 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Share of people in jail awaiting trial · 2023

78.0%

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 11 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source · source

Reported crimes per 1,000 residents · 2025

14.7

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 6 of 11 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source

About this race

  • This is an open seat: Sheriff Bill Redman cannot seek re-election because of term limits [18]. The St. Joseph County Police Department is the sheriff's department; it also runs the county jail [18, 19].
  • In the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary, South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski won about 66% of the vote over county police Lt. Earl Wigfall (about 34%), according to unofficial results [20]. Republican Rod Laureys, a county police corporal, ran unopposed for his party's nomination [20, 18].
  • Jail staffing was a shared theme in the primary: Wigfall called it his top priority, Ruszkowski called it a priority, and Laureys proposed reopening the jail to clergy and ministry visits [18]. Laureys has emphasized a new drug unit and officer morale; Ruszkowski has emphasized gun violence, regional cooperation and community outreach [18, 20].
  • No general-election forum or debate between Ruszkowski and Laureys was found in available coverage.

Candidates on the ballot

Rod Laureys

Republican

Rod Laureys is a St. Joseph County police corporal and U.S. Marine Corps veteran who worked 10 years as a federal ATF task force officer; he is the Republican nominee [18, 21].

Laureys's background

  • Corporal with the St. Joseph County Police Department, with 15 years at the department, including 10 years as a federal ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) task force officer [18, 21].
  • U.S. Marine Corps veteran and former South Bend police officer [18, 22].

Laureys's positions

Jail & corrections

  • Wants to reopen the jail to clergy and ministry visits, which he says were halted during COVID-19 [18].

Drugs

  • Has said 'There's no drug unit established in St. Joseph County' and proposes creating one [18].
  • At a July 2026 county Republican briefing, named drug trafficking as a top agenda item and said agencies working toward the same goals get more done; ABC57 reported he said minor recreational marijuana users would not be dealt with harshly but appropriate charges would still be filed [21].

Patrol & response

  • Wants stronger overall training and better distribution of field officers across the county [18].
  • Said he would lead from the front, personally joining officers on the street [22].

Staffing & pay

  • Says restoring integrity, trust and morale in the department is a priority [18, 22].

How Laureys would run the office

  • Create a county drug unit [18].
  • Strengthen training and redistribute field officers across the county [18].
  • Work closely with the prosecutor's office; at the July 2026 briefing he said there has been 'a huge breakdown between the prosecutor's office and the police department, particularly the city' and that he would not tolerate it [21].

Laureys on the current officeholder

  • Has said the department's morale has declined under the current sheriff [22], and told ABC57, 'The troops working in the field don't have trust in this administration' [18].

How Laureys got on the ballot

  • Filed for sheriff on January 8, 2026 [22].
  • Ran unopposed in the May 5, 2026 Republican primary [20]; listed on the general-election ballot as a Republican [6].

Laureys's endorsements and funding

  • Appeared at a July 31, 2026 St. Joseph County Republican Party briefing with Republican prosecutor candidate John Maciejczyk, whom he praised [21].

What we could not find about Laureys

  • No campaign website or social-media page was located.
  • No stated positions found on the budget, school safety, immigration enforcement or jail pay.
  • Campaign-finance reports were not reviewed.
  • No endorsements from law-enforcement groups or campaign-finance totals were found in available coverage.

Sources for Laureys

Scott Ruszkowski

Democratic

Scott Ruszkowski is South Bend's police chief, with about 37 years at the South Bend Police Department and 11 as chief, and a Navy veteran; he is the Democratic nominee [18, 20].

Ruszkowski's background

  • Chief of the South Bend Police Department for 11 years, with about 37 years at the department [18, 23]; WNDU described it as nearly 38 years [20].
  • U.S. Navy veteran [20].
  • Says he has 15 years of budget and administrative experience and 30 years of managing people [24].
  • Is retiring as South Bend police chief at the end of 2026 regardless of the election outcome [23].

Ruszkowski's positions

Jail & corrections

  • Says jail staffing is a priority, noting that correctional officer recruitment and retention is a nationwide struggle, and stresses rewarding and supporting jail staff [18].

Patrol & response

  • Calls gun violence the top crime issue — 'When it comes to crime, gun violence is number one, no doubt' — and calls for community intervention before violence occurs [24].
  • Calls for much closer collaboration among county, South Bend and Mishawaka agencies and greater use of community resources [20].
  • Supports continuing de-escalation and crisis intervention training [24].

Staffing & pay

  • Emphasizes mentoring and supporting officers [18].

Transparency

  • Wants more community outreach at the county police department, possibly including an online transparency tool modeled on South Bend's [18].

How Ruszkowski would run the office

  • Gather input from county police personnel and the community before making changes [25].
  • Increase regional cooperation on gun violence across the county [20].
  • Consider an online transparency tool for the county police department [18].

Ruszkowski on the current officeholder

  • Has said he talks regularly with Sheriff Redman; no criticism of Redman's record was found [25].

How Ruszkowski got on the ballot

  • Announced his campaign on January 23, 2026, after an exploratory committee [25].
  • Won the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary with about 66% of the vote over Lt. Earl Wigfall, according to unofficial results [20]; listed on the general-election ballot as a Democrat [6].

Ruszkowski's endorsements and funding

  • Credited many of the area's Democratic elected officials with encouraging him to run [25].

What we could not find about Ruszkowski

  • No campaign website was located.
  • No stated positions found on the budget, drugs, school safety or immigration enforcement.
  • Campaign-finance reports were not reviewed.
  • Some outlets spell his name 'Ruzskowski'; the official ballot spelling is Ruszkowski.
  • No formal endorsements from law-enforcement groups or campaign-finance totals were found in available coverage.

Sources for Ruszkowski

Forums and debates

Public events where you can see the candidates, from the hosts' own announcements. Check the host's page for changes before you go.

  • Thursday, October 8, 2026 · Candidate forum (held)

    St. Joseph County sheriff candidate forum · hosted by We Make Indiana

    Candidates invited or confirmed: Scott Ruszkowski, Rod Laureys

    Details (WNDU)

Key points

  • This is an open seat: Sheriff Bill Redman cannot seek re-election because of term limits. The St. Joseph County Police Department is the sheriff's department; it also runs the county jail. (ABC57)
  • Sheriff's report: 47 officers short with about 720 inmates (Feb 2024). The 2026 jail budget is about $20.0M; the auditor said in Sept 2025 there would generally be no pay increases for 2026 because of state property-tax cuts. (953mnc.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. A look inside the race for St. Joseph County Sheriff (ABC57)
  15. Sheriff seeking another raise for jailers as staff shortage worsens (WVPE)
  16. South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski wins Democratic primary for St. Joseph County sheriff (WNDU)
  17. Saint Joseph County Republican Party holds briefing over county safety (ABC57)
  18. Republican candidates file for St. Joseph County races in 2026 midterm election (WNDU)
  19. SBPD Chief Ruzskowski wins St. Joseph County sheriff primary race (ABC57)
  20. South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski and St. Joseph County Lieutenant Earl Wigfall compete for sheriff (WNDU)
  21. South Bend police chief running for St. Joseph County sheriff (WVPE)
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.