Chairman Wright Responds to Letter to the Editor: “State Senate race exposing insider bias in local GOP”
Chairman Preston T. Wright responded to the letter to the editor published in the April 14, 2026, edition of the Bluffton News-Banner titled “State Senate race exposing insider bias in local GOP”.
Setting the record straight.
There has been a lot of emotion and misinformation circulating, so let’s take that out of it and focus on the facts:
FACT: The author of the letter to the editor in today's News-Banner was not in attendance at the event
FACT: Every elected official, candidate and party official who RSVP’d was recognized at the Lincoln Day Dinner
FACT: I have had zero communication with Blake Fiechter about his campaign
FACT: Blake Fiechter has attended one GOP event this year, which was Lincoln Day
FACT: I told Senator Travis Holdman last year that I would endorse him, well before redistricting was ever an issue
FACT: There is no state party or county party rule prohibiting endorsements
Now, here is the reality.
The recent letter attacking local Republican leadership is riddled with falsehoods and deserves a direct response.
I have had zero communication with Blake Fiechter about his State Senate campaign. Any claim suggesting otherwise is completely fabricated. It is also worth noting that Mr. Fiechter has been largely absent from party events in recent years, which makes the sudden narrative about his treatment by the party all the more disingenuous.
The Wells County Republican Party has not and will not endorse a candidate in a primary. That has been made clear. However, individual members of the central committee are free to support state and federal candidates of their choosing. I made the decision to support Senator Travis Holdman long before redistricting was even a consideration and I have been transparent about that from the beginning.
The suggestion that Mr. Fiechter would need to “come back” to the party is misleading. One cannot return to something they have not meaningfully been a part of.
The claim regarding our Lincoln Day Dinner is flatly false. I personally announced Blake Fiechter by name both as a Bluffton City Councilman and as a candidate for State Senate. Those in attendance heard it and the News-Banner itself reported on his remarks. The letter writer was not present and is repeating misinformation as fact. If she had attended, she would have heard my remarks about party unity and how we will unite behind our nominees after the primary.
The claim that young people are not involved in our party is also wrong and frankly insulting. I am the youngest Republican county chairman in the Third District and one of the youngest in the state. We have young conservatives across Wells County who are stepping up, showing up and doing the work.
Just as Ms. Peterson serves as an elected member of the Norwell School Board, she is free to support whomever she chooses. I am afforded that same right, including in contested state and federal Republican primaries.
Disagreement is part of politics. False accusations and manufactured narratives should not be.
At the end of the day, voters deserve the truth. And they should take note of who is focused on serious leadership and who is willing to mislead in order to score political points.
