Election takeaways + looking ahead

Hey Locals,

On the heels of this fall’s eventful mid-term election, Fort Wayne is gearing up for what’s likely to be another high-stakes election next year on the local level, when offices for Mayor, City Clerk, and City Council are all at stake.

This week, we’ll walk you through some of our top election reflections from 2026, and give you a look ahead at how next year’s local elections are beginning to play out.

Let’s start with a quick recap of voter turnout and takeaways from last week’s election.

Here are a few quick things to know:

• Allen County’s voter turnout in the 2026 midterm in Allen County was 39.6% – an increase of about 4,500 voters since the last midterm in 2022, The JG* reports. Statewide, turnout was 42% with 94% of precincts reporting as of 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the online Indiana Voter Portal.
• Allen County Democrats recorded the highest number of straight-ticket votes in at least 19 years at 26,141 – a 55% increase from 2022, The JG says. Meanwhile, county Republicans saw a 16% decrease in straight-ticket voting compared to 2022. WBOI reports that in 2018, Republicans in Allen County dominated the straight-ticket vote, outnumbering Dem straight-ticket by about 18,000. That number decreased in 2022 to 15,000, and was decimated this year with the straight-ticket vote margin favoring Republicans by a mere 1,123 voters.
• National dissatisfaction toward President Donald Trump’s administration gave Democrats an advantage locally, political analysts say. Allen County Republican Party Chair Steve Shine tells us local Republicans suffered at the ballot box due to high levels of dissatisfaction with the national Republican party. He feels the local GOP ran experienced candidates at the County level, but people were “voting their angst and anger against any candidate who had an ‘R’ next to their name.”
• Well-run campaigns by Democrats also played a role. In Allen County, Mike Wolf of the Mike Downs Center for Politics at PFW says Dems worked hard to recruit qualified candidates for nearly every race, target voters and raise campaign money, which they haven’t always done. Chad Wierzbinski, Chair of the Allen County Democratic Party, tells WANE: “People want to feel like their concerns are being heard. I can’t tell you how many times I had people tell me, ‘I haven’t seen a single Republican knock on my door. I haven’t heard from a single elected Republican in years.'”
• Following the results, local Republicans expressed infighting in the media and weathered “dark” moods, sources tell us. Paul Moss, who lost the County Commissioner District 3 race to Democrat Jorge Fernandez, blamed local party leadership (Shine) for at least a portion of the lackluster showing last week. “At a local level, we could have done much better,” Moss told WPTA21. When asked if he thought the local GOP needed a new chair, Moss said, “Absolutely.” In return, Shine told WPTA21 Moss is “a disingenuous individual who needs to look inside himself to see what the problem was.”

So… what race are we still talking about at The Local?