VIGO COUNTY, Ind – On Friday (2/7/20) Former independent Terre Haute mayoral candidate Pat Goodwin filed to run in the Democratic Party primary for Vigo County Commissioner, District 2.

After Goodwin lost the last election for Mayor of Terre Haute running as an independent, he indicated that he would not run again for office.

Obviously he changed his mind and now is a Democrat. In a press release he said his reason for running was:

“In Indiana in a presidential election year, straight party voting makes it virtually impossible for an independent candidate to win elected office,” he said.  “In 2016, more than 40% of voters chose to vote for one of the two major parties rather than individual candidates. I owe it to my supporters to put myself in the best position to win in 2020.”

Goodwin added that running in a party primary will not change his view of local issues.  “I still believe that local politics are non-partisan, and I still plan to work for you, not a political party, regardless of the letter next to my name.”

He chose the Democratic Party primary because of his voting record in the last primary election.  “In 2019, I voted in the democratic primary, which had several contested races,” he said. “As a result, I am eligible to run in this year’s democratic primary.”

Vigo County Commissioner District 2 covers the western third of Terre Haute and Vigo County.  While commissioners must live within their district, all voters are eligible to vote for every commissioner seat.