Bonner County voters delivered decisive results in Tuesday’s primary election, ousting two Republican incumbents and advancing a slate of challengers to November’s general election.
Former State Senator Scott Herndon reclaimed the Republican nomination for Idaho’s District 1 state Senate seat, defeating incumbent Jim Woodward with 53.71 percent of the vote. Herndon secured 6,191 votes to Woodward’s 5,336 with 99 percent of ballots counted as of late Tuesday evening. Herndon will face independent candidate Steve Johnson in the November general election.
District 1 House Races Decided
Both District 1 state House seats saw competitive Republican primary contests. In the District 1A race, Jane Sauter defeated incumbent Mark Sauter — the two are not related — capturing 54.02 percent of the vote with 6,151 ballots. Mark Sauter received 5,236 votes, or 45.98 percent. Jane Sauter will face Democratic candidate Karen Matthee in November. Matthee received 791 votes in the Democratic primary.
Incumbent Cornel Rasor held his District 1B seat, defeating challenger Chuck Lowman by a wider margin. Rasor took 63.57 percent of the vote with 7,123 ballots, while Lowman received 4,082 votes, or 36.43 percent. Rasor will face independent candidate Kathryn Larson in the general election.
County Commissioner and Clerk Races
In the race for Bonner County District 2 commissioner, challenger Jeff Roberts unseated incumbent Asia Williams in a clear victory. Roberts garnered 7,924 votes, or 63.8 percent, to Williams’ 4,496 votes, or 36.2 percent.
The open county clerk race saw Roger Rudd claim the Republican nomination with 68.53 percent of the vote, totaling 7,673 ballots. Spencer Hutchings received 2,333 votes, or 20.84 percent. JoAnne Guzzi, who withdrew from the race in April but remained on the ballot, received 1,190 votes, or 10.63 percent.
Fire District Levies See Mixed Results
Two fire district levies passed while two other local ballot measures failed to secure the necessary voter support.
The Northside Fire District’s two-year temporary levy request for $689,112 passed with 54.9 percent approval. The measure received 1,553 yes votes to 1,276 no votes. The levy will fund staffing costs, hiring and equipping additional firefighters and emergency medical technicians, and maintaining district operations.
The Westside Fire Protection District’s permanent levy request for $675,221 fell short of the required two-thirds majority despite receiving 60.1 percent support. The measure garnered 622 yes votes to 413 no votes but needed 66.67 percent approval to pass. The levy would have funded increased personnel and maintained district operations.
The Selkirk Recreation District’s $700,000 levy request failed to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority. The measure, which would have funded snow plowing, road and trail maintenance, shuttle services, and general operations on Schweitzer Mountain, received only 51.02 percent support with 25 yes votes and 24 no votes.
The Lakeland School District’s plant levy request for $3 million per year over five years also failed. In Bonner County, early voting showed 37 no votes to 11 yes votes. In Kootenai County, the measure received 3,643 yes votes, or 42.86 percent, to 4,557 no votes, or 57.14 percent. The measure required 55 percent approval to pass.
Lower Turnout in Early and Absentee Voting
Bonner County Clerk Michael Rosedale reported significantly lower early and absentee voting turnout compared to the 2024 primary election. As of Tuesday morning, 1,381 early votes had been counted, with absentee voting expected to reach around 1,600 ballots.
Rosedale described this primary election as the most complicated of all election cycles his office has managed. One precinct required staff to assemble 16 different ballot faces due to the variety of races and districts represented.
What Comes Next
All Republican primary winners will advance to the November general election to face Democratic and independent challengers. The general election will determine final representation for District 1 legislative seats and county offices. Fire districts that failed to secure levy passage may revisit funding requests in future elections, while those with approved levies will begin implementing expanded services and operations.