Republicans sweep Ada County races, have all 3 commission seats, win close coroner race

Republicans swept the board on Election Day in Ada County, winning every partisan race.

The wins gave Republicans full control of the Ada County Commission, where they already had a 2-1 advantage, and they scored an upset in the coroner’s race, defeating incumbent Democrat Dotti Owens.

All precincts were reported shortly before 3 a.m. Wednesday. Long before that, Tom Dayley and incumbent Rod Beck had won their commission races. As recently as 2020, Democrats had two of the commission’s three seats.

A Republican, Rebecca Arnold, will replace the outgoing GOP assessor, who held the position for 28 years.

Matt Clifford, a Republican who was appointed to the sheriff’s role in the summer of 2021, won his first election.

Two-term incumbent Owens lost her re-election bid by 795 votes, according to the unofficial count.

Republican candidates ran unopposed for treasurer and clerk — Elizabeth “Beth” Mahn and Trent Tripple, respectively.

In the District 3 race of the Ada County Highway District, Miranda Gold narrowly defeated incumbent Mary May with 50.1% of the vote. Those races are nonpartisan.

Results in each race were updated to reflect the final counts posted by the Ada County Clerk’s Office.

Each term is four years in length, unless otherwise noted.

Commissioner, District 2

Republican Rod Beck, the incumbent chair of the Ada County Commission and a majority leader in the state Senate in the 1990s, faced the former mayor of Eagle, Democrat Stan Ridgeway. District 2 represents the northwest portion of the county, including West Boise and Eagle.

With 179,098 votes counted, Beck won with 54.4%.

Beck came under fire from Ridgeway and others for voting to approve Dr. Ryan Cole to the local public health board. Cole has spread unfounded claims about COVID-19. Beck has stood by his decision, saying that the appointment of Cole has not prevented the health board from doing its job.

Beck also went against his fellow Republican on the board, Ryan Davidson, and other GOP members to appoint Clifford as Ada County sheriff. Beck and Democrat Kendra Kenyon backed Clifford.

Beck’s campaign raised the most of any candidate, pulling in over $67,000 since last year.

“Well, we beat him. It was enough,” Beck told a supporter in the hallway at a state GOP party in Boise on Tuesday night.

In a text, Beck said he hoped to “provide the best county government possible with the limited resources we have” if Republicans swept the board.

At a Tuesday election party, Ridgeway told supporters, “You just don’t know what it means when you’re knocking on doors or in the rain or in the hot sun and you wonder if it’s all worth it, but when you look out at the crowd and look at the early voting, I know it is worth it.”

Commissioner, District 3

Democrat Patricia Nilsson, who worked in land use planning for several local governments, faced Dayley, a former member of the Idaho House, and Anthony Jones, an independent candidate. District 3 represents the southern portion of the county, which includes Southeast Boise and Meridian.

With all precincts reporting, Dayley had 51.8% of the vote. Nilsson got 43.3%, and Jones 4.8%.

Dayley was previously the state executive director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and an aide to Republicans in Washington D.C.

This seat opened up because Kenyon decided not to run.

Sheriff

Clifford, a Republican and a former Eagle police chief, faced Democrat Victor McCraw, a former director of Idaho’s Peace Officer Standards Training.

With all precincts reporting, Clifford was elected to a two-year term with 58.6% of the vote.

Clifford was appointed in the summer of 2021 after the former sheriff, Stephen Bartlett, abruptly resigned.

“I’ve learned a lot about campaigning here in the last year,” Clifford told the Statesman by phone. He said he expects the sheriff’s office will continue to focus on public safety regardless of how any races in the county go.

“The fact that they’re Republican and we share political views doesn’t change the way the sheriff’s office will provide public safety to everyone.”

Assessor

For the first time this century, Ada County will have a new assessor. Bob McQuade, the outgoing assessor, served in the position for 28 years.

Arnold, a former Ada County Highway District commissioner, faced Democrat Erik Steven Berg, the chair of the Ada County Democrats. Arnold won with 58.4% of the vote.

Arnold, a Boise lawyer, raised more than $30,000 over the past year, while her opponent has not been fundraising.

Coroner

Owens was seeking her third term as coroner, but Republican Rich Riffle won a very tight race, with 50.2% of the vote — a lead of only 795 votes.

Ada County Highway District, District 3

District 3 covers Northwest Boise and Eagle.

Incumbent Commission President Mary May faced off against Miranda Gold and Payton “Regina ‘Queen’” Khan. Local political action committees funded mailers attacking both May and Gold.

With all precincts reporting, Gold won with 50.1% of the vote.

Ada County Highway District, District 4

District 4 covers the southern portion of Ada County, including Kuna. Incumbent Kent Goldthorpe faced Neil Durrant, and Goldthorpe won with 52.2% of the vote.

In a Wednesday news release, Conservation Voters for Idaho celebrated Goldthorpe’s reelection and Gold’s win.

“The complete reshaping of ACHD’s leadership the last few years has made it abundantly clear that Ada County residents don’t want to just keep adding more lanes to unwalkable roads,” said Rialin Flores, the group’s executive director, in the release. “We want accessible options for pedestrians and cyclists that prioritize our clean air and make transportation safer for everyone.”

Reporters Kevin Fixler and Mia Maldonado contributed.