2018 Unofficial Election Results: Nearly 1,300 Eddy County residents vote in midterms

With seven out of 10 eligible voters casting ballots, Eddy County residents sent a message that they wanted to make a few changes locally this midterm election.

First, Ashley Lies became the first female state's attorney in the county's history, unseating incumbent Travis Peterson by more than 100 votes according to unofficial results. Lies posted to Facebook after the results came in, saying, "I am speechless and oh so thankful!" She will begin her four-year term January 1.

Second, residents said goodbye to Eddy County Commissioner Jeff Pfau, who has held his seat since 2010. He received the fewest votes of all four candidates. Commissioner Neal Rud overwhelmingly earned a third term, receiving 200 plus votes more than his closest challenger.

However, voters were split on which newcomer they preferred, as challengers Dave Gehrtz and Michael Carter finished within 15 votes of one another. According to state statute, since Carter received just 0.6 percent fewer votes than Gehrtz, he has the right to demand a recount. However, since any mail-in ballots that arrive after the election that are postmarked on or before Nov. 5 must be counted, the total votes may change when the canvassing board meets on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 10 a.m. in the courthouse.

Eddy County Auditor Patty Williams said Thursday that one mail ballot had come in after the election that was postmarked in time, and there were five ballots rejected on election day that the canvassing board will need to review. In addition, there were approximately 50 mail ballots sent out that hadn't been returned as of Thursday. Therefore, the canvassing board will have some work to do finalizing the results.  

Third, voters were favorable to Eddy County Measure #1, which seeks to increase local funding for emergency services. That measure passed with 62 percent of the vote. The ambulance services can now request that the county levy up to 10 mills each year at budget time, which will help the volunteer-based crews pay for equipment and training to improve their abilities to respond to emergency situations. Prior to the vote, 4 mills was the maximum the county could levy.

Although important, the other local contests were decided without much fanfare. County treasurer Kathy Anderson, auditor Patty Williams, recorder Patti Hilbert and sheriff Paul Lies were all re-elected, and the "New Rockford Transcript" retained its title as official county newspaper for the 135th consecutive year.

Across District 23, voters decided that they were content their current representation in the state legislature. Incumbent Senator Joan Heckaman and Representatives Bill Devlin and Don Vigesaa all retained their seats. Although the representatives easily earned nearly twice as many votes as their Democratic challengers Jessica Hawkes and Cathy Swenson, Heckaman was given quite a run by Republican challenger Judy Estenson. At one point, before the Eddy and Benson County results were posted, Estenson led Heckaman by a few votes.

Voters across the state sought change too, as they elected an all-Republican delegation to the U.S. Congress for the first time in 60 years. Republican Kevin Cramer defeated Democratic incumbent Senator Heidi Heitkamp with 55 percent of the vote to join fellow Republican Senator John Hoeven and newly-elected House Representative Kelly Armstrong. Armstrong earned 60 percent of the vote, defeating Democratic candidate Mac Schneider. Results in Eddy County were reflective of the state totals, as nearly 55 percent of the county's votes went to Cramer and 58 percent to Armstrong.

The state's four measures had a conservative bent as well, with three of the four measures passing. Measure #3, the most liberal of the measures, which called for the legalization of recreational marijuana, failed with 60 percent of voters opposing it. Measure #1 called for an ethics commission, better reporting of lobbyist spending and more transparency in state government, and passed with nearly 54 percent of voters in favor. Nearly 66 percent of voters were in favor of Measure #2, which changed one word in the state constitution to clarify that "only" a U.S. citizen could vote, rather than "every" U.S. citizen. Measure #4 gained 64 percent of voter support and will offer free red volunteer license plates to first responders as a show of gratitude for their service.

Statewide voter turnout was quite a bit lower than in Eddy County, as just 57 percent of eligible voters across the state cast ballots. However, statewide turnout was higher for this midterm election than it had been for the past two, with 47 percent turnout in 2014 and 48 percent in 2010.

Official results of the 2018 midterm election will be published in the Nov. 19 edition of the "New Rockford Transcript."