- Work
- Wayne County sheriff, in his second term; in law enforcement since 1988 [16]
Randy Retter is the two-term Wayne County sheriff, who is term-limited in that office [13]. He won a three-way Republican primary with 53% of the vote [11].
Retter's background
- Began his law enforcement career in 1988 and was elected Wayne County sheriff in 2018; now in his second term [16]. Cannot run for sheriff again because of term limits [13].
- Bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Ball State University and graduate of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy [13].
- Serves on the Boys & Girls Club board [17]; lives in Wayne County across from his family farm [16].
Retter's positions
Public safety
- Says he would make school safety protocols a priority, support first responders and use data to reduce repeat offenses [14].
Health care
- Says he supports lowering health care costs and protecting rural access to care, building on Barrett's work [14].
- Says he has worked to expand partnerships for mental health and addiction treatment and wants to connect law enforcement and health care [14].
Economy & jobs
- Says he would reduce regulation on small businesses and family farms and bring jobs to eastern Indiana [14].
- Says he would apply the budget discipline of the sheriff's office to state government and seek a fair share of infrastructure funding for rural areas [14].
How Retter would run the office
- Says he wants "strong, steady leadership that puts Hoosiers first and reflects the values of the people who live and work here" [13].
Retter on the current officeholder
- His campaign describes his health-care plans as building on "the work of Dr. Brad Barrett" [14]. At his announcement he said: "After many years in public service, I've seen firsthand the challenges and opportunities facing our rural communities" [16].
How Retter got on the ballot
- Announced Jan. 9, 2026 [16]; won the May 5 Republican primary over Pete Zaleski and Adam Blanton with 53.0% [11].
Retter's endorsements and funding
- No endorsements or fundraising figures were verified.
What we could not find about Retter
- Wikipedia lists an NRA Political Victory Fund endorsement; not verified on the NRA site.
- Local coverage (Palladium-Item) of his campaign launch could not be reviewed for this profile.
- No fundraising data found.
Retter's campaign website
TR
Thomas Scott Rockwell
Democratic
- Work
- Pastor of a small rural church; has run a small forestry business [13]
Tom Rockwell is a Richmond Quaker minister and pastor running as the Democratic nominee [13, 15, 18]. His platform focuses on wages and worker rights, public schools, health care, rural investment and election reform [15].
Rockwell's background
- Pastor of a small rural church and a denominational leader; has also run a small forestry business working with farmers and landowners [13].
- Earned a Master of Divinity from the Earlham School of Religion in 2024 and works at Western Yearly Meeting; he co-pastors a Quaker church [18].
- Age 34; has lived in Richmond for six years [15].
Rockwell's positions
Economy & jobs
- Supports collective bargaining, a higher minimum wage, action on wage theft, apprenticeships, and tenant protections [15].
- Supports protecting workers from AI-related job loss and surveillance and requiring transparency when AI is used in major public systems [15].
Education
- Supports fully funding public schools, raising teacher pay and expanding vocational and community-college options [15].
Health care
- Supports universal coverage, preventive and maternal care, and mental health and addiction services [15]; has cited affordable, accessible health care as a rural concern [13].
Public safety
- Supports funding first responders, mental-health crisis response, addiction treatment and domestic-violence services [15].
Elections & redistricting
- Supports campaign-finance transparency, ending partisan gerrymandering, public town halls and local control over schools, libraries and public safety [15].
Rural investment
- Supports downtown revitalization, support for manufacturers and family farms, rural health care and infrastructure repair [15].
How Rockwell would run the office
- His campaign says he would hold public town halls and Zoom sessions [15].
Rockwell on the current officeholder
- On the district's direction, said: "Too often, the proposed solutions for communities like ours focus on attracting outside companies" and "I believe the real expertise already lives here" [13]. No statements about Retter were found.
How Rockwell got on the ballot
- Filed Feb. 3, 2026 [13]; the only Democrat in the May 5 primary [11].
Rockwell's endorsements and funding
- iVoterGuide lists an endorsement from the Indiana Reproductive Freedom PAC [19].
What we could not find about Rockwell
- Little news coverage beyond his filing was found.
- He did not answer the iVoterGuide questionnaire.
- No fundraising data found.
Rockwell's campaign website