Kootenai County Commissioner Leslie Duncan dropped out of the race for North Idaho College Trustee Zone 5 on Friday, meaning she is now solely running for reelection to her county seat. 

“After careful consideration and assessing the many challenges and community needs, my family and close advisors prefer I not divide my attention,” Duncan said in a statement released Friday. “This will allow me to remain squarely focused on my commissioner role serving Kootenai County.” 

In August, Duncan told The Press she had decided to run for the NIC board partly because former county commissioner Marc Eberlein is poised to rejoin the county board. She said Eberlein’s experience would “free up a lot of time,” enabling her to maintain two elected positions. 

With Duncan out of the race, two candidates are running for NIC Trustee Zone 5: Mary Havercroft and Michael Angiletta. 

Duncan said she had been “working closely” with Angiletta on her NIC campaign and she came to believe he was a better fit for the role. She endorsed Angiletta’s candidacy, saying they have a “shared vision for North Idaho College’s future.”