Behind the scenes of the Bonner County Republican Central Committee

By Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler
Reader Contributor

I made my first run for the office of sheriff in 2008 against four other Republican candidates. The Bonner County Republican Central Committee (BCRCC) hosted a series of forums around the county, which allowed the people to hear from all the candidates. It was the people who decided who would win the Republican primary in May that year. After the primary, the candidates selected by the voters were supported by the BCRCC in the November general election. 

Behind the scenes in 2008, members of the BCRCC were overwhelmingly supportive of the incumbent sheriff but did not block my ability to run my own campaign. Nor did they send out a massive mailer with their favorites. They held to the tradition of letting the Republican voters choose their own candidates. 

My campaign resonated with the people, and I won that May primary in a five-way race with 42% of the Republican vote. 

In 2023 that all changed. Despite the fact that the opening date for filling for the next primary election was five months away, the chairman of the BCRCC, Scott Herndon, moved with lightning speed to sew up all the primary endorsements. He, along with a private group called Political Active Christians (PAC), which holds a majority of precinct committee positions on the BCRCC, worked behind the scenes to come up with a candidate slate. After a “public meeting,” they circulated their list of favorites under the banner of the Bonner County Republican Central Committee.

I publicly challenged this process at a BCRCC meeting during my regularly agendized sheriff’s update and was shouted down by the BCRCC PAC members and not allowed to continue. After not being allowed to speak, I haven’t returned to their meetings. 

Though I did not request or consent to be listed on their published voter guide, they put my name on it to legitimize their other candidates. 

It worked! 

A few days ago, I received a “newspaper” funded by the BCRCC that was essentially a slime rag. It deceptively put their handpicked candidates in a good light while distorting the Republican candidates they oppose. 

With one exception, I will not be rewarding those endorsed by the BCRCC with my vote this year.

Daryl Wheeler was elected Bonner County sheriff in 2008 and is serving his fifth term in office.