Incumbents leading in legislative races

SANDPOINT — After the final votes were tallied — a process that lasted through the night and was completed shortly before 11:30 a.m. Wednesday — incumbents won the day in District 1 legislative races.

Voters also returned incumbent Rep. Paul Shepherd to his District 7B House of Representative seat, and voted to send Republicans to the District 7 Idaho Senate seat and the District 7A House seat.

While write-ins hampered efforts to count ballots in Bonner County, all of Boundary County’s seven precincts reported in, with Republican state Rep. Heather Scott from Blanchard garnering 3,717 votes to 1,383 received by Democrat challenger Kate McAlister. In the unofficial Bonner County final results, Scott received 10,689 votes — a total of 14,406 votes for the district. McAlister received 7,247 votes — a total of 8,630 votes districtwide.

Media controversy surrounding allegations of intimidation from the Democratic camp against Scott supporters clouded the weeks leading up to the election. Barbed exchanges between supporters of either candidate centered on whether Scott or McAlister were too liberal, or too conservative, for Idaho’s northernmost legislative district.

In Boundary County, Scott’s counterpart, Rep. Sage Dixon of Ponderay, lead Democratic opponent, Stephen Howlett of Bonners Ferry, 3,761 to 1,354. Howlett had gained ballot access as a write-in candidate in the Democratic primary last spring. In Bonner County’s unofficial final returns, Dixon had 11,724 votes, to 5,736 for Howlett. Districtwide, Dixon won the seat with 15,485 votes to Howlett’s 7,090.

Both Scott and Dixon were seeking their second term in the state house.

Longtime Sen. Shawn Keough easily lead her opponent, Democrat Steve Tanner, 3,873 to 1,237 in Boundary County. In Bonner County, Keough had 13,391 votes for a total of 17,264 votes districtwide, compared to 4,128 votes for Tanner, who had 5,365 votes districtwide. The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee co-chair successfully fended off a tea party insurgency last spring in the Republican primary. Tanner ran as a Democrat without the support of the local party apparatus.

While Robyn Brody defeated Curt McKenzie statewide in the non-partisan race to succeed retiring Idaho Supreme Court Justice Jim Jones, in Boundary County she garnered 1,829 votes to McKenzie’s 1,994. Bonner County’s final totals gave an additional 7,480 votes for Brody to 7,815 votes for McKenzie.

The HJR5 constitutional amendment designed to alter the balance of legislative powers was prevailing in Boundary County by a vote of 2,679 to 2,032. In the latest Bonner County returns, the measure received 9,988 yes votes and 8,116 no votes. The measure passed statewide.

In Boundary County, Republican Sen. Mike Crapo led in his bid for another six years in Washington, D.C., with 3,961 votes to Democrat Jerry Sturgill’s 920 and Constitution Party’s Ray Writz’s 274. Republican Congressman Raul Labrador also led his Democratic challenger, James Piotrowski, 3,958 votes to 1,149. In Bonner County, Crapo garned an additional 13,908 votes, Sturgill 5,767 and Writz 1,029 votes in the latest totals released. Labrador gained 13,617 votes, and Piotrowski 6,800 votes.

Statewide, Crapo and Labrador were re-elected to their respective seats.

Democratic state senate candidate Ken Meyers of Sagle was competing with Republican nominee Carl Crabtree of Grangeville for the right to represent their massive state legislative district, which stretches from just south of Sandpoint, through the interior of Idaho, all the way to Riggins in the Mountain Time Zone. Sandpoint’s Democratic nominee for state house, Jessica Chilcott, went up against GOP nominee Priscilla Giddings in the strongly Republican district. The distict’s other legislator, Rep. Paul Shepherd, was unopposed on the ballot.

In Bonner County, Crabtree had 1,940 votes to 849 received by Meyers; Chilcott had 828 votes to 1,926 by Giddings; and Shepherd had 2,151 votes. Districtwide, Crabtree and Giddings won their respective seats.

In the presidential race, Republican Donald J. Trump claimed 13,343 votes, Hillary Clinton had 5,819 votes, independent candidate Darrell L. Castle had 116 votes, Constitution Party candidate Scott Copeland had 84 votes, independent candidate Rocky De La Fuente had 33 votes, Libertarian Gary Johnson had 762 votes, independent candidate Evan McMillin had 396 votes and write-in candidates Tom Hoefling and Michael A. Maturen had 16 votes and 2 votes, respectively.