Republican Ron Mendive had a comfortable lead over Democrat challenger Michelle Lippert early this morning in the race for District 3 Seat A in the Idaho House.

The final result was expected to be released later in the morning after The Press deadline.

Mendive, the incumbent, is semi-retired and self-employed with a construction and excavation land services business. He had a 5,417 to 2,501 lead over Lippert as of midnight.

The results included absentee votes and 39 of 73 precincts.

The District 3 Seat A position serves Post Falls, most of the Rathdrum area and south to Worley.

Mendive, from Coeur d'Alene, said he believes his conservative views were a good fit with voters in his district.

"My opponent and I had different views," said Mendive, who is seeking a second term.

Mendive said he wants to return to Boise to fight for state control of public lands and oppose Obamacare as much as possible at the state level. He also opposes the Common Core standards in education.

"We need to get back to focusing on what made America great to start with," he said. "I'm very concerned about the future. We need to stand up against federal spending."

Mendive, a member of the House Education Committee, wants to explore any ideas which increase school choice and parental control.

Lippert, a North Idaho College philosophy instructor from Post Falls, ran for a state office for the first time. She said if Republican Terry Werner had defeated Mendive in the primary election in May, she would have dropped out.

"I supported the moderate Republicans and gave money to their campaigns," she said.

Lippert has been a Post Falls school board member for 18 years. She and Mendive differed on most topics, including funding for education and Medicaid expansion.

She added that she knew overcoming the strictly party votes would be difficult.