Park County Republican voters decided to stick with the county’s current commissioners, choosing to support incumbents Loren Grosskopf, Joe Tilden and Tim French.

Grosskopf was the top vote-getter, collecting 3,559 ballots (or 19.7 percent of the voter), followed by Tilden’s 3,532 (19.5 percent) and French’s 3,375 votes (18.7 percent).

Coming in fourth — 488 votes shy of French and the third available position — was former Commissioner Dave Burke (2,887 votes, 16 percent).

Further back were Pat Slater of rural Powell (1,633 votes, 9 percent), Jo Walker of Cody (1,001 votes, 5.5 percent), Donna Guelde of Meeteetse (889 votes, 4.9 percent) and Gina Sowerwine of Wapiti (723 votes, 4 percent). Paul Lanchbury of Cody formally withdrew from the race last month but still received 446 votes (2.5 percent).

The three incumbent Republicans appear headed to almost certain re-election in November’s general election, as no other candidates are in the race.

Grosskopf said Wednesday that he was humbled and honored to be chosen by the voters and pledged to continue to make a full-time commitment to the job.

“Being first, that’s great, but that’s not what you shoot for,” said Grosskopf, saying he was just gratified to have made the top three.

He said his first three-and-a-half years as a commissioner have flown by and that he’s excited to help find solutions to the issues facing the county in the coming years.

The Cody resident and retired CPA won five of the county’s 29 precincts (all within the city of Cody) while tying with Tilden in a sixth. He finished runner-up or third in 19 others.

In addition to the tie, Tilden won 11 precincts in the Cody area, Clark, the Meeteetse area and the North and South Forks. He finished in the top three in nine other precincts for a total of 21 out of 29.

“This was a relatively heated commissioners’ campaign and you know, it made me feel real good, to spend the last ... couple months campaigning and have people tell you that you’re not doing a good job, but then at the end of the day, (voters say) you are doing a good job,” said Tilden, who manages a ranch on the South Fork.

French, apparently headed to his fifth term in office, said it was exciting to have voters put their confidence in him once again.

“I think overall people know I work hard at it and respect my work ethic at it and that I listen to them,” the Heart Mountain farmer said.

French is a veteran of watching results on election night, but “they’re all nerve-wracking,” he said.

He won seven precincts: in Ralston and Heart Mountain, in rural Powell, the Willwood, rural Meeteetse and Crandall/Sunlight. French finished in the top three in 24 of the 29 precincts.

Former commissioner Dave Burke was the top pick among Powell residents, winning all five precincts with a total of 599 votes. Grosskopf finished second in Powell with 515 votes, followed closely by Slater (508 votes) and French (507). Tilden finished a distant fifth with 346 votes.

Burke, who lives in rural Cody but attended Powell schools, had been critical of several commission decisions, including their handling of the county’s landfill system and lobbying tactics on public lands.

In total, Burke finished in the top three in 13 precincts. The only other candidate to crack the top three in a given precinct was Slater: he had three runner-up finishes and three third-place showings, all in Powell area precincts.

In the eastern portion of the county — from Heart Mountain to the Big Horn County line — voters preferred French, Burke and Grosskopf, followed closely by Slater and then Tilden.

Tilden, meanwhile, was voters’ top choice on the western end of the county, followed by Grosskopf and French.

The three incumbents had encouraged voters to re-elect them all and each said Wednesday that they were pleased the board will stay the same.

“We don’t always agree, contrary to what some people think. We have some spirited discussions,” Grosskopf said.

However, “I think I’ve learned how to work with those guys,” he said. “I think we all have enough respect for each other so we actually listen to each other and their views.”

For that reason, he thinks the board works well as a team.

“I think you see the county’s functioning very well right now,” Grosskopf said.