What to know about the May 21 primary

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

Voting in the 2024 primary election will take place in person at the polls from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21, though early voting continues from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday, May 17 at the Bonner County Elections Office (1500 Hwy. 2, Ste. 124, in Sandpoint). 

The deadline to request a mail-in absentee ballot has passed, as has the deadline to register online, though voters are reminded that they can register at the polls on Election Day.

Local ballots will include candidates for U.S. House, Idaho Senate and House, as well as District 1 and 3 county commissioners, county sheriff, prosecuting attorney, assessor, and Democratic and Republican Party committeemen.

To find your polling place, check voter registration, or for any other election-related information, visit the Idaho Secretary of State’s new election website at voteidaho.gov/election-information. 

To watch local election results after the polls close May 21, go to bonnercountyid.gov/elections. 

Who’s on the ballot?

On the ballot for District 1 Senate will be incumbent Scott Herndon, R-Sagle, facing off for the third time against former-Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle. 

Running in the Republican primary for Idaho House Seat 1A will be incumbent Mark Sauter, Jane Sauter (no relation to Mark Sauter) and Spencer Hutchings. Karen Mathee is seeking the House 1A seat unopposed in the Democratic primary.

In the House 1B seat Republican primary will be Chuck Lowman and Cornel Rasor, while Democrat Kathryn Larson will face Bob Vickaryous.

In the Republican primary for the District 1 Bonner County commissioner seat will be James Burroughs, Brian Domke and Brian Riley. Meghan Yeats is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Republicans vying for the District 3 commissioner’s seat are incumbent Luke Omodt, Dimitry Borisov and Ron Korn.

Incumbent Sheriff Daryl Wheeler is facing current District 3 Commissioner Steve Bradshaw in the Republican primary, while Assessor Dennis Engelhardt and Prosecuting Attorney Louis Marshall are unopposed.

The Bonner County Democratic Party will have 15 precinct committee candidates on the ballot (all unopposed) while the Republicans will have 30 — 15 of which are contested, part of what statewide media and other observers have reported as a trend throughout the state GOP amid a “battle for the soul” of the party, as the Idaho Capital Sun described it in a May 13 article.

A number of familiar names on the ballot will also appear in Republican races for committee positions, including Mark Sauter vs. Dodie Glass for the Dover precinct; Korn against Barbara Schriber and Kathy Rose for the Grouse Creek precinct; Hutchings vs. Rasor in Southside; Borisov for Clark Fork and Herndon against Woodward in the Westmond precinct. 

Meanwhile, Larson is running unopposed in the Democratic primary for the Sagle precinct committee position.

The District 1 Republican ballot will also include U.S. Rep. Russ Fulcher, running unopposed, while Democrats will see Kaylee Peterson running unopposed for U.S. House. Constitution Party ballots will feature Brendan J. Gomez for District 1 U.S. representative, while Libertarian Party voters will see Matt Loesby for U.S. House. Both are unopposed in their respective primaries.

Republicans in District 2 will see unopposed candidates Fulcher for U.S. House, Phil Hart for Idaho Senate, Heather Scott for House Seat A and Dale Hawkins for Seat B, as well as candidates for Bonner County commissioner, sheriff, assessor, prosecuting attorney and precinct committeemen. 

Democrats will have Peterson for U.S. House on their ballots, as well as Tom Hearn for Idaho Senate, Loree Peery for House Seat A and Yeats for county commissioner — all unopposed.

Voters of all parties in Districts 1 and 2 will see Idaho Supreme Court Judge G. Richard Bevan, Appeals Court Judge David W. Gratton and Judge Jessica Marie Lorello all unopposed on the ballot for another six-year term.

Battle of the war chests

An uptick in contested precinct committee positions isn’t the only headline-grabbing element of the 2024 Idaho primary — the unusually large campaign war chests of some candidates is also making news. So much so, that Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little told reporters on May 2 that the amount of  money raised during this primary has given him “pause” and makes him “yearn for the good old days” of less fractious elections.

