SOUTH BEND — Jamie O’Brien beat incumbent St. Joseph County Republican “not in good standing” Dan Schaetzle in the Republican primary for St. Joseph County Council District C on Tuesday, May 5.
“Obviously, in any election, someone comes out on top and someone doesn’t,” O’Brien said. “I’m sure my opponent isn’t particularly excited right now.
“I appreciate the fact that he ran, and I’m very appreciative of all the volunteers that helped. I’m looking forward to joining Mrs. Drake and Mr. Thomas, Mr. Rutton and Mr. Figg on the County Council next year … still a long way to go until we get there.”
In unofficial results, O’Brien beat Schaetzle by 451 votes, a total of 1,665 votes to 1,214 for a victory of 58% to 42% of the 2,879 votes cast. O’Brien will face Democrat Jan Cervelli in the Tuesday, Nov. 3, general election.
O’Brien previously represented District C on the council from 2012, when a party caucus elected him to succeed Dale DeVon, who had won a seat in the Indiana General Assembly, to April 2018, when O’Brien stepped down to care for his elderly parents, according to his campaign website.
The Indiana Republican State Committee deemed Schaetzle a “Republican not in good standing” and censured him in 2025 for forming a coalition with Democrats on the council, a ruling that upheld the county party’s censure of Schaetzle.
The coalition allowed him to become the County Council president in a 5-4 vote that went against the Republican Party and that allowed two Democrats on the council to secure president pro-tempore and vice president pro-tempore, according to previous Tribune reporting.
St. Joseph County Republican Party Chair Jackie Horvath and Griffin Nate, communications director for U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym, R-2nd, both challenged Schaetzle’s candidacy on the Republican primary ballot in February. The St. Joseph County Election Board voted Feb. 25 to allow Schaetzle to remain on the ballot against O’Brien.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Incumbent Republican County Council member loses to primary challenger
Reporting by Juliane Balog , South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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