Krueger's victory is confirmed

Gary Krueger was declared the winner of the Republican primary election for the District 3 Flathead County commissioner nomination following Monday’s recount of ballots in the tight race.

The number of ballots cast for Krueger and second-place finisher Jay Scott changed slightly in the recount, but Krueger still tallied 23 more votes than Scott.

The final count, after 25 people spent five hours rechecking the Republican ballots by hand, showed Krueger with 3,662 votes and Scott with 3,639 votes.

A week and a half ago, when the final election numbers were posted by the county elections office, it showed Krueger up by 30 votes, 3,665 to 3,635. Monday’s recount dropped Krueger’s total by three votes and increased Scott’s total by four votes.

The vote count in the District 3 race changed several times, with the numbers released on election night showing Krueger up by 15 votes. After provisional ballots were counted the week after the election, Krueger’s lead increased to 17 votes and finally to the 30-vote margin three days later when the county released final numbers.

Flathead County Clerk Paula Robinson said “there’s always a few ballots difference after a recount.”

Last week she said she never had seen the outcome of an election change after a recount, although the numbers always change.

Krueger, 53, previously ran Flathead Valley Concrete and helps out his son Ryan, who now runs the business. He also works on the family farm.

Scott, 58, is a part-time sales representative for KGEZ radio and operated a ranch for 35 years. Scott managed the county fairgrounds for 12 years before the Fair Board opted not to renew his contract.

Krueger wound up as the victor in a five-candidate race for the District 3 Republican nomination.

Krueger advances to the Nov. 6 general election where he faces Democrat Clara Mears-LaChappelle.

The winner in November will succeed Commissioner Dale Lauman, who did not seek re-election.

Neither Krueger or Scott returned calls to the Inter Lake Monday afternoon for comment on the final outcome.