Ward wins commissioner primary as Vinton County levies pass

C. Scott Ward emerged as the clear Republican nominee for Vinton County commissioner, winning 634 votes and leaving Danny M. Wiseman, Jeremiah James Michael Jones and Phillis Hollingshead Henry behind in a race that now points toward November control of one of the county’s most important spending posts.

The commissioner contest was the local headline in a primary that also kept several county service levies intact. Voters renewed the Vinton County Developmental Disabilities levy by a 1,049-641 margin, the Vinton County OSU Extension levy by the same 1,049-641 count, and the Vinton County Senior Citizens levy by 1,160-534. Eagle Township also won approval for its five-year, 2-mill fire and EMS levy, 55-12, preserving funding for emergency coverage that reaches into daily life across the township.

Those results matter far beyond Election Day. County commissioners help shape the budget, and the levy results showed voters were willing to keep core services funded even as they backed a new Republican nominee for the board. With the official canvass set for May 12 at 9 a.m. and an audit scheduled for May 19 at 9 a.m., the numbers remained unofficial but the direction of the race was already clear.

Turnout was stronger than in the last May primary. Vinton County had 8,011 registered voters and 1,735 ballots cast, for an unofficial turnout of 21.66 percent. That was far above the 6.84 percent turnout reported in the May 2025 primary. Of the ballots cast Tuesday, 1,275 were Republican, 400 were Democratic, six were Libertarian and 54 were nonpartisan, with 360 in-person early votes, 1,182 election-day votes and 193 absentee ballots recorded across all 20 precincts.

The rest of the ballot also began to sort out the county’s representation in Columbus and Washington. Cindy Ann Waugh ran unopposed on the Republican side for auditor. In the 17th District Senate primary, Shane Wilkin won the Republican nomination and Brian Deer won the Democratic nomination. Mark Johnson captured the Republican nomination in the 92nd District House race.

On the congressional side, David J. Taylor led the Republican field over Bob Carr, while Todd Wilson edged Jen Mazzuckelli in the Democratic primary. The county also selected judicial nominees, including Peter B. Abele for the Fourth District Court of Appeals and Jeffrey R. Griffith for the Court of Common Pleas juvenile division.

For Vinton County, the primary left a familiar pattern in place: Republicans strengthened their hold on the commissioner nomination, while voters kept the county’s basic support systems funded for another cycle.