Season of electoral intrigue

You can attribute Tuesday's local primary election results to any or all of the following:

* It was God's will.

* It was the intended consequence of Republicans closing their primary.

* It was a matter of winners outworking losers.

Almost without exception, the most conservative local candidates won their races, bucking state and national trends that saw more moderate Republicans advance to November's general election. Religion certainly played a role in the outcome locally, with at least one influential pastor blending the purportedly separate dominions of church and state.

Closing the primary effectively slammed the door on many hundreds of Kootenai County independents whose principles dissuaded them from affiliating with the Republican Party - or any party - for one day of voting. That was the GOP leadership's intention a couple of years ago, and the strategy played out far better here than elsewhere in the state.

Who outworked whom is debatable, but there's little question the winners were motivated - and the staunchly conservative voters were highly motivated as well.

What does it all mean? First, it assures a more interesting local general election Nov. 4 than we've gotten used to. In the months ahead, don't be surprised if many independents and more moderate Republicans form an alliance to try to prevent some of Tuesday's primary winners from advancing further.

Even if they do - and they expend more effort flicking toothpicks at federal dragons than improving local education and the economy - a greater good might actually be served. As we've seen in recent nonpartisan elections, sometimes extremism must expose itself before a slumberingelectorate insists on rational problem solving.