A Bartholomew County candidate who filed last week to challenge State Rep. Ryan Lauer, R-Columbus, has changed his mind, and decided to pull his name from the May primary ballot.
Ian R. Godfrey says he still plans to run for Lauer’s 59th District seat. But instead of seeking the Republican nomination, Godfrey says he will wait until the November general election and run as an independent.
Godfrey, 36, said he was asked not to make himself a primary challenger to Lauer, who is completing his first term, by Bartholomew County Republican chairwoman Barb Hackman.
Hackman said she made the request after failing to find a record that Godfrey voted as a Republican when he lived in Jefferson County a few years ago. A separate check with state voting records also failed to turn up any evidence that Godfrey had voted in a GOP primary, she said.
Without that primary voting record, Godfrey cannot be considered a “Republican in good standing” — which means his candidacy as a Republican in the primary could be subject to a legally challenge, Hackman said.
“I totally respect their position and I respect Ryan Lauer,” said Godfrey, a Columbus resident. “There are no hard feelings.”
A paramedic for the past 19 years, Godfrey has worked the past three years for Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services.
Although Lauer will not have a primary opponent, two Democrats will compete against each other this spring for the opportunity to challenge the incumbent Republican in November.
Both Dale Nowlin and Cynthia Wirth are educators. Wirth describes herself as a biologist and archeologist, while Nowlin has spent many years as a high school mathematics teacher.
When Nowlin ran for the same office in 2018, he defeated Mary Kohen in the primary. However, Nowlin lost to Lauer in November by a margin of 57 percent to 41 percent.
