Incumbent Park County Clerk Kelly Jensen, a Democrat, was ousted by Park County voters Tuesday night, with Republican Jerri Torczon winning nearly 63 percent of the county vote.“I thought it would have been a lot closer,” Torczon said Wednesday. “I'm surprised, but thankful.”

Torczon, of Powell, currently is a legal secretary in the Park County Attorney's office. She will assume the county clerk position in January.

In Tuesday's election, Torczon received 7,105 votes, according to unofficial results, while Jensen received 4,165 votes (36.9 percent).

“Obviously, Park County does care a lot about party,” said Jensen of the results.

Jensen has said being a Democrat had nothing to do with how she runs the clerk's office; others, including Park County Republican Chairwoman Geri Hockhalter, have said party affiliation matters.

“I think the party mattered, but also I think they (voters) wanted people to be treated better,” said Torczon, mentioning concerns about a lack of communication when county employees' pay periods were changed and problems with the county's health insurance plan.

“I had Democrats vote for me, too,” Torczon said.

She said getting out and visiting people, such as at the county's senior citizen centers, helped get the word out on her campaign.

Jensen, who served one term, said she is proud of the improvements she and her staff made to the office over the past four years. She said she and the office staff have focused hard on serving the public better by improving customer service and looking for ways to make processes better. Jensen said she was disappointed she wouldn't be able to continue that work.

“The work that I was doing was very well-received by most Park County voters that I'm aware of, until they heard I was a Democrat,” Jensen said.

She said Torczon will inherit a tremendous asset in the office's staff.

Torczon said she plans to prepare for the office by using vacation time to attend County Commission meetings in coming months; she also hopes to visit the clerk's office for insight.

“I'm going to have to be a sponge, take a notebook everywhere,” Torczon said with a laugh.

Torczon said she hopes to focus on working together and believes relations between Republicans and Democrats both locally and nationally need to be improved.

“Whether Republican or Democrat, we're all in this together. We're all in Park County,” the clerk-elect said.

Jensen said she sent Torczon an e-mail Wednesday congratulating her.

“I wish her well the next four years,” Jensen said.

Torczon thanked her supporters.

“You can't do it by yourself, and I certainly had a lot of help,” she said.