By shortly before 11 p.m. on Election Night, the official results from St. Joseph County were in, and it was great news for Republicans.
About 55% of registered voters cast ballots, the biggest turnout since a 60% turnout in 2008 when Barack Obama won. Republicans beat Democrats in straight-ticket voting, 51 to 48%.
Republicans almost scored a clean sweep, winning all but the treasurer’s race, where Democrat Mary Beth Wisniewski edged Republican Michael Rose 51 to 49%.
Two of the more high-interest races were not as close. For probate judge, Republican Loris Zappia defeated incumbent Democrat Jason Cichowicz 54 to 46%. Both candidates ran negative ads against each other.
In the other high-profile race, for surveyor, Republican Derek Dieter beat Democrat Ed Fisher by just 171 votes.
For the Osceola seat on the county council, Republican Andy Rutten beat Democrat Tami Springer 60 to 40%, enabling Republicans to maintain a 5-4 council majority they gained in the 2022 election.
