Perry squeaks out win amidst Democratic 'bloodbath'

In what is being called a “bloodbath” for Democrats across the nation, Montana’s two statewide races went to the Republicans. The results were not unexpected in Montana, but the large margin of victory by Republicans in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House races was a bit of a surprise.

The results of the Nov. 4 general election was predictable for Republican-dominated Flathead County, where the only gains Democrats saw was the narrow win by Montana House candidate Zac Perry in Columbia Falls. The county commission will continue to be run by three Republicans.

Voter turnout in the Flathead was 51 percent, with 31,820 votes cast out of 61,863 registered voters.

In the U.S. Senate race, Steve Daines, R-Bozeman, easily defeated Amanda Curtis, D-Butte, by 195,300 to 133,180. Roger Roots, L-Livingston, garnered 6,955 votes. In the Flathead, the vote was Daines 21,152, Curtis 9,855, and Roots, 573.

The conservative Daines had already served one term in the U.S. House, while the outspoken liberal Curtis threw her hat in the ring with only 80 days left before Election Day after Lt. Gov. John Walsh left the race amidst charges of plagiarism.

In the U.S. House race, Ryan Zinke, R-Whitefish, defeated John Lewis, D-Helena, by 186,442 to 133,575. Mike Fellows, L-Missoula, garnered 13,611 votes. In the Flathead, the vote was Zinke 20,267, Lewis 9,994 and Fellows 1,215.

The House seat opened up after Daines opted to run for the U.S. Senate after Sen. Max Baucus stepped down after serving one term in the U.S. House and 36 years in the Senate to become ambassador to China.

Lewis had served as Baucus’ campaign aide. Zinke, who grew up in Whitefish and is a retired Navy SEAL officer, served one term in the Montana Senate and unsuccessfully ran for Montana lieutenant governor.

Nationwide, Republicans gained seven seats in the U.S. Senate and took control of the Senate. Republicans also gained from 14 to 18 seats in the U.S. House to create the largest Republican House majority in 80 years. Republicans also fared well in gubernatorial races across the U.S., winning races in Maryland, Arkansas, Illinois and Massachusetts.

In Montana, incumbent Rep. Jerry O’Neil, R-Columbia Falls, lost a narrow race in the House District 3 election to challenger Zac Perry, D-Hungry Horse, by 1,492 to 1,541. Chris Colvin, L-Columbia Falls, garnered 136 votes.

A staunch libertarian, O’Neil served two terms in the Montana Senate and two in the Montana House. Perry is a part-time school teacher and works for his family business in the Canyon and as a store clerk in Columbia Falls.

In House District 4, incumbent Rep. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, easily defeated challenger Melanie Knadler, D-Kalispell, by 2,626 to 909. The conservative Regier, a former school teacher, had already served two terms in the Montana House. Knadler, a teacher at Glacier High School and former teacher in Columbia Falls, said she wanted to offer voters “a choice.”

In the Flathead County Commissioner race for the north valley seat, Phil Mitchell, R-Whitefish, easily defeated Stacey Schnebel, D-Coram, by nearly a two-to-one margin, 20,438 to 10,389. Mitchell ran as a conservative with a focus on budgets, while Schnebel got bad press following a leaked story about her voting in Whitefish school and municipal elections while living in the Canyon.

By a very narrow 80-vote margin, Flathead County voters turned down the creation of a special district to fund the Flathead County 911 emergency dispatch system. The tally was 14,856 for and 14,936 opposed.

The district called for a flat $25 per year fee on all homes and a $50 per unit fee for commercial properties up to 30 units. The cities of Columbia Falls, Kalispell and Whitefish joined Flathead County in supporting the district as a way to make funding for the 911 dispatch system fair to all city and county residents.

Columbia Falls voters submitted names in 230 ballots for a local government review committee. City voters approved the creation of the committee during the primary election, but nobody volunteered to serve on the committee, so no candidate names appeared on the ballot.

In what has been described as the most expensive Montana Supreme Court Justice race in Montana history, incumbent Mike Wheat, NP-Bozeman, defeated challenger Lawrence VanDyke, NP-Clancy, by 177,688 to 122,693 for justice seat No. 2. In the Flathead, the vote was much close, with Wheat 14,001 and VanDyke 13,501.

Wheat defended his life as a Vietnam veteran, prosecutor, legislator and justice against a well-funded campaign by VanDyke that accused Wheat of judicial activism with a liberal bent. Wheat accused VanDyke of being supported by out-of-state money.

The race for Montana Supreme Court Justice seat No. 1 was not as close, as incumbent Jim Rice, NP-Helena, easily defeated challenger W. David Herbert, NP-Billings, by 216,838 to 58,866. In the Flathead, the vote was Rice 18,112 and Herbert 6,167.

In the race for Montana Public Service Commission No. 5, Brad Johnson, R-East Helena, easily defeated Galen Hollenbaugh, D-Helena, by 42,749 to 26,153. Johnson has served one term as Montana Secretary of State. In the Flathead, the vote was Johnson 21,239, Hollenbaugh 9,097.

Legislative Referendum 126, which would revise the close of voter registration to the Friday before Election Day and eliminate registration on Election Day, was defeated statewide by a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent. In the Flathead, the vote was 51 percent opposed and 49 percent in favor.

Constitutional Amendment No. 45, which would rename the Office of State Auditor, was also turned down statewide by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent. In the Flathead, the vote was 51 percent opposed and 49 percent in favor.

The three winners for a seat on Flathead County’s Soil Conservation Board of Supervisors were Mark Siderius, with 37 percent, Verdell Jackson, with 25 percent, and Ron Buentemeier, with 20 percent. The fourth candidate, Bob Storer, garnered16 percent of votes cast.

In seven Flathead County races, the winner ran unopposed. Republicans won the five partisan races. The winners included Debbie Pierson, R-Kalispell, Clerk and Recorder; incumbent Chuck Curry, R-Lakeside, Sheriff/Coroner; incumbent Ed Corrigan, R-Kalispell, County Attorney;  incumbent Adele Krantz, R-Kalispell, County Treasurer; incumbent Dan Wilson, NP-Kalispell, Justice of the Peace Dept. 1; incumbent Mark Sullivan, NP-Kalispell, Justice of the Peace Dept. 2; and Jack Eggensperger, R-Kalispell, County Superintendent of Schools.