The most closely watched race in Lake County (or perhaps just in Polson) gave political upstart Finley Warden a Republican primary win over three-term incumbent Linda Reksten in House District 13.

According to results posted Tuesday on the Secretary of State's website, Warden won handily with 65% of the vote (1,611), while Reksten claimed 35% (882) of the 2,493 votes cast in the race.

The lone Democratic candidate, Dalton Bradford, received 910 votes, and will face Warden in the general election.

The two other contested legislative races in Lake County involved districts that are partially on the Blackfeet Reservation. In House District 15, incumbent Thedis Crowe took 64% of the vote against Democratic challenger Adrien Owen Wagner in Lake County, and won overall with 63%, or 568 of the 907 votes cast. She’ll face Republican Ralph Foster of St. Ignatius, who came away with a total of 604 votes, in the general election.

Two Democrats sought to replace retiring Senator Susan Weber in Senate District 8; Tyson Running Wolf prevailed against Jade-Heather Ackerman with nearly 64% of the vote in Lake County, and 74%, or 1,602 votes, overall. He’s up against Republican Christopher Paul Buckles, who received a total of 1,089 votes, in the general.

According to the vote tally released last Wednesday by the Lake County Election Office, Lake County Commissioner Bill Barron easily won his race for a fourth term with nearly 77% of the vote. Although he had two competitors on the Republican ticket – Jesse Hernandez and William Mitalski – neither ran active campaigns.

Hernandez discovered after filing that he resides a short distance out of District 1; he still received 678 votes or 14% of the 4,823 votes cast, while Mitalski accrued 9%.

The Lake County Courthouse remains firmly in the grip of Republicans since the remaining incumbents all ran unopposed. Returning office holders are Clerk and Recorder Kendra Steele, Sheriff/Coroner Don Bell, County Attorney James Lapotka, Superintendent of Schools Carolyn Hall, and Treasurer/Assessor Rebecca Maso.

The two District Court judges, John Mercer and Molly Owen, as well as Justice of the Peace Rick Schoening, also faced no challengers for their nonpartisan judicial posts.

Local voters prefer Busse, Wilson 

Lake County voters didn’t always agree with the rest of the primary voters in a few races. Democrat Ryan Busse was the frontrunner in Lake County to replace Republican Ryan Zinke in the U.S. House of Representatives, earning almost 37% of the vote while the Western District primary winner, Sam Forstag, picked up 32%.

In the overall tally, they practically switched places, with Forstag in the lead with 37%, or 26,276 votes, compared to Busse’s 33%, or 23,196. Democratic contenders Russ Cleveland earned 22% overall (about 21% in Lake County) and Matt Rains received just 8% overall (10% in Lake County).

On the Republican ticket, talk-show host Aaron Flint took 44% of the vote in Lake County and 50% districtwide. Kalispell doctor Al Olszewski claimed 29% of the vote in Lake County but 20% overall. Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen pulled 20% of Lake County’s vote and earned 23% overall; last in line was Ray Curtis with just 7% overall.

On the U.S. Senate side, former U.S. attorney Kurt Alme collected 76% of the Republican vote in Lake County and statewide in his effort to replace Sen. Steve Daines, easily dispatching competitors Lee Calhoun and Charles Walking Child.

Democrats chose Alani Bankhead, with about 41% of the vote in Lake County and 44% statewide, as their standard-bearer. Reilly Neill took about 30% locally and 33% statewide; Michael Blackwolf received 19% in Lake County and 13% statewide, with Christopher Kehoe and Michael Hummert splitting the remainder.

Kyle Austin won the Libertarian primary for the Senate seat with 53% of the vote, while Tom Jandron earned 47%.

Two Flathead District Court judges, Amy Eddy and Dan Wilson, vied for a seat on the Montana Supreme Court. A majority of Lake County voters preferred Wilson by a narrow margin, 3,842 to 3,793. But Eddy edged him out statewide, 51% to 49%, or 140,008 to 132,372.

Republicans back incumbent Annie Bukacek for the Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities in Montana, with 42% of the vote in Lake County and 36% across District 5. It was actually a close three-way race with Joe Dooling getting 33% and David Sanders claiming 31%. Bukacek will face Democrat Kevin Hamm.

Overall, 8,433 of Lake County’s 22,470 registered voters cast ballots, or 37.48% -- matching the statewide turnout of 37.36%.

For complete tallies, head to electionresults.mt.gov.