Washington County Republican Party Chair Tara Coats Hunt has challenged the eligibility of Walter J Zelivetz, IV, a Republican candidate for Sheriff.
According to Washington County Clerk Stephanie Rockey, this was the first time a candidate had been challenged while she has been in office.
The Washington County Election Board will conduct a hearing on Friday, February 20th at 8:30 am, in the Washington County Clerk’s Election & Voter Services Office Conference Room, located at 801 S. Jackson Street, Ste. 102, Salem, Indiana.
The CEB will convene to review the challenge of candidate for sheriff, Walter J Zelivetz, IV that was filed on 2-13-2026 by the Republican Party Chair challenging under IC 3-8-2-7 (a) (4.)
The CEB will be determining if his 2026 Primary Election
Republican ballot placement stands or not.
According to Hunt, IC 3-8-2-7 (a) states that a candidate wanting to run for an office for a part (Republican or Democrat) must meet one of 2 requirements: (1) the candidate must have voted in the last two primary elections for the party the candidates want to run as; or, if you haven’t voted in the last two primaries for that party you want to run as, (2) you must have the party chairperson certify that you are a good standing member of the party.
The Clerk’s Office provides all candidates with this information at the time of filing.
Wiht this current challenge, it was filed because the candidate does not meet either of the requirements of the statute.
As chairman of the Washington County Republican Party for over nine years, “It has been my position, that if someone in our county would like to run as a Republican on the primary ticket and discovers that he/she has not pulled a Republican ballot in two primary elections, that the person should reach out to me or the party committee before the filing deadline to sit down and discuss his/her standing with the party. Certification by a party chairman is not guaranteed,” said Hunt.
