Full Mid-Term Election Results

In the Nov. 8, 2022 Mid-Term Election, a total of 3,278 registered voters made their voices heard, of the total 4,928 registered voters in the county, making this election a 67 percent voter turnout. When looking at the Valley County precinct breakdown, of the 1,062 total voters in Precinct 31, 689 people cast their ballots for a 65 percent turnout, Precinct 33 had a 68 percent turnout, 1,357 votes cast compared to the total registered voters of 2,000, and Precinct 34 has 1,232 votes cost of the total 1,866 voters with a 66 percent turnout.

The Valley County Commissioners race was a tight one with incumbent John Fahlgren being elected for another six-year term with a total of 1,568 votes, compared to Jerry Davenport’s 1,531. Precinct 31 and 33 favored Fahlgren with 368 and 684 votes respectively, while Davenport received 272 and 611 votes in those precincts. Precinct 34 favored Davenport with 648 votes while Fahlgren received 516 votes. There was a total of 10 write-ins, however since there was no declared write-in for this election, it was not required to disclose what the voters wrote on their ballots.

On the day after the election, Commissioner John Fahlgren stated “I appreciate all of the support, especially I appreciate the support of my fellow commissioners here.”

In two separate ballot measures, voters decided to vote For a Non-Medical Marijuana Excise Tax as well as For a Medical Marijuana Excise Tax. This three percent tax will go into effect in 90 days from the Nov. 8 election and the tax revenue will be split with 50 percent being retained by Valley County, 45 percent would be apportioned to the municipalities of Valley County: Fort Peck, Nashua, Glasgow and Opheim, on the basis of the ratio of the population of the city to the total county population with the remaining five percent being retained by the Montana Department of Revenue to defray costs associated with administrating the tax.

The Non-Medical Marijuana Excise Tax, a total of 2,597 votes For, with 541 votes in Precinct 31, 1,069 votes in Precinct 33 and 987 votes in Precinct 34. A total of 596 voted against, with 130 votes in precinct 31, 250 votes in Precinct 33 and 216 votes in Precinct 34.

The Medical Marijuana Excise Tax received a total of 1,899 For, with 369 votes in Precinct 31, 794 votes in Precinct 33 and 736 votes in Precinct 34. A total of 1,279 votes were against with 306 in Precinct 31, 520 in Precinct 33 and 453 in Precent 34.

In uncontested races, Marie Pippin was elected to continue her role as the Clerk and Recorder/Superintendent of Schools with a total of 2,831 votes, 606 votes came from Precinct 31, 1, 174 votes came from Precinct 33 and 1,051 votes came from Precinct 34. There were a total of eight write-in.

Sheriff Tom Boyer was elected to continue his role as Sheriff/Coroner with 2,591 total votes, 561 votes came from Precinct 31, 1,060 votes came from Precinct 33 and 970 votes came from Precinct 31. There was a total of 127 write-ins, and again since there were no declared write-ins for this election, it is not required to disclose what the voters wrote on their ballots.

Dylan Jensen, Valley County Attorney, will continue his role as he received 2,558 votes, receiving 545 votes from Precinct 31, 1,066 votes from Precinct 33 and 947 votes from Precinct 34. There was a total of 61 write-in votes for this position.

Treasurer Brenda Anderson will also continue her role as Treasurer, receiving 2,908 votes, 613 from Precinct 31, 1,204 votes from Precinct 33 and 1,091 votes from Precinct 34. There were five total write-in votes for this position.

Justice Christina Hillman will be retained with a total of 2,748 Yes votes, 579 from Precinct 31, 1,1159 from Precinct 33 and 1,010 from Precinct 34. This ballot question was a straight yes or no question.

Precinct 31 voted Arlie Gordon (R) to be their State Representative with 451 votes, while his opponent Frank Smith (D) received 214 votes. There were three write-in. However, Smith received 54 percent of the entire District 31 votes, while Gordon received 46 percent. District 31 encompasses portions Valley and Roosevelt County.

Precinct 33 voted Casey Knudsen (R) to be their State Representative with 992 votes, while his opponent Jordan Ophus (D) received 306 votes. There were seven write-ins. Knudsen also won the entire Disitrict 33 with 76.9 percent compared to Ophus’ 23.1 percent. District 33 encompasses portions of Valley, Blaine, Hill and Phillips counties.

