Candidate Filings now final
Friday the 13th was the last day for candidates to file to run at the countywide level. Most of the filings had been complete by last week’s paper, but at there were a few late additions.
In Caribou County, the race for Commissioners in District 2 added one with George Hulse and Tracy Davis filing to run in the upcoming primary against incumbent commissioner Marty McCullough.
The Precinct Committeemen races are also now set for the primary election, with most of them featuring single party members running for the position. In the Bancroft Precinct, Republican Jim McCulloch is unopposed in the primary, and there is no Democratic primary candidate. Sharon Meals (R ) is running for the Freedom Precinct, again without a Democratic candidate for the precinct. The same is true for Jackie Barthlome (R ) in Grace 2, Hanah Beer (R ) in Soda 2, Colleen Price (R ) in Soda 3, and Georgeanne Benson (R ) in Wayan.
Soda 4 has both a Republican running for the position, Eric Hobson, and a Democrat, Paige Messerly, running for their party’s primary.
Soda 1 also has a Democrat, Nancy Smith, running on the party’s ticket for the Precinct Committeeman spot. On the Republican side, Soda 1 is the busiest race, with Lori Anne Lau and Rodger Soresensen running in the primary.
Current District Judge Cody Brower and challenger Aaron Thompson have both filed for the race.
There are a large number of candidates in both parties who have filed to run for governor and U.S. legislative office. At the statewide level, the Republican race between current D35A Representative Mike Veile and challenger Chad Christensen is the only primary contest scheduled, though Democratic candidates have filed uncontested for their primary races and will meet the current legislators in the general election this fall.
Primaries for all positions are scheduled for Tuesday, May 19.
Sample ballots are being created now, and should be completed by Friday the 20th. Early voting can begin as early as April 27. Absentee ballot applications are due by May 8. Voter registrations for the primary are due to the county clerk by 5 p.m. on May 8. In person absentee and early voting end at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 15. Early voting for the general election begins on October 13, and election day 2026 is Tuesday November 3.
The deadline for write-in candidates for Idaho county-level primaries is this coming Friday, March 20. Write-in names that have not officially filed paperwork to run are not counted when the election is run. The number of write-in candidates is generally very small, and often zero. As a result, the current slate of candidates is likely the final one for the Primary.
