Candidates thankful for the support

SANDPOINT — After a primary election defined by fierce competition and negative advertisements, local legislative candidates for the Republican nomination are finally taking a breather.

The incumbents won the day after voters dropped by their polling locations to cast their support, taking a strong lead from the beginning.

“The voters made in pretty clear that they preferred politicians with what I’d guess you’d call a more moderate approach,” said Donna Capurso, who challenged incumbent Eric Anderson for a representative position.

Anderson prevailed over Capurso with 4,090 to 1,886 votes. Meanwhile, fellow challenger Louis Kins received 419 votes. After a late primary night, Anderson had to get up early to return to Boise for more state business. Nevertheless, he had the positive news to counteract the sleep deprivation.

“You just never know (how things will turn out) until you get these job reviews,” he said, adding, “For me, the campaign was simple in some ways because I’m proud of everything we’ve done in Boise.”

As for Capurso, she said she wouldn’t change anything about her campaign in retrospect.

“I met some really wonderful people, I stuck by my principles and values and I didn’t take any money from PACs,” Capurso said. “I didn’t want to be beholden to anyone but my constituents.”

In the race for the second representative position, George Eskridge won over Pam Stout 4,368 against 2,161 votes. Both candidates said the election was a difficult road of misrepresentation and attacks.

“Avista was after us, three or four PACs were after us, the Idaho Freedom Foundation was after us,” Eskridge said. “Regardless of what those outside the district think, we’ve always tried to do what was best for our constituents.”

Similarly, Stout had hard feelings about the way people characterized her as a political extremist during the primary campaign, which she said wasn’t an accurate image at all.

“I hadn’t realized how important money was in a local election,” she said. “The manipulation of truth that went on during this campaign was really saddening.”

On the Senate side of the legislative primaries, Shawn Keough beat Danielle Ahrens 4,671 to 1,976. Once again, the constant negativity was a sore spot for Keough as she reflected on the past few months.

“This was a very troubling campaign because of all the negative ads and the distortions,” she said. “But I’m very surprised, humbled and gratified that things turned out the way they did.”

While Ahrens said she was disappointed in the results, she’s determined to use the campaign as a springboard into more public activities.

“My next focus will be to run for a state committee position with the Republican party,” she said. “I’m want to throw my support behind our incumbents and make sure they have the resources they need.”