It appears Marion County will have a new coroner in December.
Challenger Claude Howell, Junior defeated incumbent Coroner Troy Cannon in the Tuesday Republican primary election. With 362 vote-by-mail ballots still out, Howell finished the evening with 2,249 votes to Cannon’s 2,109 votes.
Howell said he knew the race would not be easy and said it took a lot of help. He wants to thank God, his wife, his family, and his campaign team who took care of so much for him.
“I thank everyone who supported us. Let’s win this in November and get this thing taken care of. To Troy, the coroner, I want to say thank you for the years you served. I wish you the very best. I just look forward to serving Marion County.”
Howell will face Democrat Dr. Anton Dubrick in the November General Election.
Cannon did not wish to make any comment Tuesday night as he was still weighing his options.
County Clerk Steve Fox says Cannon is currently behind by three percentage points which is within the five percent range that he could seek a recount. He notes normally he would receive about 40 to 50 of the 362 vote-by-mail applications that are still out and have to be postmarked by the day of the election. That would fall short of the current 140-vote difference between the two candidates.
There were no contested primaries for Marion County State’s Attorney, Supervisor of Assessments, or Circuit Clerk.
