Takeaways From Delaware County's 2026 Primary
5.6.2026 / News / Daisy Dale
Last night’s results spelled calamity for progressives, namely because of the losses of Jackson Franklin and Maricel Driscol. But miraculously, races both contested and uncontested for Democrats show promise:
– In the County Clerk race, Cameron Grubbs (D) received 5,309 to Sharon McShurley’s 5,004.
– For State Representative District 34, Sara Gullion (D) received 3,557 votes compared to 2,375 shared between Richard Ivy (R) and Randall McCallister (R).
– For Sheriff, Dave Williams (D) received 5,573 to Jeff Stanley’s (R) 5,195.
– The Democratic race for Circuit Court 5 Judge between Amanda Dunnuck and Maricel Driscol had 6,160 compared to 5,521 for the Republican race between Tim Hollems and Ben Freeman.
This wasn’t the case across the board, however for context the highest Democratic count in 2022 was 3,695. Additionally, in the State Senate District 26 race, in our county alone, Andrew Dale received 5,636 to Scott Alexander’s 4,576. Between Alexander and challenger Katherine Nunley-Kritsch the Republican race had 5,909. Between Randolph County and Delaware County, it was only a difference of 101 votes as Dale received 6,122 to Alexander’s 6,223.
J.D. Ford Wins 5th Congressional District Primary
J.D. Ford grabbed 42.6% of the vote to Jackson Franklin’s 16.9%. In a surprise to many, five additional candidates split 57.5% of the vote, ranging from 5,826 votes from Deborah Pickett to Steven Avit’s 1,020.
Franklin closed the campaign with the following remarks last night in Muncie:
“We are not done. There is gonna be a 2028, there is gonna be a brighter future to be had. Be optimistic. We’ve done a lot. With the little amount of money we raised, we [made] a huge influence on what the dialogue is in the country. So be proud. I want to say thank you all very much for being here, for all voting and participating in our democracy, and just know that one day we will create the future, a system that represents of, by, and for the people, and a government that does truly place people over profits. Thank you.”
Ryan Webb Gets Fucking Body Slammed by Alpha Jim Mochal; Randall McCallister Overperforms His Loss
In Republican Ryan Webb’s campaign for County Council District 4, his opponent James “Jim” Mochal won with 61.43%. Besides suffering from child-biting syndrome, Webb is known for identifying as a Black transgender woman of color in 2023. After losing this week, Webb said his years in local politics are over and he’ll be starting a podcast.
Self-proclaimed far-right state representative candidate Randall McCallister, who ran against Richard Ivy, surprised some when he received 46.78% instead of a reasonable 15 to 20% most of us thought.