Reflections from the primary

COEUR d'ALENE — County elections officials heard a clear message from voters in Tuesday's primary — and it had nothing to do with the candidates.

"From the feedback I got from the voters, most of them do not like party affiliation or having to pick a party in order to vote," said Carrie Phillips, county elections manager. "This in turn makes people not want to get out and vote."

Despite the voter displeasure, however, the overall voter turnout of 22.6 percent was comparable to other non-presidential primaries in recent years, Phillips said.

"Usually primaries range from 20 to 25 percent so that number is where I expected it to be," she said.

The election featured mixed results, with incumbents claiming some races while being unseated in others, and some newbies moving on to November's general election.

One of the most contested races of the night was the four-way race for Dan Green's District 3 seat on the Kootenai County board of commissioners.

None of the Republican candidates secured at least 30 percent of the vote and all of them secured at least 19 percent. Bob Bingham's 3,343 votes edged Leslie Duncan's 3,273 after Duncan led most of the evening as results rolled in. Duane Rasmussen had 1,932 votes and Fred Meckel 1,527. Green decided to not seek re-election.

Bingham, who is in Arizona visiting an ill family member this week at a place that does not have Internet, said he learned through a text that he had won. He said the news came as a surprise.

"My pact with voters is to make things more accountable and transparent," Bingham said. "Apparently that resonated. I know that people are upset with government, and I tried to present something the average mom and pop could embrace. I was humbled by the vote, but I still have the general election to go through."

Bingham will face Independent Russ McLain in November. Bingham said he didn't realize McLain was a candidate until recently.

"I saw him at all of the forums," Bingham said. "Now I understand why. I'm sure he'll be spirited in trying to win and I'm sure he'll find people who are willing to support him."

Another tight race was for the legislative District 4, Position B seat in which Republican Paul Amador (2,020 votes) unseated incumbent Kathy Sims (1,893).

Amador said he believes his message about improving education, health care and creating jobs for future generations rang through to voters and was the difference.

"We knew at the beginning of the campaign that it would be an incredible challenge because Rep. Sims has been in the community a long time and knows a lot of people in the community," Amador said. "But there was a good group of people there to support the campaign and, the closer we got to the election, we gained momentum and became confident of our chances. It was a nail-biter."

Amador said his focus was on issues that affect people's everyday lives.

Amador will square off against Democrat Tom Hearn in November.

"We are not taking the challenge lightly and plan to put together an aggressive and smart campaign for the fall," Amador said.

Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d'Alene, the District 4 Seat A holder, withstood the challenge from Art Macomber. Malek had 2,263 votes (58 percent) to Macomber's 1,614.

Malek said he had to set the record straight on his voting record during the campaign and make sure voters understood his positions. That challenge made him feel a bit "nervous" about his chances heading into Tuesday, he said.

"When you're under constant attack from people and groups that have no reservations about lying about you, you make it your singular goal to make sure we're talking about the facts," Malek said. "Voters want to know the truth. It literally boiled down to answering individuals' concerns. That's what government is all about."

Malek said voter turnout was higher than he expected, so he performed better than he thought.

"We activated a whole new set of voters by focusing on issues that impact individuals' lives," he said, adding that set of voters was families.

Malek will be challenged by Democrat Patrick Mitchell in November.

OTHER RACES IN NOVEMBER

County

Sheriff Ben Wolfinger, who defeated John Green in the primary, will face Democrat Tina Kunishige. The Kootenai County Democratic Party has denounced Kunishige’s campaign, saying she’s not a Democrat.

Chris Fillios, who defeated District 2 Commissioner David Stewart on Tuesday, will be unopposed.

Legislature

District 2 — Sen. Steve Vick is unopposed. For House Seat A, Democrat Kathy Kahn will face incumbent Rep. Vito Barbieri, a Republican who defeated Fritz Wiedenhoff Tuesday. For House Seat B, Democrat Richard Kohles will face Rep. Eric Redman, a Republican who defeated Alan Littlejohn in the primary.

District 3 — Sen. Bob Nonini is unopposed. Rep. Ron Mendive, a Republican, is unopposed for House Seat A. Incumbent Republican Rep. Don Cheatham, who defeated Peter Riggs on Tuesday, is unopposed for House Seat B.

District 4 — Sen. Mary Souza will face Democrat Kristi Milan for state Senate.

The deadline to file as a write-in candidate in the November general election is Oct. 11.