In an uncontested race, Precinct 34 votes in Rhonda Knudsen (R) to be their State Representative with 983 votes. There were 12 write ins. District 34 encompasses portions of Valley and Roosevelt while all of Daniels and Sheridan counties.

At the state level, Valley County chose Matt Rosendale (R) as their US Representative Second District with 2,217 votes, with 442 votes received from Precinct 31, 887 votes from Precinct 33 and 888 votes from Precinct 31. His challengers Penny Ronning (D) received a total of 512 Valley County votes, 120 from Precinct 31, 234 from Precinct 33 and 158 from Precinct 34; Sam Rankin (L) received 62 votes, 11 from Precinct 31, 36 from Precinct 33 and 15 from Precinct 34; Gary Buchanan (I) received 429 votes, 111 from Precinct 31, 177 from Precinct 33 and 141 from Precinct 34. There was one write-in from Precinct 33 and one write-in from Precinct 34.

Matt Rosendale (R) also received the greatest number of votes in the state to serve as Montana’s US Representative Second District and will be the state’s second US Representative along with Ryan Zinke (R) in the First District.

Another uncontested race was for Public Service Commissioners District 1. Randy Pinocci (R) received 2,519 votes, 505 from Precinct 31, 1,047 from Precinct 33 and 967 from Precinct 34. There was a total of 35 write-ins. District 1 encompasses Valley County as well as far east as Sheridan, Roosevelt, Richland, Dawson and Wibaux and as far west as Glacier, Pondera, and Cascade county.

Valley County voted for Jim Rice as their Supreme Court Justice 1, receiving 2,325 of the votes, 490 from Precinct 31, 999 from Precinct 33 and 836 from Precinct 34, while his opponent Bill D’Alton received 482 votes, 104 from Precinct 31, 185 from Precinct 33 and 193 from Precinct 34. There was a total of seven write-ins for this election.

Rice was re-elected at the State level and has served as a justice since 2001, when he was appointed to the Montana Supreme Court by former Governor Judy Martz. Rice also won re-election in 2002, 2006 and 2014.

Valley County also voted for James Brown as their Supreme Court Justice 2 with 1,687 votes, 350 from Precinct 31, 662 from Precinct 33 and 675 from Precinct 34. His challenge, Ingrid Gustafason, only received 1,345 Valley County votes, 293 from Precinct 31, 601 from Precinct 33 and 451 from Precinct 34. There was a total of six write-ins for this election.

On Wednesday morning, Nov. 9, Brown conceded the race to Justice Ingrid Gustafason stating, “We fell short after a hard-fought campaign where we were significantly outspent by special interest groups and saw millions of dollars in liberal money flood the state in the final weeks of this race. Even so, I am humbled by the high level of support our campaign received from Montanans from all across the Treasure State and from all walks of life. Running for the Montana Supreme Court has been one of the most rewarding professional experiences of my career and that is due, in part, to the opportunity the race afforded me in meeting great Montanans from Alzada to Libby. I congratulate Justice Gustafson on her election. To every supporter from across the state, please remember, there’s still important work to do and we can’t give up on our shared goal to restore accountability in our judicial branch and bring balance to the Montana Supreme Court.”

For Constitutional Amendment No. 48, Requires Search Warrant For A Person’s Data, Valley County voted Yes for this measure with 2,536 votes, with Precinct 31 having 529, Precinct 33 1,044 and 963 from Precinct 34. A total of 527 votes against the Amendment with 118 from Precinct 31, 221 from Precinct 33 and 188 from Precinct 34. The State overall voted Yes to this Amendment with 82.32 percent compared to 17.68 percent No.

Valley County also voted Yes for Legislative Referendum No. 131, Requires Medical Care To Be Provided For Infants Born Alive with 1,755 votes, 356 from Precinct 31, 715 from Precinct 33 and 684 from Precinct 34. A total of 1,325 voted no with 287 from Precinct 31, 564 from Precinct 33 and 474 from Precinct 34. The State overall voted No for this Legislative Referendum with 52.55 percent compared to 47.45 percent Yes.