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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Final results: Seven GOP lawmakers ousted; Brody and McKenzie head to runoff for SupCourt

Here’s a link to the final, unofficial results of yesterday’s Idaho primary election, with all precincts reporting. When the dust settled, seven sitting Republican lawmakers had been knocked off in the primary, four ultra-conservatives and three more moderate conservatives. Robyn Brody and Curt McKenzie are headed to a runoff in November for the Idaho Supreme Court. An array of GOP incumbents fought off primary challenges, including Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, who won her race – her 11th – with 55.7 percent of the vote to 44.3 percent for challenger Glenn Rohrer; and Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d'Alene, who took 58.5 percent to challenger Art Macomber's 41.6 percent.

Here are the seven legislative incumbents who lost: Rep. Kathy Sims, R-Coeur d’Alene; Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood; Rep. Shannon McMillan, R-Silverton; Rep. Merrill Beyeler, R-Leadore; Rep. Rich Wills, R-Glenns Ferry; Rep. Pete Nielsen, R-Mountain Home; and Rep. Paul Romrell, R-St. Anthony.

Ada County voters stymied comeback tries from former county Commissioner Sharon Ullman, former lawmaker Rod Beck, and former state Rep. Doug Jones. Kootenai County Sheriff Ben Wolfinger defeated challenger John Green with more than 60 percent of the vote. And West Ada School District voters recalled two trustees.

The Constitution Party’s primary saw Ray Writz defeat “Pro-Life,” formerly known as Marvin Richardson, 129 votes to 89, putting Writz on the November ballot to face Sen. Mike Crapo and Democratic challenger Jerry Sturgill, both of whom were unopposed in the primary.

Turnout was low, but no statewide figures are available yet. Kootenai County reported 22.6 percent; Ada County reported just 15.16 percent. Bannock County reported 19.22 percent of registered voters turned out.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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