A judge has ruled that Republican St. Joseph County Council member Dan Schaetzle can run for re-election as a Republican in the May 5 primary election.
St. Joseph County Circuit Court Judge John Broden on Thursday issued a 10-page order saying Schaetzle is free to run as a Republican. Griffin Nate, secretary of the Republican 2nd Congressional District Committee, had asked him to reverse a 3-0 vote last week by the county election board that also said Schaetzle can run.
The party has been trying to stop Schaetzle from running as a Republican after finding him not “in good standing” because he campaigned against Republican Probate Judge candidate Loris Zappia in 2024.
Nate’s attorney, Sean Sirisi, had argued that case law gives political parties the right to choose who can run under their party label. But Broden instead ruled that he agrees with arguments made by Schaetzle’s attorney, Pete Agostino, that Schaetzle had met the law’s requirements to affiliate with the party because he had voted in its last two primary elections.
Broden said there’s nothing in Indiana law that says an election board can remove someone from a party’s ballot because he’s not in good standing with the party.
Broden wrote, “It would be improper and an abuse of discretion for this Court to substitute its judgment for that of the Election Board.”
