Year in Review: Hotly contested local races highlighted busy political year - WTVB

BRANCH COUNTY, MI (WTVB) – As one would expect during a Presidential election year, politics dominated the news in 2024 especially on the local scene.
Fred Blankenship will take over as Branch County Sheriff on New Year’s Day after he won the August Republican Primary and ran unopposed in the November General Election.
Courtesy Fred Blankenship for Sheriff Facebook page
Blankenship defeated Coldwater Police Department School Resource Officer Robin Swartz as well as Sheriff’s Department Deputy and former Michigan State Police Trooper Michael Thyng with almost 48 percent of the vote.
Blankenship told us after winning the primary he ran a clean campaign.
Jennifer Wortz will take over as the 35th District State Representative after scoring convincing wins in both the G.O.P. August Primary and the General Election in November.
Courtesy Jennifer Wortz for State Representative Facebook page
Wortz reflected on a grueling primary campaign which covered two counties.
The three Branch County Commissioners who faced challenges in the August Republican Primary all came out on top.
Randall Hazelbaker defeated Jessica Green in District One, Jon Houtz won over John Towers in District Two while Alan McClellan defeated David Mansfield in District Five.
Rick Hollister won the District Four race over two other candidates. District Four Commissioner Tom Matthew decided to run in the 35th District State House race but lost. Commission Chair Tim Stoll ran unopposed in District Three.
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