The St. Joseph County Election Board overturned a challenge that would have blocked Bruce Mitchell, Jr. from running as a Democrat for South Bend Common Council in the May Primary. Indiana state law requires candidates to have voted with their party in the last two primaries. 32 year old Mitchell has only voted in one primary. Former St. Joseph County Treasurer Mike Kruk filed a challenge against Mitchell. That means he had to get approval from the county chairperson who leads the Democratic political party. The Democratic Party chair chose not to certify Mitchell's paperwork so the final decision went before the Election Board. Last night, the Election Board struck down a challenge in a one-to-one split decision. St. Joseph County Clerk Amy Rolfes abstained over concerns of conflicting federal and state laws. Mitchell will compete against incumbent Democrat Sheila Niezgodski for the 6th District seat. The primary election is May 2.
Candidacy challenge overturned: Bruce Mitchell will be on May ballot
