COEUR d'ALENE - Republican candidates for the two county commissioner seats were ahead of their opponents by a nearly 66 percent margin as of press time.

The Press went to print after 39 of the 73 precincts had been counted. Final results weren't expected until 2 a.m. today.

The District 1 commission seat had Republican Marc Eberlein with nearly 66 percent of the vote, and Democratic challenger Bruce Noble with a little more than 34 percent of the vote.

Eberlein said it's all over except the counting.

"I am a realist," he said. "When all the votes come down, we will see what people say. If I win, it is because of all the support I received, and the people who helped me. If I lose, I guess I will have to rebuild my business - or maybe I'll go back into semi-retirement."

His opponent, Bruce Noble, could not be reached for comment Tuesday night after the results started becoming available.

In the county's District 2, Republican David Stewart was leading with almost 66 percent of the vote. His opponent, Jerry Shriner, had a little more than 34 percent of the vote.

"I am feeling really confident," Stewart said. "I got to meet a lot of really nice people. If I lose, I think that the positive thing is I brought a lot of awareness to the county issues."

Shriner predicted higher than normal Democratic numbers this election cycle.

"I feel good about it because I got a lot of support from Republicans," Shriner said. "I think this one will be closer than in the past."

Like his opponent, Shriner said the positive part of this election was getting his message to the voters.

"The middle of the road worked," he said. "The message was about people and not about politics."

He thinks the controversy with the airport manager getting fired might have helped him even more.

"If that would have happened a month ago, it would have been easier for me to differentiate myself from my opponent," he said.