The Rev. Mark Powell
A pastor from Johnson County who is seeking the Democratic nomination for Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District in the upcoming primary is struggling to get his name on the correct ballot.
The Rev. Mark J. Powell of Whiteland filed a declaration of candidacy Thursday for Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District, checking a box indicating that he was seeking the Democratic nomination in the May 3 primary, according to a copy of the filing from the Indiana Election Division.
Later that evening, Powell couldn’t find his name on the Indiana Election Division’s candidate list on the Democratic ticket and called the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office the next day to see what happened, he said.
An office assistant told Powell that he had been placed in error on the GOP ticket and assured him that it would be corrected, he said.
But as of 11 a.m. Monday morning, Powell was still listed on the Republican ticket on the Indiana Election Division’s website. State officials told The Republic that they had fixed the error, but the updated list had not yet been posted online.
Powell, for his part, appears to be taking the mishap with good humor.
”We all make mistakes, and while I appreciate Secretary (of State) Holli Sullivan’s desire to recruit me as a Republican, I love being a Christian Democrat within the Indiana Democratic Party,” Powell said in a statement.
Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District includes most of Bartholomew County, as well as all of Johnson, Shelby, Hancock, Rush, Henry, Fayette and Union Counties. The district also includes a slice of southern Marion County and the southern half of Randolph County.
Before redistricting last year, the district used to include all of Bartholomew, Decatur and Jennings counties, as well as all or parts of 17 other counties.
Currently, the seat is held by Rep. Greg Pence, R-Indiana, who has filed to run for a third term in Congress. Pence, a Columbus native and brother of former Vice President Mike Pence, will face GOP challenger Zach Smith in the primary.
The deadline to file for candidacy is Friday.
