RHCD incumbents booted

by Cat Urbigkit

Tuesday’s primary election ended with three seats on the Sublette County Rural Health Care District Board being filled by new faces: Bill Budd, Jud Faler and Dave Racich. Incumbents Bill Barney, Jerry Jensen and Mary Lynn Worl were not re-elected. Other unsuccessful candidates were Jim Carbley and Jennifer Rees.

The Republican primary in the county commission race had two candidates succeed in winning the right to have their names on November’s general election ballot: Joel Bousman was top vote-getter with 829 votes, followed by incumbent Bill Cramer. Incumbent Betty Fear’s third-place with 596 votes wasn’t enough for her re-election effort. Other unsuccessful candidates were Ron Gordon, Tim Lingle, Suzy Michnevich and Stan Zierlein. Bousman and Cramer will face Democrats Courtney Skinner and Bob McCarty.

Tuesday’s election saw less than half the county’s registered voters going to the polls, with a total of 1,867 ballots cast, including 170 Democratic ballots, 1,676 Republican ballots and 21 nonpartisan ballots.

In state Republican primary election news, Max Maxfield beat Mary Ann Collins for Secretary of State nomination, Rita Meyer beat Bruce Brown for the auditor nomination, and Joe Meyer beat Fred Parady for the treasurer’s nomination.

Republican Bill Winney gave Barbara Cubin a run for her money in the U.S. Representative race, but was unsuccessful. Cubin will face Democrat Gary Trauner in the November election.

Democrat incumbent Dave Freudenthal easily beat Al Hamburgfor his party’s nomination for governor, as did Republican Ray Hunkins over John Self. Hunkins and Freudenthal will face off in November.