That trend is particularly striking with the District 1 Senate race between Herndon and Woodward.

As of May 15, the most recent campaign finance figures reported by the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office showed Woodward and Herndon were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 statewide for total contributions.

Below is the most recent breakdown of the top-five statewide candidates by total contribution:

• Idaho Senate candidate Jim Woodward, R-Sagle: $128,772.55

• Sen. Scott Herndon, R-Sagle: $110,864.97

• Rep. Steve Berch, D-Boise: $107,769.90

• Kootenai County Sheriff Robert “Bob” Norris: $94,056.94

• Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Boise: $84,160.87

Woodward, who served two terms as District 1 senator until a loss to Herndon in the 2022 Republican primary, has so far taken in $96,747.55 from individuals and $24,425 from companies, with $123,547.55 coming from in-state compared to $5,225 from out-of-state sources. 

Herndon, who is seeking his second term in the Statehouse, has raised $98,330.98 from individuals and $8,100 from companies, with $106,536.39 coming from inside the state and $5,278.58 from out-of-state.

The House 1A and 1B contests have been less high-profile than the senate race, but still reported healthy fundraising numbers as of May15: 

House 1A:

• Mark Sauter, R: $37,836

• Spencer Hutchings, R: $10,669.99

• Jane Sauter, R: $8,235.97

• Karen Mathee, D: $6,229.17

House 1B:

• Cornel Rasor, R: $26,132.26

• Chuck Lowman, R: $10,907.13

• Kathryn Larson, D: $10,066.27

• Bob Vickaryous, D: $0

A handful of the county races, however, have included fundraising numbers comparable to — or even exceeding — some legislative campaigns. Below is the most recent breakdown for the local races by total contribution:

District 1 Bonner County commissioner:

• Brian Domke, R: $19,006.45 

• Brian Riley, R: $6,791 

• James Burroughs, R: $0

• Meghan Yeats, D: No data available

District 3 Bonner County commissioner:

• Ron Korn, R: $13,718.75

• Luke Omodt, R: $8,490

• Dimitry Borisov, R: $7,760

Bonner County sheriff:

• Daryl Wheeler, R: $9,920

• Steve Bradshaw, R: $0

West Bonner levy

Aside from the candidates, District 2 voters will have a $4,648,217 one-year supplemental levy to consider for the West Bonner County School District. 

Almost $2.7 million of the levy would go toward salaries and benefits to recruit and retain staff, followed by administration, then safety and security maintenance — the latter including roofing, HVAC/boiler work, plumbing, services and supplies.

In addition, the district is seeking to fund a school resource officer; extracurricular activities; transportation, including new buses and supplies; child nutrition; curricular materials; technology; and cover increases in health and liability insurance.

Taxpayers are estimated to pay an average annual $94.43 per $100,000 of taxable assessed value, beginning July 1, 2024 and ending June 30, 2025.

Kootenai-Ponderay Sewer District 

Voters who reside within the boundaries of the Kootenai-Ponderay Sewer District — which comprises some, but not all, voters in the Airport, Beach, Kootenai and Oden precincts — will have a measure on their ballots to consider, consisting of whether to finance as much as $18.5 million of an estimated $32 million project to construct improvements to the district’s wastewater system.

Specifically, the ballot measure asks voters to consider issuing sewer revenue bonds in an amount up to but not exceeding $18.5 million to go toward construction of a mechanical treatment facility needed to comply with effluent limits set by state and federal law — including meeting discharge standards into Boyer Slough — as well as planting trees, improving irrigation and relining the storage lagoon at the district’s land application reuse site.

According to the official statement on the ballot, the average annual cost to taxpayers would be $92.41. Because the proposed bonds would be payable only from revenues of the wastewater system, there would be no tax based on assessed value per year. 

The measure indicates that the total amount to be repaid at 2.5% interest over 40 years would be $29.3 million, including about $10.8 million in interest.

Visit voteidaho.gov or bonnercountyid.gov/elections for more information on all things election-related.