Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Two out of five eligible Eddy County voters, or 43%, cast ballots in the 2020 primary election. The percentage was a bit lower statewide, as only 26% of eligible voters participated. This year all N.D. counties held elections by mail-in ballot due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Of the 764 ballots cast in the county, the vast majority voted on the Republican side of the ticket in statewide race. For example, incumbent Republican Representative Kelly Armstrong received 481 votes but only 175 people voted for one of his two Democratic opponents.
New Rockford residents had four seats on the city commission to fill Tuesday, and only one race was contentious. Commissioner Stu Richter challenged incumbent Commission President Calvin Packard. Richter garnered two-thirds of the votes, defeating Packard with 290 votes to 140 in the unofficial results reported Tuesday night.
Commissioners Kelly McKnight and Justin Ystaas both earned one of two four-year terms they sought. The fourth open seat– a two-year unexpired term to which Ystaas had been appointed after the death of Commissioner DeVon Allmaras in 2018– did not have a named candidate. In that race, 110 write-in votes were cast with former mayor James Belquist getting 42 of those votes. Calvin Packard received seven write-in votes for that seat.
New Rockford Park District commissioner Kristi Swenson earned another term with 389 votes cast in her favor. Judy Allmaras waged a write-in campaign to seek another term, and she received 84 of the 123 write-in votes cast.
Incumbent Sheyenne City Council members Kenneth Ames and Richard Hoffner survived a challenge from Kim Brown, and both earned another term. There were also two open seats on the Sheyenne Park Board, and Elvis Thumb and David Chenze Jr. earned those seats by write-in vote.
Also on the ballot in both Sheyenne and New Rockford was the question of whether the city should publish its meeting minutes in the official newspaper, the New Rockford Transcript. It was an easy answer for voters in both communities. A total of 409 New Rockford voters said "yes" and only 11 cast "no" votes. In Sheyenne, 23 of the 25 voters also said "yes." Thank you, voters, for keeping the minutes published in your local newspaper!
There were no contested races at the county level. Commissioner Glenda Collier seeks re-election in November, and she received 659 votes in the primary contest. She has no named opponents on the general election ballot. Mike Tweed received 684 votes for the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District directorship seat for Eddy County and will also run unopposed in the general election unless a write-in candidacy is announced.
President Trump-backed Dan Johnston received 10 more votes from Eddy County residents than Governor Burgum-endorsed Thomas Beadle in the open race for state treasurer. It was by far the most expensive statewide race this primary season, with residents receiving as many as six mailers a day in the two weeks prior to the election. Beadle, however, received 52% of the statewide vote and will likely receive the party's nomination. Democratic candidate Mark Haugen received 180 votes from Eddy County voters.
In the other contested statewide race for State Superintendent, incumbent Kirsten Baesler received the majority of both the Eddy County and statewide vote. She and challenger Brandt Dick will face off in the general election in November.
The Eddy County canvassing committee will meet Monday, June 15 at 9 a.m. to review the results, count ballots received since Election Day that were postmarked by June 8, and act on any contested ballots. Official results for all races will be published in the June 22 issue.
The Eddy County Courthouse will officially reopen to the public on Monday after three months of restricted access due to the pandemic.
