Huntingburg voters choose Hopf for Republican ticket

James Hopf had meant to spend the evening of the Municipal Primary at his daughter Callie’s track meet in Ferdinand. But the polls at the Huntingburg Event Center were busier than he expected, so he stayed until they closed.

“I asked Callie if it was okay,” he said, laughing. “She was fine with it.”

After the polls closed, he headed over to the Huntingburg YMI to wait for the results with friends and family. At about 7:20, he got a call letting him know he had done it. He had received enough votes to represent the Republican Party as the mayoral candidate for Huntingburg in the Municipal Election this fall.

Hopf ended up with 422 votes, or 53.9 percent, compared to Incumbent Mayor Steve Schwinghamer, receiving 361, or 46.1 percent.

“I feel very blessed about this opportunity God has given me,” the 33-year-old said. “I am ecstatic that I get to represent Huntingburg on the Republican ticket for 2023.”

Hopf stuck to his message of streets, sidewalks and listening to the citizens of Huntingburg going forward.

“Leadership is number one. We are going to change leadership and push things in the right direction,” he said. “Once we get down to the nuts and bolts of things, we are going to see how the people want to move certain aspects of Huntingburg.”

Hopf said if he is blessed enough to win in November, his immediate plans call for the creation of a two- and five-year plan for street and sidewalk improvements.

But listening to his constituents is key. Hopf pointed to ten months of hard work caucusing the city as the reason he would be appearing on the ticket over Schwinghamer. He spent a lot of time meeting people, which is one of the reasons he attests that 804 votes — 783 for the mayoral candidates — are the largest voter turnout for a Primary in Huntingburg history.

“I think they came out to vote for me or against me,” he said.

Fortunately, most were voting for him. “My goal was getting younger and a different category of voters out to vote,” he said. “And I think we accomplished that, and that is why I won.”

Hopf said his candidacy checks two boxes in Huntingburg. He is the first African American and the youngest mayoral candidate Huntingburg has ever had on the ticket for the city’s top leadership position.

He knows that he will likely face a challenge from the Democratic Party and maybe an Independent as well. Still, as a Republican, he believes he shares the same values as the majority of the citizens of Huntingburg.

“I’m just excited to represent everybody in the upcoming election,” Hopf added.

At about 9 p.m. Tuesday night, Hopf was pulled away from friends and family at the Huntingburg YMI by a phone call from the mayor congratulating him on the win.

Mayor Schwinghamer had spent the evening at home with family as the results came in.

“I’m disappointed,” he said about the election.

“But, the sun’s gonna come up tomorrow, and God is the Lord of my life. That’s the main thing,” he added.

He affirmed that he ran a clean and professional campaign and maintained his integrity throughout the process.

“The voters obviously decided they wanted to go a different direction than the way we have been going,” he said. “That was their call and right to do.”

Schwinghamer said he would spend the rest of his term focusing on the projects already underway with a goal of finishing as much as possible before leaving office.