Democrats rally late to claim seats on Latah delegation

By the end of election night, Democrats Tom Lamar and John Bohman were trailing their opponents in their respective Latah County Commissioners races.

By Wednesday morning, it was a different story as both Lamar and Bohman took the lead after all ballots were counted and the unofficial election results were released.

Lamar, the incumbent in the District 2 seat, defeated Republican Brian Loomis to earn another 4-year term. He has served as commissioner for eight years.

“I’m really humbled and honored by the people of Latah County who voted yesterday,” Lamar said.

Lamar earned 7,718 votes to Loomis’ 7,197.

Lamar said he believes Latah County voters, for the most part, are happy with the work of their county government. Looking ahead, he wants to open up more mental health care options for residents, promote economic growth in the region and update the county’s comprehensive plan. He is also excited about moving the Department of Motor Vehicles and Department of Licensing offices to a more accessible home at the old Wells Fargo building on Blaine Street.

Bohman, with 7,600 votes, defeated Republican Carl Berglund’s 7,215 votes to replace retiring Commissioner Dave McGraw in the District 3 seat. Bohman will serve a two-year term.

Bohman said he was excited to see the 67% voter turnout Wednesday. He, too, felt humbled to earn the trust of the voters.

“I hope to prove to them that they made the right choice,” he said.

Lamar said that voters recognized that Bohman will be an “excellent commissioner.”

“I think we’re going to continue to have a wonderful team,” he said.

Democrat BJ Swanson, who was behind Republican Peggy Gottschalk for the Latah County Treasurer seat late Tuesday night, overtook Gottschalk by Wednesday morning with a 70-vote lead.

Republican Julie Fry maintained her lead over Democrat Alexa Kim for the Latah County Clerk position.

David Sutherland ran unopposed for Latah County Assessor and Catherine Mabbutt ran unopposed for Latah County Coroner.

Latah County Election Director Jennifer Henrichs said the election results will likely be canvassed Wednesday.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.