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Blasdel, Taylor retain seats, 911 bond too close to call

| October 30, 2008 11:00 PM

Bigfork Eagle

The outcome of the 2008 general election was anything but boring, with some races being closer than others. However, while Democrats retook control on the national level and kept control of the governor's office, Republicans had a strong showing in local races.

On the West Shore, Rep. Mark Blasdel (House Dist. 10) and Rep. Janna Taylor (House Dist. 11) retained their seats on the Montana House of Representatives, each winning by sizeable margins.

Blasdel defeated Democratic opponent Carla Augustad by 2,753 votes, receiving 4,365 votes (73 percent) to Augustad's 1,612 (27 percent).

Taylor defeated her opponent, Democratic candidate Pat Estenson, by 759 votes in Lake County and by 463 votes in Flathead County. In Lake County, Taylor received 2,644 votes (58.4 percent) to Estenson's 1,885 (41.6 percent). In Flathead County, she received 750 votes (72.3 percent) to Estenson's 287 (27.7 percent).

Altogether, Taylor received 3,394 votes (61 percent) to Estenson's 2,172 (39 percent), winning her race by 1,222 votes.

Blasdel said he was pleased with the outcome of both his own race and many of the races around the state, where Republicans did well, especially in local races.

"I think the Republican had a good showing here," Bladel said. "We were really fighting against the odds. The Republicans were heavily outspent?he Democratic Party outspent Republicans by four times more?ut I think we have a great core group of candidates who worked hard to make this a good election.

"Republicans managed to take control of the state Senate. We're still waiting to see what's going to happen, as far as who will be in control of the House. I considered it an honor to have been reelected by constituents on West Shore and District 10."

Regardless of who is in control of the House of Representatives, Blasdel said both parties "will have to work together and see what we can do to get things done."

Taylor said she felt the same way.

"Everybody talks about how awful the conflicts are between us," Taylor said. "If everybody was the same party, there wouldn't be any balance in our government. What need is healthy debate."

Taylor said she believed that by working together the two parties could maintain a proper balance in policy and better serve Montanans.

Even so, she too was pleased with how well Republicans did, both locally and on the state level.

"I'm pleased with the good Republican showing in the Flathead," Taylor said. "I'm glad that Dupont and Barron will be commissioners. I'm kind of worried that state land board will be all Democrats, since the objective of the land board is to have income for school children and there's a big move by environmentalist to have that land set aside for recreation and scenic trails, which doesn't generate any money for school kids."

Taylor said she had a lot of respect for her opponent and believed that he also respected her. She was glad they were able run for separate parties without running a smear campaign, which she said she would never have done to Estenson because she believed he was a good man. Nor did she believe he would have ever done so to her, which she felt was a reflection on his character.

"I'd like to thank everybody for their support," she said. "I won with greater numbers than during the last two elections. Now, I've got to get to work. There's a bill I'm already working on. Now that the election's over, it's time to go to work.

On Tuesday morning, Blasdel was busy taking down signs from his campaign and making preparations to get back to work for his own constituents.

"I need to get going on working on some different bill drafts," Blasdel said. "I'm excited about the next session. There are a lot of issues that need to be looked at."

In Senate District 6, incumbent Republican senator John Brueggeman retained his seat against Constitution Party candidate M. Neal Donohue 3,943 votes. Brueggeman received 6,027 votes (74.3 percent) to Donohue's 2,084 votes (25.6 percent).

911 bond too close to call

A run of "yes" votes in the wee hours of Wednesday morning made the Flathead County 911 Center bond too close to call, though it looked like it could pass by a narrow margin.

The last available data from approximately 3 a.m. Wednesday, put the vote at 20,237 for and 20,031 against.

Other races

Republican Jim Dupont pummeled his democratic challenger Steve Qunell in Tuesday's election for Flathead County Commissioner, winning by a two to one margin. Dupont will take outgoing commissioner Gary Hall's seat.

Republican Scott Reichner defeated Edd Blacker for the House District 9 seat left vacant by moderate Republican Bill Jones, who did not seek re-election.

In statewide races, Governor Brian Schweitzer handily defeated challenger Roy Brown to hold his seat. Congressman Denny Rehberg (R) and Senator Max Baucus (D) took their races by wide margins against relatively unknown challengers.

Steve Bullock (D) held off Republican Tim Fox in the hotly contested Attorney General race and in the early morning hours of Wednesday it appeared Linda McCullough would unseat Republican Brad Johnson as Secretary of State.

Democrats Monica Lindeen and Denise Juneau looked to have the State Auditor and Superintendent of Public Instruction races locked up with about 70 percent of precincts reporting.

Constitutional Amendment 44, which would allow for a portion of state funds to be invested, was headed for a sound defeat by voters while I-155 to expand CHIP and Medicaid for children and the six-mill levy were both headed for passage.

Locally, the $10 million Open Space Bond was defeated by Flathead County voters.

Nationally, Barack Obama defeated John McCain to become the nation's first black president. His wide margin of victory was all but assured early in the evening after carrying Ohio and Florida. With 82 percent of precincts reporting early Wednesday morning, McCain appeared poised to take Montana's three electoral votes.

All results are unofficial, keep checking www.bigforkeagle.com for updates throughout the day Wednesday.