By Brenda Starkey
The Chronicle

     REPUBLIC - Republican Brian Dansel is out in front among six candidates running for Ferry County commissioner No. 2.
     Incumbent Republican Joe Bond and Democrat Cynthia Bonneau-Green are nearly tied for second place, with Bonneau-Green leading by only two ballots, according to unofficial primary election returns.
     With 2,200 ballots counted and a voter turnout of 50.76 percent, incumbent candidates are leading in other county contests, unofficial election night returns show.
     Dansel got 355 votes or 35.82 percent of the ballots while Bonneau-Green garnered 240 votes for 24.22 percent. Republican Bond has 238 votes or 24.02 percent.
     Jack D. Hamilton, Independent, received 79 votes for 7.97 percent; Republican Clinton "Brad" Brown got 61 votes for 6.16 percent, and Marty King, a Republican, got 18 votes for 1.82 percent.
     Chris Kroupa and John Hamilton will face each other in the general election contest for public utility commissioner No. 1, according to unofficial returns.
     Kroupa received 352 votes for 57.61 percent and Hamilton took 27.33 percent of the ballots, or 167 votes. Ben Wyckoff got 92 votes, or 15.06 percent.
     In other contested county contests, incumbent Sheriff Pete Warner received 54.46 percent of the ballots, 1,087 votes, while challenger Dennis Boone got 909 votes or 45.54 percent. Both are Republicans.
     Incumbent Prosecuting Attorney Mike Sandona, a Republican, took 52.87 percent of the unofficial ballot count or 1,050 votes compared to Independent challenger Dennis W. Morgan's 47.13 percent or 936 votes.
     Assessor Rachel D. Siracuse, Republican; Auditor Dianna L. Galvan, Republican; County Clerk Jean Bremner Booher, Democrat, and Kathleen Rupp, Democrat, were all unopposed and received 100 percent of the ballots cast.
     In legislative races, incumbent Sen. Bob Morton, R-Kettle Falls, with 9,556 votes or 75.67 percent, leads Democratic challenger Barbara Mowrey, with 3,073 votes or 24.33 percent, in the 7th District.
     In Ferry County, Morton garnered 1,553 votes or 74.74 percent, to Mowrey's 525 votes or 25.26 percent.
     Incumbent U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers leads in Ferry County with 1,429 election night votes. Daryl Romeyn took 164 votes for second place with county voters while Barbara Lampert garnered 159.
     In partial district-wide returns, McMorris Rodgers had 70.51 percent of the vote, with Lampert at 9.68 percent. Four other challengers garnered fewer votes.
     Ferry County voters disagreed with statewide voters, casting 911 ballots for Republican Dino Rossi over incumbent U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat, in election night returns.
     Rossi garnered 42.77 percent, to Murray's 661 votes, 31.03 percent, in the county. Clint Didier, another Republican, received 415 votes, 19.48 percent.
     Statewide, Murray led in early election night returns, 47.84 percent to Rossi's 33.25 percent. Didier had 11.23 percent of the statewide vote in partial election night returns.
     Rossi was the front runner in a field of 14 challengers to Murray.
     The next county ballot count will be at 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 20. The election will be certified on Wednesday, Sept. 1.