Obama, Dupont and MacLean win races
Hats off to the Class of '08 - The graduates of Whitefish High School tossed their caps as soon as they were outside on Saturday. David Erickson / Whitefish Pilot
Nobody should be surprised that Sen. Barack Obama handily won Tuesday's Democratic presidential primary in Mon-tana. He was predicted to win, and after the polls closed in Montana and South Dakota, the last states with primaries, Obama claimed the national party's nomination.
In the Flathead, where about 42 percent of the county's 54,805 registered voters cast ballots, Obama defeated Sen. Hillary Clinton 6,588-4,096.
Statewide, Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain easily defeated his lone opponent, Rep. Ron Paul, but the numbers were much closer in the Flathead, 7,792-3,674.
Former sheriff Jim Dupont also coasted to victory, easily defeating incumbent Flathead County Commissioner Gary Hall in the Republican primary, 8,065-3,585. Dupont's campaign has been focused on roads, public safety and private property rights.
Dupont will face Whitefish Democrat Steve Qunell in the November general election. Qunell ran unopposed in the primary and received 7,708 votes.
In what some might call an upset, Whitefish Democrat Brittany MacLean defeated Gil Jordan in the State Senate District 2 race, 1,266-1,119. Jordan was first to declare after Sen. Dan Weinberg, D-Whitefish, announced he would not seek re-election, but MacLean found support in a district that spans Whitefish, Columbia Falls and the Canyon.
In the other half of the SD-2 primary election, retired Navy Cdr. Ryan Zinke, a Whitefish native, overwhelmed Suzanne Brooks, also of Whitefish, 1,448-639. Brooks ran a campaign targeting abortion law, while Zinke spread the message that he is a "Teddy Roosevelt Republican."
Rep. Mike Jopek, D-Whitefish, ran unopposed in the House District 4 race and received 1,502 votes. He will face John Fuller, R-Whitefish, in the fall, who also ran unopposed and received 855 votes.
In House District 6, Rep. Bill Beck, R-Whitefish, ran unopposed and received 1,344 votes. He will face Steve Wheeler, D-Kalispell, in the fall, who ran unopposed and received 1,197 votes.
Additional unofficial statewide results:
U.S. Senator — Democrat, Max Baucus; Republican, Bob Kelleher
U.S. Representative — Demo-crat, John Driscoll; Republican, Denny Rehberg
Governor/Lt. Governor — Democrat, Brian Schweitzer and John Bohlinger; Republican, Roy Brown and Steve Daines
State attorney general — Democrat, Steve Bullock; Republican, Tim Fox
State auditor — Democrat, Monica Lindeen; Republican, Duane Grimes
Secretary of state — Dem-ocrat, Linda McCulloch; Republican, Brad Johnson
Supreme court chief justice — Mike McGrath
State superintendent of public instruction — Democrat, Denise Juneau; Republican, Elaine Sollie Herman.