Candidates Secured Ballot Presence | Big Horn Basin Media

Candidates Secured Ballot Presence Friday

Written by on June 4, 2018

Friday marked the end of the filing period for candidates vying for elected positions at state and local levels.
A few last-minute additions came to the list of those filing for elected positions on Friday.
In Park County, there are now three Republicans and one Democrat vying for the state representative seat for House District 24 – Sandy Newsome, Richard Jones and Denise Shirley will face off in the primary, and the winner will go up against Democrat Paul Fees in November. In House District 28, Tim Morrison and John Winter are the Republican candidates, and Democrat Howie Samelson has also filed for that seat. Republican David Northrup will face Democrat Mike Specht in November for House District 50, while Dan Laursen and Jamie Flitner are unopposed in districts 25 and 26, respectively. In the state Senate, R.J. Kost and Ray Peterson are vying for the same seat.
The commissioners race in Park County has expanded. Eleven Republicans will be competing for three open seats on the board, with the recent addition of Scott Court, who filed on Friday. Only incumbents filed for the remaining elected offices at the County level.
In Bighorn County, the most sought-after positions at the local level appear to be the two expiring seats on the Big Horn County Commission.
According to the Greybull Standard, six candidates had entered the race for the Republican nomination as of last week, including incumbent Felix Carrizales of Burlington; Manderson residents Joe Wildman and Lisa Kimsey; Clayton Draggoo of Basin, and Keith Grant and Nick Lewis of Lovell. The other incumbent for the position, John Hyde, is not seeking re-election.
And statewide, the race gets interesting.
There are ten candidates who are pursuing the Governor’s seat – six Republicans and four Democrats. Five people have filed for the seat currently occupied by U.S. Representative Liz Cheney – three Republicans, including Cheney, and two Democrats. Five candidates have filed to challenge incumbent Republican Sen. John Barrasso in the Aug. 21 primary. Gary Trauner, of Wilson, is the lone Democrat to file for the seat and will be unopposed for the party nomination.
Current interim Secretary of State Ed Buchanan is the only Republican candidate who has filed to retain that position – he will face Democrat James Byrd in November. And incumbent Jillian Balow is the only candidate to file for Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The State Auditor’s race will go through November, as there are two Republican candidates – Nathan Winters and Kristi Racines – and one Democrat, Jeff Dockter. The Treasurer’s race, however, will be decided in August, as only Republican candidates have filed. Curt Meier, Leland Christensen and Ron Redo will be vying for that seat in the coming months.


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