By David Peck
Shell businessman Jerry Ewen steam-rolled to victory in the Republican Primary election for Big Horn County Commissioner Tuesday, dominating the vote in the south end of the county and holding his own in the north.
Ewen topped the three-man field with 1,233 votes, unofficially, defeating incumbent commissioner Bill Duncan of Basin, who received 608 votes and won only one district. Ron McArthur of Cowley tallied 555 votes, winning all five north Big Horn County districts but receiving few votes in the south.
Ewen tallied more votes than his two opponents combined, winning 51.4 percent of the vote. Duncan received 25.4 percent, McArthur 23.2 percent.
On the Democratic ticket, Mary Freund, a nurse practitioner who lives in Basin but works in Lovell, defeated Colin Buchanan of Manderson, 180-89, unofficially, and will meet Ewen in the General Election.
Freund won all five districts in the north end of the county and five of eight in the south end.
Some expected Ewen and Duncan to split the vote in the south end of the county, while McArthur won the north end to take the nomination, but Ewen dominated the south end and received solid support in the north.
Ewen swamped his opponents in his home country of Greybull and Shell. He received 366 votes in Greybull to 86 for Duncan and 12 for McArthur, unofficially, and he garnered 143 votes in Shell compared to 13 for Duncan and 5 for McArthur.
Ewen topped the field in Basin, as well, receiving 282 votes compared to 117 for Duncan and 15 for McArthur. Ewen also won Otto, Emblem, Hyattville and Manderson. Duncan topped the field in Burlington with 73 votes to 43 for Ewen and 12 for McArthur.
McArthur won all five north Big Horn County districts, but he only received 59 votes in the eight south Big Horn County districts, while Ewen tallied 254 votes in the north. McArthur topped Ewen 293-156 in Lovell, 100-45 in Cowley, 70-27 in Byron, 18-15 in Deaver and 15-11 in Frannie.
Ewen said he worked hard to win the nomination, knocking on many doors and listening to people.
“First and foremost, I want to thank everybody who helped me and encouraged me and gave kind words,” Ewen said. “It’s more than I expected. It’s hard to beat an incumbent, but I was out there for two months knocking on doors and walking the backstreets.
“I talked with people and really listened to what they had to say, and they told me they were ready for a change in county government – and the votes show that. Of course we can’t take the election process lightly; it’s not over until November. I’ve really appreciated the people who talked to me. Now it’s time for me to step up to the plate.”
Ewen said people expressed concern about higher property taxes, county subdivisions and private land rights. He also said voters want a balance of power on the commission.
“We need a better balance of leadership,” he said. “There is a dominant personality on the board right now and on a three-member board everyone needs to practice assertive leadership.
“I want to be available and accessible to the people if I am elected. I hope people continue to talk to me. It is a service position to represent the people.”
Freund tops Buchanan
Mary Freund defeated Colin Buchanan 2-1 Tuesday, receiving 67 percent of the vote compared to 33 percent for Buchanan.
Freund won Lovell 45-14, Byron 16-12, Cowley 7-3, Deaver 7-4 and Frannie 11-1. She also carried Basin 26-11, Burlington 6-1, Emblem 1-0, Greybull 50-30 and Shell 8-2. Buchanan carried Otto 1-0, Hyattville 3-0 and Manderson 7-3.
“I am really excited to think that I can go forward and be on the ballot in November,” Freund said. “It will be a very challenging race. Jerry is very talented and he has a lot of capabilities, but I have a lot of people that are supporting me. I am really planning on going out there and winning this election. I feel like there is a very good chance.
“I want to thank everybody who voted for me. I’m excited to have the opportunity and want to represent the people to make the changes I feel are necessary.
“I feel its time for people who haven’t been raised here all their lives to come forward.”
Freund said one of the things that surprised her about the current commission is that when the discussion of recording the meetings came up, one person asked, “Why would anybody want to watch something so boring?”
“It really inspired me to move forward,” she said. “This is a job for the people; it isn’t boring.
“We have people that are dying from prescription drug overdoses; we’ve had three deaths. We need to stand up and say no, we don’t want this in our county.”
Congressional races
Former State Treasurer Cynthia Lummis of Cheyenne defeated Buffalo businessman and rancher Mark Gordon for the Republican nomination for Wyoming’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
According to the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office, Lummis received 33,083 votes statewide (46.2 percent), unofficially, Gordon 26,789 (37.4 percent), former U.S. Navy officer Bill Winney 8,529 (12 percent) and Dr. Michael S. Holland of Green River 3,142 (4.4 percent).
Lummis followed suit in Big Horn County, winning the county with 1,122 votes, followed by Gordon with 898 votes, Winney 237 and Holland 106, unofficially.
Lummis will face Gary Trauner of Wilson and David Herbert of Cody in November. Trauner was unopposed for the Democratic nomination, as was Herbert for the Libertarian nomination.
In the U.S. Senate races, Nick Carter of Gillette edged Keith Goodenough of Casper by only 311 votes for the Democratic nomination for the seat currently held by Dr. John Barrasso of Casper, which carries a four-year term this go-round. According to the Secretary of State’s Office, Carter tallied 12,273 votes statewide, Goodenough 11,962.
In Big Horn County, Goodenough carried the day with 159 votes compared to 116 for Carter.
Carter will face Barrasso, who was unopposed for the Republican nomination, in the General Election.
In the race for the Senate seat held by Sen. Mike Enzi, which carries a six-year term, Chris Rothfuss of Laramie defeated Al Hamburg of Torrington 14,155 to 8,548, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. Rothfuss will face Enzi in November.
Rothfuss also carried Big Horn County with 151 votes to 110 for Hamburg.
Legislature
All three members of the Wyoming Legislature with representation in Big Horn County were unopposed in Tuesday’s Primary. Rep. Elaine Harvey garnered 1,451 votes to capture the Republican nomination for House District 26, Lorraine Quarberg won the Republican nomination for House District 28 and Gerald Geis won the GOP nomination for Senate District 20.
All three will also be unopposed in November, barring a write-in nomination for a Democratic candidate.

For statewide summaries of the 2008 Primary Election

http://soswy.state.wy.us/Elections/ElectionResults.aspx