Campaign continues for candidates

by Jonathan Van Dyke

Citizens of Alpine better dig their election lawn ornaments out of the garbage because the race for House District 22 is back on in the lone Lincoln County precinct.

“It’s exciting,” said Jim Roscoe, democratic candidate. “I certainly had other things on the calendar for this week other than campaigning, but I’ll go revisit my supporters and do the best I can.”

After unofficially winning the seat by a mere four votes against Republican Charles Stough, the State Canvassing Board decided that the Alpine precinct should hold a special revote because of 11 voters that had voted in the wrong place.

“We are just handling it as close to the general election as possible,” said April Brunski, Lincoln County deputy clerk. Indeed, on Nov. 25 Alpine voters will be asked to again descend on the polls sometime between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. This time, however, only one measure will be on the ballot.

“At this point we’ve done about 35 absentee ballots,” Brunski said, noting there were 111 during the general election. “It’s hard to say what kind of turnout there’ll be.”

During the initial election, 691 voters cast a ballot. With the election right before Thanksgiving, it could be hard to duplicate those numbers. Both Sublette and Teton counties are officially certified, Roscoe will be heading into the special election needing 41 votes to tie Stough and 42 to win. Roscoe unofficially won the Alpine precinct by 45 votes during the general election.

“I think it’s a lot of hoping,” Roscoe said. “It’s a whole different dynamic. It’s a whole different election.”

If the candidates are unhappy with the canvassing board’s ruling, they aren’t showing it.

“Frankly, I looked at it from so many different ways that I don’t know that I see that either one of use would gain a great advantage over the other one whether it was one county [re-voting] or three counties,” Stough said.

So onward to Alpine, where each candidate knows the exact stakes, with a limited amount of time to change minds and cement their candidacies.

“I need to touch base with work today,” Stough said last Thursday. “I don’t think they’re expecting to see much more of me between now and the 25th.”

Roscoe anticipated a similar stretch run.

“It’s a bedroom community in Alpine,” he added. “So by the time people get home from work, it’s dark. They’ll have to be reminded that this is an election on a day there’s never been an election before.”

Lincoln County will also have its work cut out for it.

“The timeframe was a lot harder, but we were able to get our ballots overnighted and get our absentee ballots out right away,” Brunski said.

So after an incredibly clean race, something both candidates vowed to continue, both Roscoe and Stough must stay in election-mode for just one more weekend.

“It’s just going to be a matter of getting out there and spending time in Alpine, for both of us, and making sure that we shake a lot of hands, kiss a lot of babies and make sure the people get to know who we are and who they’re voting for,” Stough said. “Ultimately, the people of Alpine will decided who their representative will be.”