Crook County ballots for the May 2024 election will get mailed out May 1 and Republican and Democratic voters alike will have much to decide.
Oregon holds closed primary elections, so registered Republican voters will only see Republican party candidates on their ballots and Democrats will only see candidates for their party on the ballot. Nonpartisan offices will appear on all Crook County ballots.
Three Crook County offices will appear on the May ballots. Incumbent Greg Kelso is the lone candidate for county surveyor and Susan Hermreck is running unopposed to keep her Crook County Commissioner position 1 seat. She was appointed commissioner after former commissioner Jerry Brummer resigned last fall.
Three candidates are battling for County Commissioner position 3. Incumbent Seth Crawford is facing Ken Fahlgren and Monty Kurtz. Crawford held the role of county judge until a recent transition from a county court to a county board of commissioners abolished the position. Fahlgren is running against Crawford for a second time, after running against him for county judge in 2016.
In addition to the county candidate races, local voters will decide the fate of two ballot measures. Measure 7-87 is for an $11 million school bond – with a $6 million grant match for a total of $17 million – that will fund critical school building repairs to roofs and heating systems and upgrade security systems throughout the school district.
Voters will also decide the outcome of Measure 7-86, which is an advisory question regarding citizen sentiment for relocation of the Oregon-Idaho border. The measures asks if Crook County should “represent that its citizens support efforts to move the Idaho state border to include Crook County.”
In addition to the county positions, local voters will see two 22nd Judicial District candidates on the ballot. Annette Hillman is seeking re-election for Circuit Court Judge position 1 and Daina Vitolins is seeking another term for Circuit Court Judge position 3.
Also appearing on all ballots will be five Oregon Supreme Court judge positions, all of which only include one candidate and a two-person race between Robin Aoyagi and Daniel Crowe for Oregon Court of Appeals judge, position 4.
On Republican ballots, Crook County voters will choose between two candidates for Oregon’s Second Congressional District. Both names should be familiar as one is incumbent Cliff Bentz and the other is current Prineville Mayor Jason Beebe.
The state offices will feature less drama on the Republican ballot as the only secretary of state candidate is Brent Barker and Nathan Sandvig is the lone Republican seeking the state treasurer office. However, another statewide office, attorney general has two Republican candidates, Michael Cross and Will Lathrop.
The races for Crook County’s Senate and House districts are more crowded. Mike McLane, a former House Minority Leader who lives in Prineville, is running for Senate District 30. He faces to Republican opponents, Douglas Muck Jr. and Robert Neuman. House District 59 incumbent and Prineville resident Vikki Breese-Iverson will likewise face two Republican opponents, Joseph Goodwin and Austyn Goody.
On the Democratic ballot, two candidates are vying for Second Congressional District, with Steve Liable facing Dan Ruby. Five Democrats are running for secretary of state. Tobias Read, who is currently Oregon’s state treasurer, will face challenges from James Crary, current Oregon state senator James Manning Jr., Dave Stauffer and Paul Wells.
The race for state treasurer will include two candidates, Jeff Gudman and Elizabeth Steiner, a current Oregon state senator. Meanwhile, just one Democrat, Dan Rayfield, is running for attorney general, and only one Democrat, Brian Samp, is running for House District 59.
Ballots will be mailed out to Crook County voters on May 1. The deadline to return a ballot is Tuesday, May 21, 8 p.m.
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