A majority of the precinct committeemen and vice committeemen at a caucus Wednesday night chose Michael Ragan as the new chair of the Kosciusko County Republican Party. Ragan faced Tressa Nichols in the bid to replace Randy Girod, who resigned effective July 7 after serving 7-1/2 years as party chair. While vote totals for the caucus were not released, a candidate must receive at least half of the votes to be declared the winner. Of the 128 precinct committeemen and vice committeemen who were eligible to vote, 94 participated in the caucus at the county courthouse. Each candidate had three minutes to speak before the vote. They spoke in the order that their filings were received by the state party secretary and county party secretary, according to interim chair and GOP Vice Chair Marsha McSherry. Before the candidates spoke, they each had someone who spoke for them for two minutes as an introduction. Girod introduced Ragan. He reminded the Republicans that Ragan ran against him for the party chair four years ago. “But I’m here to tell you, there was never a moment of discord between us. We worked together as a team, and that’s what it’s all about. I think that’s what separates this county from so many other counties – we do have a heritage of Republican cooperation. We get along together,” Girod said, noting that Ragan has worked for the party in many capacities. While he said he liked both candidates immensely, he believed Ragan’s organizational skills are superb and will keep the party well maintained. In his comments, Ragan said, “I am grateful to be here and to have the encouragement and support of so many, including the previous five Republican county chairs. I am humbled.” He spoke about how his father, Phil Ragan, who was a United States Marine and served in the South Pacific. “I was raised by a United States Marine who taught his son the importance of honor, character and love of country, and this love of country is part of my very being, and will be the rest of my life,” he said. Ragan said the political attack ads already have started and it’s only August. “We must stand behind our candidates now. We need to make sure that our Indiana Republican values are maintained as they have for generations. It is imperative that we gain the White House, keep the Senate and House, both in Washington and Indianapolis,” he said. Ragan said he can bring the Republican party together to do its part, to move the state and nation to victory in November, to strengthen and unify the party, to encourage the younger generation, to engage in party activities and to embrace the party’s philosophy. State Rep. Dave Wolkins of Winona Lake spoke for Nichols. He said both candidates were good conservative Republicans, but it was “simply a matter of choice.” He said Nichols has six children and has been interested in government and politics for many, many years. She’s been in the area for eight to nine years, and he first met Nichols when she first came to town because she had no qualms about telling Wolkins what she felt about issues facing the state. She’s testified down at Indianapolis, and worked on many local and state campaigns, Wolkins said. “She’s very outspoken, articulate, conservative and energetic,” he said. Wolkins said he was the “old guard” and it was time to get some younger people involved like Nichols. In her comments, Nichols said she’s been involved in politics for about nine years behind the scenes. She wanted to wait until her kids were a little older to dedicate time to run for a position herself, and now her children are old enough to have babysitters. She said she called everyone, but not everyone answered their phones so she got to speak to about 60 of the committeemen and vice committeemen. “Almost universally, you told me that your concern was that we seem to have a division in our party. That in Kosciusko County, we’re concerned that we’re not going to have unity. And I’m concerned with that as well. I think it’s so important that we continue to have a big tent and invite anyone who considers themselves a Republican into the party,” Nichols said. For the May primary, she ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the county council. “In that process, I met a lot of people. Then very quickly I realized that the average voting age for a Republican in Kosciusko County is 65. That means younger Republicans are not voting. That will be my primary objective as the county chair,” she said. Nichols said she’s already working on having a Young Republicans club in Warsaw, whether or not she was chosen as party chair. Those young people also need to be engaged, and to do that she encouraged committeemen who have open vice committeemen positions to fill those with 18- to 30-year-olds. She’s been a lifelong Republican and voted in every election but one since she turned 18. Copies of a letter from U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman criticizing Ragan and supporting Nichols were distributed prior to the meeting. In part, the letter pointed out that Ragan, a member of the 3rd District Finance Committee, and Kyle Babcock, 3rd District treasurer, “both supported my opponent from Bloomington in the Republican U.S. Senate primary and suggested other “Washington insiders” such as U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell tried top influence the race. “It is now vitally important that the next GOP chairman be more attune to local voters rather than seeking to appease party bosses in Washington or Indianapolis,” the letter said. “While I appreciate Mr. Ragan and Mr. Babcock’s efforts for our party, our next chairman should follow Chairman Girod’s example of either unifying behind proven, regional candidates in primaries or staying neutral.” Stutzman ran against Todd Young for out-going U.S. Sen. Dan Coats’ Senate seat and lost in the May primary. Young now faces former U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh in the general election. McSherry appointed Ron Truex and Tyler Huffer as tellers to pass out the ballots and count the votes at Wednesday’s caucus. After almost a half hour of counting the votes, the results were presented to McSherry who announced Ragan as the winner. In his acceptance speech, Ragan thanked his supporters and said there was seven months before the party’s reorganization election. In the next seven months, he said there were things for the party to do like the party headquarters, the Hall of Fame dinner, fish fry and the November election. He said election workers were needed. He thanked Nichols for running.
