COEUR d'ALENE - Candidates for 4th Legislative District say a numbers factor came into play during the Tuesday primary election, but most agree the winners were those who drove more voters to the polls.

"I was surprised," said 12-year incumbent state Sen. John Goedde, who lost his seat by 266 votes in what is considered to be one of the tightest races in the primary.

"I was concerned that we didn't have the right voters coming out," Goedde said. "The far right, to a large degree, showed up to the polls."

Goedde said the far right was much more successful in getting groups like area churches involved in the race.

"I heard people were handing out fliers at some of the area churches," he said, and at least one of those fliers focused on the senator's support for Common Core educational curriculum, the state insurance exchange and the Idaho freedom foundation's scorecard score for state legislators.

Goedde said that he did support a form of Common Core and the State Exchange for what he believes to be "good reasons."

"Wayne Hoffman (Idaho Freedom Foundation president) absolutely hates me," the senator said, referring to his score. "And I am really all right with that."

Pastor Paul Van Noy, from Candlelight Fellowship, sent out an email to his congregation with a voter's guide attached. The guide pointed out each candidate's position on the issues Goedde mentioned above.

Van Noy could not be reached for comment on Wednesday, but he did clarify in his email that the guide was for information purposes only.

"I need to remind you that this is not a political campaign for any particular candidate, but it is sent as a help to each of you as you make your decisions and vote," the email said.

Goedde said now that he has lost, he is looking forward to spending more time with his wife and family. He does not plan to get back into politics anytime soon.

"I just want to enjoy my wife and do some of the things we haven't been able to do."

Goedde's opponent, Mary Souza, said she was exhausted on Wednesday, but obviously pleased with the results. She will now face Constitution Party Candidate Ray J. Writz in the Nov. 4 general election.

Souza said she raised less than $3,000 and was very careful with how those dollars were spent.

"This was more of a strategic race for me," she said, adding that the name recognition she built running for mayor of Coeur d'Alene probably helped.

"I think my name and my reputation were already out there," she said, adding the voter had a clear choice between her and Goedde, who also has strong name-recognition.

"I just ran on my own ideas," she said. "I didn't seek any endorsements except for the endorsement of the voters in my district."

Souza said her campaign is pushing forward to November, and she is available to speak or attend other political functions between now and then.

"I will be out there listening to people," she said,

House Seat A

Incumbent Rep. Luke Malek was the only "mainstream Republican" to retain his state legislative seat in the Republican primary. He beat out challenger Toby Schindelbeck by 180 votes.

"That was a lot tighter than I thought it would be," Malek said, adding that he credits walking, knocking and phone-calling the voters in his district for the narrow win.

"Now I am really glad I did it," he said.

Malek said he was discussing the election all day Wednesday. He thinks the mainstream Republicans, who were all endorsed by the North Idaho Political Action Committee, probably spent too much time talking to voters about what separated the faction in the party, rather than talking about what they were doing that is in line with Republican causes.

"There is a lot of disconnect between what the legislators do, and what the voter understands we do," Malek said.

He believes the voters "wiped out" many incumbents in the primary because they are frustrated with the local and federal politics.

His challenger, Schindelbeck, said he thinks his ability to communicate his fundamental values got him within reach of Malek's legislative seat.

"I feel great," Schindelbeck said. "Basically I spent one-tenth of what he spent and I came within 180 votes.

"It would have been nice to win a legislative seat, but overall I feel pretty good."

Schindelbeck said he did win a precinct committeeman seat, and will be active in the Republican central committee, and he is already planning to make another run at Malek in 2016.

"He better be looking over his shoulder in two years, because I am not done yet," Schindelbeck said, adding he wants to represent Idahoans in Boise. "I am not going anywhere."

House Seat B

Incumbent Rep. Kathy Sims said she was a little tired but feeling pretty good Wednesday. She won her seat back in a landslide over challenger Rick Currie on Tuesday night. She took more than 60 percent of the vote.

Sims will now face Democrat Anne Nesse in the general election Nov. 4.

"Pretty much everyone knows where I stand on the issues," she said. "I have a voting record now, and people know where I stand."

Sims said her strategy is to run an honest campaign, and she knows that voters want legislators who will stand strong on the issues.

"I don't shy away from issues," Sims said. "People like knowing where we stand. If you are honest with constituents, they respect that even if they don't always agree with you."

Currie said he was obviously disappointed, but not devastated over his loss. He also believes voter turnout took a toll on the mainstream Republican candidates.

"I have a lot of irons in the fire right now. Getting elected would have been nice, but it's not the end of the world," Currie said, adding voter turnout was minuscule. The county's turnout was 21 percent of the voters.

He estimates it was even worse in the 4th District. Currie said a quick look at the numbers shows that less than 10 percent of the voters turned out in that district.

"The Rally Right guys were very organized and they vote as a bloc," Currie said. "Come hell or high water, they vote."

Currie said the typical voter can be deterred by weather or other circumstances that prevent them from voting, but his opponent's group will turn out no matter what.

"Voter apathy was the biggest issue this time," he said. "But it is what it is."