Sturgis mayor trails challenger, two Three Rivers incumbents behind as election results roll in

Last updated: November 3, 2026, at 10:11 p.m.

The votes are coming in across St. Joseph County, and several incumbent city commissioners are trailing their challengers in Tuesday’s election.

In Sturgis, incumbent Commissioner and current Mayor Frank Perez trails challenger Stoney Summey by more than 300 votes, while in Three Rivers, two incumbent commissioners are also trailing their challengers.

According to unofficial results released by St. Joseph County at 9:46 p.m., 20 of the county’s 31 precincts are marked “Election Night Complete,” three are partially reported, and eight have not yet reported. No precincts are currently listed as fully reported.

Watershed Voice will continue updating this story as additional results become available.

Sturgis

In Sturgis, six commission elections appeared on Tuesday’s ballot, including two separate races in District 2.

The lone contested race was in District 4, where incumbent Commissioner and current Mayor Frank Perez faced challenger Stoney Summey.

Summey leads Perez with 498 votes (71.24%) to Perez’s 192 votes (27.47%), according to the latest unofficial results. An additional nine votes were cast for write-in candidates.

The district’s single precinct had reported results and was marked “Election Night Complete,” although the results remain unofficial.

The election follows months of controversy surrounding Perez’s involvement in private meetings with other commissioners concerning former City Manager Andrew Kuk.

As for the uncontested races, at-large Commissioner Aaron Miller received 2,009 votes (94.59%), while District 2 Commissioner Justin Wickey received 340 votes (95.24%) in the election for a partial term ending December 1, 2028.

Former City Engineer Barry Cox received 687 votes (95.28%) in District 1, where Commissioner Jeff Mullins did not seek reelection.

Two other races, one for a full four-year term in District 2 and another in District 3, had no candidates listed on the ballot.

The county reported 79 write-in votes in the District 2 race and 61 in District 3. The results do not identify the write-in candidates or establish who won either seat.

Three Rivers

In the Three Rivers City Commission contested races, two challengers are currently leading incumbent commissioners.

In the at-large race, challenger Joshua Williams leads incumbent Lucas Allen with 1,134 votes (59.43%) to Allen’s 733 votes (38.42%). An additional 41 votes were cast for write-in candidates.

The other contested race was in District 2, where incumbent Commissioner Steven Haigh faces challenger Josh Hoeppner.

Hoeppner leads Haigh with 1,036 votes (55.82%) to Haigh’s 783 votes (42.19%). An additional 37 votes were cast for write-in candidates.

Both precincts in each of the contested races have reported results, although the county has not marked them as fully reported.

In District 4, Commissioner Carolyn McNary ran unopposed and received 1,540 votes (96.73%), with an additional 52 write-in votes.

Other local elections

Several contested village trustee races also appeared on Tuesday’s ballot.

In Constantine, five candidates competed for three village trustee positions.

Chuck Barnes leads with 249 votes (23.10%), followed by Caleb Denman with 227 votes (21.06%) and Michael Crossgrove with 213 votes (19.76%). Myra Mathers received 199 votes (18.46%) and Richard Larrance received 187 votes (17.35%).

In White Pigeon, four candidates competed for three village trustee positions.

Daniel Carr leads with 253 votes (29.49%), followed by Melvin Hostetler with 229 votes (26.69%) and Colin Tetzloff with 199 votes (23.19%). Paige Willis received 163 votes (19.00%).

Both villages’ precincts were marked “Election Night Complete,” although results remain unofficial.

Local ballot proposals

Voters also weighed in on several local ballot proposals, including a bond proposal for Nottawa Community School and a sinking fund millage replacement for White Pigeon Community Schools.

In Nottawa, the school bond proposal was narrowly leading with 250 votes (51.98%) in favor and 231 votes (48.02%) opposed. All four precincts had reported results, although the county had not marked them as fully reported.

In White Pigeon, the sinking fund millage replacement proposal was leading with 1,045 votes (53.45%) in favor and 910 votes (46.55%) opposed. Five of eight precincts had reported results.

The proposal would replace the district’s existing sinking fund millage with a 3-mill levy for five years, from 2027 through 2031. Funds could be used for building repairs, security improvements, technology upgrades and eligible transportation purchases.

Mottville Township voters also considered a proposal to prohibit marijuana establishments. The prohibition was trailing with 215 votes (36.20%) in favor and 379 votes (63.80%) opposed.

The township’s single precinct had reported results and was marked “Election Night Complete.”

Statewide ballot proposals

The Associated Press has called Michigan’s Money Out of Politics ballot proposal in favor of passage.

At the time of the AP’s call, the proposal had received 245,899 votes (81.1%) in favor and 57,234 votes (18.9%) opposed statewide, with approximately 6% of the expected vote counted.

In St. Joseph County, Proposal 2026-2 was leading with 14,658 votes (78.95%) in favor and 3,908 votes (21.05%) opposed, according to unofficial county results.

The county’s other statewide ballot measure, Proposal 2026-1, was trailing with 5,797 votes (31.77%) in favor and 12,450 votes (68.23%) opposed.

State and federal races

Michigan voters also cast ballots in closely watched races for governor and U.S. Senate.

In the gubernatorial race, Republican John James leads Democrat Jocelyn Benson in St. Joseph County with 12,502 votes (60.04%) to Benson’s 7,798 votes (37.45%).

In the U.S. Senate race, Republican Mike Rogers leads Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in the county with 12,708 votes (61.07%) to El-Sayed’s 7,557 votes (36.32%).

In Michigan’s 5th Congressional District, incumbent Republican Tim Walberg leads Democrat Christian Vukasovich in St. Joseph County with 12,828 votes (62.17%) to Vukasovich’s 7,239 votes (35.08%).

In the 17th State Senate District, Republican Jonathan Lindsey leads Democrat Ashleigh Baker in the county with 12,798 votes (62.42%) to Baker’s 7,639 votes (37.26%).

In the 36th State House District, incumbent Republican Steve Carra leads Democrat Cole Slaski in the county with 12,730 votes (62.26%) to Slaski’s 7,561 votes (36.98%).

All 23 applicable St. Joseph County precincts had reported results in these races, although the county had not marked them as fully reported.

These figures reflect votes cast in St. Joseph County only, and do not establish the statewide or districtwide winners.

Maxwell Knauer is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.