Contests shape up throughout region

The large number of candidates filing this year has held true in county elections in the region. Along with the large number of filings for county office in Hill County, contested elections are coming up on the ballots in all the surrounding counties as well. In Blaine County, incumbent Democrat Don Swenson will face William Harbolt in the Democratic primary June 8 for county commissioner. The winner will face Republican Frank DePriest in the general election Nov. 2. The other county seats in that election each have one candidate, all incumbent s. Democrat Sandra Boardman is running for re-election as clerk and recorder and assessor; Democrat Glenn Huestis is the candidate for sheriff; Repubiclan Marvin Edwards has filed to keep his seat as coroner; Donald Ranstrom, also a Democrat, filed to run for re-election as county attorney; Lisa Stroh, a Democrat who was appointed county superintendent of schools in August, is running to keep her seat; Republican Wenda Oehmcke is running for reelection as treasurer; and Perry Miller has filed for re-election to the nonpartisan justice of the peace position. Several elections are contested in Chouteau County. In the race for county commissioner, four Republicans will face off in the primary. The candidates are Alex Giles, Stan Klimas, Brian Scott and Dean A. Vielleux. Commisioner Ken Evans, a Republican, is not running for re-election. Four Republicans also are facing off for clerk and recorder. Kit Bobick, Lana Claassen, Lauree Ferda and Diane Jones will be on the ballot in the June primary. Clerk and Recorder JoAnne Johnson, a Democrat, is not running for re-election. In the race for sheriff and coroner, incumbent Republican Vernon Burdick will face challengers Daniel Holskey and Brian Hulme in the primary. The winner of that will face the only Democrat in the Chouteau County races, Edward Fike, in the general election. The last three races have incumbents running unopposed in the election: Republican County Attorney Stephen Gannon, Republican County Treasurer and Assessor Sherry Rowland, and Susan Spenser in the nonpartisan Justice of the Peace position. Two offices also have contested elections in Liberty County. Incumbent Commissioner Russ Tempel and Clifford Wickum, both Republicans, will face off in the primary for the commissioner race. No Democrat filed as a candidate for that position. In the nonpartisan race for justice of the peace, incumbent Neal Eveland will face Holly Fredrickson in both the primary and the general election. The top two votegetters in the primary both advance to the general election in that race. In the other Liberty County races, incumbents are running unopposed for reelection: Hugh Brown, an independent, for county attorney; Republican Rachel Ghekiere for superintendent of schools; Democrat Rhonda Pimley for clerk and recorder; Democrat Richard Burrows for sheriff and coroner, and Republican Gayle Dahlen for treasurer and assessor.