MISSOULA - Missoula County commissioner Dave Strohmaier padded his lead on Tuesday night and was on a likely path to easily win his second term.
As of midnight, Strohmaier, a Democrat, had collected 28,576 votes to Republican Kim Chambers' tally of 19,999, or a 59% to 41% margin. The elections office plans to begin tabulating the estimated 5,500 ballots that remain at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
Chambers ran on a platform of lower taxes. Strohmaier, who spearheads the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority, has run a quiet campaign pushing for progress.
In other county races, incumbent Missoula County Auditor David Wall was leading sitting conservative Missoula City Council member Sandra Vasecka with 28,572 votes to 19,240, or a 60% to 40% spread.
Bill Burt, who ran on a platform of tougher penalties for criminals, was trailing incumbent Justice of the Peace Alex Beal by 26,949 votes to 15,802. In the other Justice of the Peace race, incumbent Landee Holloway was also leading challenger Susan Campbell Reneau with 28,421 votes to 13,939.
Voting results were delayed on Tuesday.
"Initial results from Missoula County will be delayed because results from Monday's equipment testing were inadvertently included when compiling the 8 p.m. report," a county spokesperson said. "Thanks to the multiple checks and balances the Elections Office has in place, this was caught before the full report was run and released. Staff have remedied the situation and we expect a report in the next few hours."
