INDIANAPOLIS -- Republicans have another challenger running for mayor of Indianapolis this year.

Political journalist and local radio talk show host in Indianapolis Abdul-Hakim Shabazz has decided to file the paperwork to run for mayor as a Republican. He joins Pastor James Jackson on the GOP ticket and the two will square off with each other in the Republican primary this May.

"I spoke to a lot of Hoosiers, a lot of folks in Indianapolis, in part parts of the city, Republicans, Democrats, and Libertarians for that matter and their eyes just lit up," Shabazz said on 93 WIBC's Kendall and Casey Show.

Shabazz, the founder, and publisher of IndyPolitics.org, formed an exploratory committee late last year to look into the feasibility of a campaign for mayor.

"A very nice lady, she donated $5," Shabazz said of the exploratory process. "She said 'Abdul, that's all I can afford to give, I really want you to be mayor'. It's for people like that who are of limited mean, who don't have a lot to give, and just want to feel better about where they live."

Shabazz is putting a big emphasis on crime as part of his platform for running for mayor, saying that the city needs leadership when it comes to crime and that "we are not going to put up with this crap anymore."

He said there are two types of criminals, the "people you are mad at" and "the people you are afraid of." He plans for initiatives to help those we are "mad at", but said that he wants to clamp down on those we are "afraid of" and make sure that do not return to city streets.

"If all it took to solve a problem was to throw money at it, poverty would have been gone a long time ago," Shabazz added. "Obviously throwing money at an issue is not enough."

Shabazz also has plans to tackle infrastructure problems, especially when it comes to potholes.

Incumbent Mayor Joe Hogsett is seeking a third term and will face two Democrat challengers, Gregory Meriweather and Rep. Robin Shackleford.

Shabazz can be heard weekly on a News Now Warsaw public affairs show via Network Indiana. He is expected to step aside from the show during his campaign.

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WARSAW -- A Republican has announced plans to run for the Warsaw City Council seat currently held by Jeff Grose.

Juergen Voss, a businessman and former Warsaw school board member, announced Thursday his intentions to file for the District 1 seat.

Grose announced plans earlier this month to run for mayor after incumbent mayor Joe Thallemer announced he would not seek another term.

Voss and his wife, Betsy, have owned and operated the Open Air Garden Center and Greenhouse in Warsaw since 1986.

He served on the Warsaw Community School Board in the late 1980s when the district decided to build a new high school, two elementary schools the Central Administration Building.

The municipal election filing period ends at noon on Friday, Feb. 3.

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INDIANAPOLIS — Electorate engagement wasn’t as high as hoped, with just 41% of Indiana’s registered voters going to the polls for last month’s midterm elections — a nearly 20% drop in turnout from the 2018 midterms.

Indiana Election Division data shows Hoosier voters performed the worst in Decatur, Tippecanoe and Marion counties, with turnout rates of 24%, 32% and 34%, respectively. They did best in Crawford, Spencer and Union counties, at 51% turnout for all three.

It’s the latest data point in a long-running trend of low turnout when compared to the rest of the country.

“There are some states, historically, that have high turnout and some that have low turnout. And Indiana is one that turnout has been historically on the lower side … and 2022 was a bit lower than usual,” said Chad Kinsella, an associate professor of political science at Ball State University. He also directs the Bowen Center for Public Affairs.

But midterm turnout has been lower before. While 51% of registered voters cast a ballot in 2018, just 30% did so in 2014, according to the Election Division.

Who voted where?

Kinsella said that age, income and education are the biggest factors in explaining turnout — with older, wealthier and more educated people being more likely to vote.

“Older people live out in those rural counties and they tend to vote more often,” he said. “… A lot of those people with money are going to live outside of the city limits.”

That can also influence geographic trends.

Indiana’s most rural counties generally fared better than their urban counterparts in Election Division voter statistics, when matched against one Purdue University study.

And that’s born out in Kinsella’ own research: In precinct-level Delaware County data, he said, turnout was lower near Muncie and higher in suburban and rural areas.

Hoosier voting culture

Less measurable is Indiana’s civic culture.

But a sense of duty to vote appears stronger among rural Americans, said Michael Wolf, a political science professor and department chair at Purdue University Fort Wayne. He cited the University of Notre Dame's research.

“There’s this very communal sense and very socialized duty to vote that ends up coming through, whereas a lot of times in suburban and urban areas, a lot of voter turnout is often driven by competition,” Wolf said.

Duty is constant, but motivation can change every election.

Wolf said he’s seen the theory play out in his own university, which hosts a mix of students from urban, suburban and rural backgrounds. One student in 2020 coordinated a weekend trip home with hometown friends to vote early together.

“To think that they were coming from all different colleges around to come up and vote at the same time, kind of indicates, in his own words, just that that was what the community expected,” Wolf said. “So that’s what they did.”

The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to giving Hoosiers a comprehensive look inside state government, policy and elections. The site combines daily coverage with in-depth scrutiny, political awareness and insightful commentary.

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