Republican candidate Randy Brodehl has outpaced his Democratic challenger in the race for Flathead County’s District 3 commissioner.
By 11 p.m. on election night, Brodehl held a solid lead over Clark, with 17,307 votes to 10,611, or about 62 percent of the vote to 38 percent.
“I am thrilled,” Brodehl said. “We ran this race like we were behind all the time, and it just came together every single day.”
Flathead County has three county commissioners, whose job is essentially to steer the county’s government. The commissioners, paid $71,185 annually, represent three parts of the county; the District 3 seat encompasses the county’s southern and western sections.
In the primary election, Brodehl earned the Republican nod for the ballot over incumbent Commissioner Gary Krueger, whose term will finish out at the end of the year.
“It was a tough primary,” Brodehl said on Tuesday night. “A tough, tough primary. Now we’re there. [I’ll] be serving the people of Flathead County in the future.”
A career firefighter since 1970 who served as Kalispell’s fire chief 10 years ago, Brodehl was elected 2011 as a House District 9’s representative at the Montana Legislature. He continues to serve in that role, and will until his term ends at the end of the year.
Clark said he was a little disappointed in his showing at the polls, expecting the race to be tighter. Earlier in the evening on Nov. 6, Clark held within 10 percent of Brodehl, but the distance between the Republican and the Democrat spread as the vote tally continued.
“I just want to thank all the people who worked for me,” Clark said. “I thought we were going to have a better showing, but it’s a tough area for Democrats. I hope Randy keeps his word on the transparency and accessibility, because the Flathead County government is not open to the average person.”
Despite losing his first foray into politics, Clark, a plumber, said he is glad he ran.
“I ran a good campaign, I’m glad I did it. I’ll just go back to what I’ve been doing for the last 35 years,” Clark said.