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Voters weigh in, Ertman and Wagoner come out on top in commissioner race

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By
KateLynn Slaamot, NLJ Reporter

Votes have been counted and the unofficial numbers are in for Weston County’s primary election, held on Aug. 20. Weston County voters cast a total of 2,026 ballots in Tuesday’s races.

In the Weston County Commissioner race, Ed Wagoner and Marty Ertman took the top slots in the Republican Primary with 909 and 837 votes, respectively, and both will advance to the November general election. Chairman Don Taylor was not far behind with 724 votes, but it was not enough to advance. Mike Harris had 690 votes and Henry Nessul snagged 262 votes.

In the race to represent District 2 in the Wyoming House of Representatives, J.D. Williams beat out Allen Slagle in Weston County by only two votes, with Williams gathering 578 to Slagle’s 576. Totals from Niobrara and Goshen counties help determine who will move on to the general election, but Williams appears to have carried the three counties as well to secure the Republican spot on the November ballot.

Tyrel Owens led in the Newcastle mayoral race, with 403 votes, with Mayor Pam Gualtieri not far behind, with 306. Ed Kiesling received 71 votes. Owens and Gualtieri will both appear on the general election ballot.

For Newcastle City Council, Daren Downs received a total of 564 votes, while Thomas Voss received 437 votes cast in his favor. Because only two candidates are running for three open council seats, the third seat could be filled with a write-in candidate. A total of 158 write-in votes were cast for Newcastle City Council.

According to Wyoming Statute 22-16-106, on write-in candidates, “(a) Each write-in candidate nominated at a primary election, who has not previously filed an application for nomination shall accept nomination by filing an application for nomination and paying the filing fee in the office in which he would have been required to file an application for nomination to that office.”

The statute also states that “The chief election officer shall notify a write-in candidate who has been nominated at a primary election within forty-eight (48) hours after the canvassing board meets.”

Town of Upton Town Council candidates are Justin Norman and Rick Rothleutner. Norman received 200 votes and Rothleutner skated in right behind with 199. Both will appear on the general election ballot for the two open seats on that council.

Chip Neiman ran unopposed in the Republican primary for Wyoming House of Representatives District 1, and he snagged 645 Weston County votes.

Incumbent John Barrasso took 1,171 Weston County votes in the race for U.S. Senator, followed by Reid Rasner with 561 and John Holtz with 139. Scott Morrow took 45 votes on the Democratic ticket and will face Barrasso in the general election.

And for Wyoming’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, Harriet Hageman led with 1,599 votes, followed by 267 for Steven Helling. Kyle Cameron snagged 43 votes for the Democratic ticket and secured that party’s nomination to appear on the general election ballot against Hageman in November.

All results are considered unofficial until certification can take place. Check back with the News Letter Journal for official results and updated state results in the upcoming week.

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