Teton County has general election’s only upset in east Idaho
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DRIGGS — Teton County was the only eastern Idaho county to have an upset during the general election Tuesday.
In nearly all the eastern Idaho races where incumbents were running, they retained their seats. The exception the Teton County Commission race, where Democrat Mike Whitfield defeated Republican incumbent Harley Wilcox by six percentage points.
Whitfield joins fellow Democrat Cindy Riegel on the commission. Riegel successfully defended her seat Tuesday from Republican Taylor Barlow.
Additionally, the new Teton County Sheriff will be Republican Clint Lemieux. He defeated Democrat Jeremiah Jones by 166 votes. Both men have experience in Teton County law enforcement, and Lemieux will replace longtime Sheriff Tony Liford, who decided not to seek re-election.
Republican Bailey Smith defeated Democrat Alex Sosa for the prosecutor position. Smith had 53% of the votes compared to Sosa’s 46%. Current Teton County Prosecutor Billie Siddoway also decided not to seek re-election this year.
Results from Teton County took a little longer than a majority of eastern Idaho to trickle in. Teton County Clerk Kim Keeley told East Idaho News that some of the in-person absentee ballots were sealed with an adhesive that stuck to some of the ballots and clogged up the counting machines.
Despite having to stop to clean the machines a couple of times, Keeley said election officials wrapped up counting by around 12:15 a.m.
For full election results and information visit the EastIdahoNews.com election headquarters page.
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