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Despite the ongoing pandemic, Park County voters turned out for the 2020 primary election. Some 8,800 votes were cast; that means more than 2,000 voters participated this year than did in the last presidential primary election.
In unofficial results, Republican voters elected Powell City Councilman Scott Mangold to the Park County Commission and turned out incumbent Jake Fulkerson. Mangold picked up 3,979 votes (30.4%), besting Fulkerson (3,491 votes, 26.6%) by nearly 500 votes. Meanwhile, Commissioner Lee Livingston was endorsed for a third term, leading the field with 4,272 votes (32.6%). Ted Smith received 1,294 votes (9.9%).
Meanwhile, in a highly contested race to represent Senate District 18, former Commissioner Tim French pulled away from the rest of the field with 2,174 votes (41.7%). State Rep. David Northrup, R-Powell, came up short in his bid to move to the Legislature's upper chamber, receiving 1,442 votes (27.7%). Cody school board member Stefanie Bell was right behind with 1,265 votes (24.3%), with Richard Jones 322 votes (6.2%) rounding out the field.
Over in House District 24, Rep. Sandy Newsome, R-Cody (1,237 votes, 49.3%) turned back an aggressive challenge from former Hot Springs County Clerk Nina Webber (868 votes, 34.6%), along with former state Rep. Scott Court (404 votes, 16.1%).
Rep. Dan Laursen, R-Powell, was resoundingly advanced by Republican voters in House District 25. He picked up 1,413 votes (72.8%). Chris Good, who withdrew from the race after ballots had been printed, received 298 votes (15.4%). Justine Larsen had launched a last-minute write-in campaign and actively campaigned in the weeks leading up the election. A total of 229 write-in votes (representing 11.8% of the vote) were recorded.
As for the Powell City Council, incumbent Lesli Spencer received 254 votes (59%) to lead Heath Streeter (172 votes, 40%) in Ward III, while Geoff Hovivian (170 votes, 53.5%) led James Andrews (142/44.7%) in Ward I. The candidates will face off again in November's general election.
It was not a good night for taxes, as Cody area voters rejected a measure that would have created a new property tax for the Cody Conservation District. A total of 3,155 voters (63.3%) said no, with 1,826 voters (36.7%) in favor of a new, 1-mill levy.
Below, you can find our tweets from throughout the night and our preview coverage.
The first results should be in by 8 p.m., Park County Clerk Colleen Renner indicated, and could come sooner than that. Complete results will be posted on the county's website as they come in.
Renner added that, "the returns are going to come in fast, because we only have four places." The traditional polling locations in Clark, Heart Mountain, Wapiti and the South Fork were shuttered for the primary due to COVID-19-related concerns and issues. That left two polling sites in Cody, one in Powell and another in Meeteetse operating today.
Thousands of absentee ballots have already been processed and the results from those votes could theoretically be tallied and released not too long after the polls close at 7 p.m. However, Renner said she may wait to release the absentee results alongside the results from Cody, somewhere between 7:30-8 p.m. Results from Powell and Meeteetse would then be added in by 8:15 p.m. or so, she said, if all goes according to plan. The timing will depend "on how busy they are at 7 o'clock and how many people are in line to vote" when the polls close, Renner said.
The clerk said things were "going really well" as of Tuesday afternoon, with no significant issues to report.
Here are some of the storylines we'll be watching as results come in:
1. How's the turnout?
It's been a strange year and, like everything else, local elections look a little different amid the COVID-19 pandemic. More Park County residents cast absentee ballots or voted early than ever before. Heading into Election Day more than 4,800 voters had already cast their ballots. For comparison, only about 1,600 people voted early in the 2016 primary election, in which a total of 6,750 ballots were cast.
Whether the total turnout surpasses or lags behind 2016 will depend on how many people showed up today. It will likely remain a mystery as to exactly what impact the closure of the rural polling sites had on turnout.
Numbers in Meeteetse indicated that "they're holding strong over there," in terms of turnout, Renner said Tuesday, with 111 ballots cast as of early afternoon. Nearly 750 ballots had been cast in Powell as of 1 p.m. First Deputy Park County Clerk Hans Odde said things had been busy at the fairgrounds, with dozens of people voting in the first 15 minutes the polls were open.
2. Who will Park County send to the Wyoming Legislature?
There are two legislative races on Park County Republicans' primary ballots that have been heavily contested since the campaign season began:
State Rep. David Northrup, R-Powell, is looking to move up to the Senate in District 18, along with former Park County Commissioner Tim French, longtime Cody school board member Stefanie Bell and former park ranger Richard Jones. Given each candidates' strengths, the winner could theoretically take the race with a relatively low vote total.
Meanwhile, in House District 24, former Hot Springs County Clerk Nina Webber has mounted a big challenge to state Rep. Sandy Newsome, R-Cody, with former state Rep. Scott Court, R-Cody, also in the running. As with the Senate race, some of the state's powerful political figures have waded into the fray with donations on either side.
There are no Democrats running for the two seats -- though one could theoretically join the race and make the November general election ballot if they were to get at least 25 write-in votes.
3. Will voters retain Park County's commissioners?
In today's Republican primary, Powell City Councilman (and former mayor) Scott Mangold and county custodial worker Ted Smith are squaring off with incumbent commissioners Jake Fulkerson and Lee Livingston.
Mangold has campaigned, in part, on being from eastern Park County -- unlike the current commissioners. However, it remains to be seen how that message resonated in Cody and western Park County, where a larger share of the populations lives. Past elections have shown that candidates need to be competitive among Cody voters to have a chance.
4. How many votes will Justine Larsen get?
Powell paraeducator Justine Larsen launched a late write-in challenge against state Rep. Dan Laursen, R-Powell, after another Republican challenger, Chris Good, had to withdraw from the race in July. Larsen has received the backing of some prominent people and groups, including the Wyoming Education Association and local Reps. David Northrup, R-Powell, and Sandy Newsome, R-Cody.
However, running a write-in campaign is always extremely difficult, even when having months to prepare. Here's an example: In 2012, Bob Berry lost to state Sen. Hank Coe, R-Cody, by just 117 votes in the Republican primary, so he decided to continue his campaign to November with a write-in campaign. However, despite an extremely active effort that involved spending tens of thousands of dollars that year, write-in votes for Berry amounted to less than 29% of the votes cast in the general election.
