Only the best of the best win in Indiana. A primary election was held for a spot on the Clinton Township school board in Boone County, Indiana, and one of the winners for the Republican Party was Andrew Wilhoite. The issue? Wilhoite is currently in jail on charges of murdering his wife, police said.
While most candidates release a statement after winning an election, it seems like that is difficult for Wilhoite to do since he is behind bars. Needless to say, he has not commented on securing a spot on the general election ballot in November.
Wilhoite is a 39-year-old farmer and is one of three Republican candidates who will now have a chance to pursue three open seats on the school board, Yahoo! News reported. To win a spot on the ballot in the general election, Wilhoite received 60 votes in the primary election.
As far as the murder charges go, Wilhoite was arrested in March for allegedly killing his wife, Elizabeth “Nikki” Wilhoite, officials said. Nikki went missing on March 25 and Wilhoite initially lied to investigators. He eventually admitted to hitting her over the head with a flowerpot and then dumping her body into a creek, which is where investigators found her body, Yahoo! News stated.
According to Wilhoite, he said his wife recently filed for divorce and they were arguing about an affair he was having when he hit her with the pot. A friend of Nikki’s talked with reporters and said Nikki had just finished chemotherapy for breast cancer.
Can Wilhoite run for a spot on the school board while in jail? Brad King, co-director of the bi-partisan Indiana Election Division, said the arrest does not preclude him from appearing on the ballot in November. King said, “Under our system, you are innocent until you are proven guilty. If a person is convicted of a felony, then they are no longer eligible to be a candidate and are ineligible to hold office.”
Based on that, Wilhoite’s trial would have to be conducted and a verdict in by November for him to be taken off the ballot. The earliest his trial could be would be in August and it’s most likely he will be in jail at the time of the November election, Yahoo! News reported.
To help solve the issue at hand, Boone County Republican Chairwoman Debbie Ottinger said, “Our hope is that he asks to be removed from the ballot and we can just replace him, but I don’t know if anyone has talked to him about that.” Well, someone might want to talk to him then!
