Noel Duram claims county Commissioner seat

Lincoln Co. voters chose Noel Duram to represent them on the Board of Commissioners for the next six years.

Duram was a big winner in Tuesday’s general election over Independent Brian Phillips and Democrat Doug Davies for the District 3 seat, which covers north Lincoln Co.

Duram, a Republican, collected 66% of the votes, easily outdistancing his challengers. Phillips collected 20% of the vote and Davies, who announced his exit from the race last month due to health issues, had 14%.

Duram beat incumbent Josh Letcher in the June primary.

“The 2024 General Election had many satisfying results from my perspective,” Duram said in an email to The Western News. “One of those was that the voters in Lincoln County came out in big numbers and put their trust in me to represent them as the County Commissioner for the Eureka District. I want to thank the voters who put their trust in me for to serve in that position.

“There are many challenges facing the county right now and many more coming in the future. I look forward to the challenge of working with the other Commissioners, county employees, private groups as well as state and Federal assets to find the best solutions to put Lincoln County in a position to be ready for those challenges. 

Again, I really just want to thank the voters for their support and look forward to giving back to my community.”

According to figures from the Montana Secretary of State, 85.6% of registered voters cast ballots.

Duram’s brother Neil Duram, a Republican, won re-election to the District 1 state Representative seat with 80% His challenger, Democrat Dakota V. Adams, collected just 20%

For the state Rep. District 2 seat, which covers Lincoln and Flathead counties, Republican Tom Millett received 77% of the vote, well ahead of Democrat Brad Simonis.

District Clerk of Court Tricia Brooks was not challenged and won re-election with 100% of the votes. The story was the same for county Clerk and Recorder Corrina Brown and county of Superintendent of Schools Suzy Rios,

In other races, choices by Lincoln County voters nearly unanimously followed those made across the rest of the state.

They overwhelmingly supported Donald J. Trump for president over Democrat Kamala Harris. Trump, the 45th president of the United States will now become the 47th. Trump got 77% of the county’s votes.

Harris stepped in as the Democratic nominee after incumbent Joe Biden withdrew in July due to health issues.

In the race for U.S. Senator, Republican newcomer Tim Sheehy was the big favorite of county voters, picking up 70% of the ballots as he ousted long-time Democrat Jon Tester. 

Overall, Sheehy won 53% of the vote.

The same was true for U.S. Representative in the First Congressional District Republican Ryan Zinke. The incumbent won 73% of the vote in the county.

Overall, he claimed 53% of the vote.

Incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte garnered 75% of the vote in Lincoln Co. while Democrat Ryan Busse had just 22%

Statewide, Gianforte had 59%

For Secretary of State, incumbent Christi Jacobsen had 77% while Democrat Jesse James Mullen had 20%

In the state Attorney General race, Republican incumbent Austin Knudsen picked up 76% of the vote while Democratic challenger Ben Alke had 24%

Republican James Brown will be the new state Auditor after beating Democrat John Repke. Brown had 78% in the county.

For the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, Republican Susie Hedalen got 77% in Lincoln Co. while Democrat Shannon O’Brien had 24%

For the District 4 Public Service Commissioner seat, which includes Lincoln County, Republican incumbent Jennifer Fielder had 72% to Independent candidate Elena Evans’ 28%

In District 4, Fielder claimed 55%

For state Supreme Court Chief Justice, Cory Swanson had 64% in Lincoln County while Jerry Lynch had 36%

For state Supreme Court Justice No. 3, 61% of county voters voted for Dan Wilson over Katherine Bidegaray. But Bidegaray claimed the seat with more support beyond the county. She ended up with 53% of the vote.

County voters opposed all three constitutional amendments.

But overall, CI-128, dealing with an individual’s right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy,  including the right to abortion, was supported by 57% of the state’s voters.

In the election for county study commission members, a recount is possible as seven candidates received between 10 and 14% of the votes.

Jennifer McCully had the most with 4,751 while John Boyke picked up 3,825. Mike France got 3,660 while Ernest Anderson was fourth with 3,498.

Greg Bruns was fifth with 3,398 votes and Eileen Carney was sixth with 3,387. Maria Stephenson was seventh with 3,301.

Election Administrator Melanie Howell said provisional ballots need to be counted next Tuesday and that could affect a possible recount or who sits on the study commission.

Required every 10 years, the local government review election asks voters to decide if they want to review their local government. 

The purpose of the study commission is to look at the existing form and powers of the local government and compare them with other forms available under the laws of the State of Montana.

For the county, the local study commission will include five members. According to the resolution, the cost to operate the commission would not exceed $59,000.

    U.S. Congressman Ryan Zinke spoke to military veterans at the VFW Harper Erdman Post 1548 on Friday, March 15. Among other subjects, Zinke spoke about Ukraine, Israel, the U.S. Veterans Administration, border security and conversations with former President Donald Trump. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)