Wolfrum wins Tuesday’s primary election

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Incumbent Republican Van Wert County Commissioner Todd Wolfrum cruised to an easy primary election win over his lone challenger.

Unofficial results from the Van Wert County Board of Elections show Wolfrum defeated Lucas Meyers 2,197-1,007 during Tuesday’s election. Results will become official once certified by the elections board. No Democratic or independent candidates filed petitions to run in November, meaning Wolfrum is running unopposed in the fall.

State Representative Roy Klopfenstein of Haviland ran unopposed during Tuesday’s primary. He’ll race Democrat Madgalene Markward, who also ran unopposed, in November. Klopfenstein, who’s in his first term, defeated Markward in November of 2022.

Among the other races on the GOP ballot in Van Wert County: incumbent U.S. Representative Bob Latta easily defeated challenger Robert Owsiak Jr. 2,760-503 in Van Wert County. He’ll face Democrat Keith Mundy in November.

In the U.S. Senate primary, Bernie Moreno won a three-way race against Matt Dolan and Frank LaRose, locally and statewide. In Van Wert County, Moreno collected 1,589 votes, compared to 837 for Dolan and 776 for LaRose. Moreno will face incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown in November.

Locally, 2,732 GOP voters cast ballots for Donald Trump, compared to 402 for the next closest challenger, Nikki Haley (402), who suspended her presidential campaign two weeks ago. Incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden collected 338 votes in Van Wert County, while Dean Phillips, who is no longer in the race, received 80 votes.

As expected, voter turnout was light in Van Wert County, 18.86 percent.