CLARK FORK, Idaho — Jensen Heisel’s Republican primary win in Clark Fork was erased less than two weeks after voters cast their ballots, when the Bonner County Republican Central Committee voted May 29 to declare his precinct committeeman seat vacant, citing questions about whether his voter registration address satisfies Idaho residency law.
Heisel had defeated Dimitry Borisov in the May 19 GOP primary, taking more than 54 percent of the vote for the Clark Fork precinct committeeman position. The challenge that unraveled that result centered on a mismatch between the address Heisel listed on his voter registration and the address where he is actually living.
Residency Challenge Targets Registration Address
Scott Herndon brought the matter before the committee. Herndon, who claimed the District 1 Idaho Senate Republican nomination in the same May 19 primary, argued that Heisel’s voter registration was defective under Idaho Code § 34-411. The BCRCC assembled at the Sandpoint VFW on May 29, conducted a secret ballot vote on the question, and subsequently moved into executive session.
Heisel himself did not deny the core discrepancy. He acknowledged that the address appearing on his voter registration does not reflect where he currently lives. The Clark Fork property he used as his candidacy address — land he owns — has been operating as a rental. Heisel disclosed that he has been staying at a separate Clark Fork address, living with his parents.
Idaho Code § 34-624 sets a six-month in-precinct residency requirement that must be satisfied before the date of election. Idaho law also provides a 14-day window within which a county clerk’s decision to allow a candidacy can be challenged.
Heisel had pushed back publicly two days before the committee convened. In a May 27 post, he wrote: “Clark Fork is my home, my community and the place where I have lived, voted and built my life.” His statement made clear he disputed the legitimacy of the challenge, though it did not resolve the registration address question at the center of the committee’s inquiry.
One Member Argued the Removal Was Itself Unlawful
The committee’s action was not unanimous in spirit, even if the secret ballot ultimately went against Heisel. Beach Precinct Committeeman Dave Britton rose in opposition, arguing that stripping a seat from someone who had earned it at the ballot box ran into a different provision of Idaho law.
Britton cited Idaho Code § 6-603, telling those gathered: “I think it’s clear from the laws, especially [Idaho Code] 6-603, that trying to prevent an elected official from doing what they’re elected to do is illegal.”
His argument did not change the outcome. The vote proceeded, the seat was vacated, and the meeting moved behind closed doors.
New BCRCC Chair Seated the Same Night
The Heisel matter was not the only significant business conducted at the May 29 gathering. The committee also elected Roger Rudd as its new chair. Rudd had just won the Bonner County clerk Republican primary on May 19, making the same evening a doubly consequential one for his role within the county party. Rudd confirmed the committee’s decision on Heisel’s seat in a news release issued May 30.
For broader context on how the May primary cycle reshaped Republican races across North Idaho, additional coverage is available at Idaho News.
What Comes Next
The Clark Fork precinct committeeman seat now sits vacant, leaving the BCRCC in a position to appoint a replacement through standard party procedure. Whether Heisel will accept the committee’s decision or pursue some form of legal or administrative remedy has not been publicly established. Britton’s invocation of Idaho Code § 6-603 on the meeting floor raises the question of whether the committee’s action could face outside scrutiny. With Rudd now heading the BCRCC, the new leadership will likely determine how — or whether — the party moves to resolve the vacancy before the general election season takes hold.