This story will be updated after polls close at 8 p.m. and election results come in.
Polls will soon close for Idaho’s primary election, which will determine most of Canyon County’s newly elected officials.
Most Republicans in the county will run unopposed in the November general election; only one Democratic candidate is entering a race in Canyon County.
The ballot features races for Canyon County Commissioner for Districts 1 and 3 and prosecutor. In both commission races, incumbents are seeking another term, while two candidates who would be new to the role are vying for the county’s top prosecutor.
Candidates challenging incumbent Canyon County commissioners were critical of the county’s budget increases under current leadership. The three commissioners also recently came under fire after a prosecutor said they were investigated earlier this year for violating the open meetings law and were accused of deliberating on a candidate for county clerk outside a regularly scheduled public meeting.
District 1 Commissioner Leslie Van Beek is seeking her third two-year term. Two challengers are trying to oust Van Beek: Pam Blacker-Wagoner, a substitute teacher who has called out the incumbent commissioners for giving themselves raises at taxpayer expense, and Theresa Denham, a business consultant and real estate agent from Middleton.
Van Beek’s campaign came under scrutiny when the Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office announced she was under investigation for using the county’s printing plant for campaign materials.
District 3 incumbent seeks second term
In District 3, Zach Brooks, who was elected in 2022 after first defeating incumbent Pam White in the primary, is seeking his second term. He said in his Idaho Statesman Voter Guide responses that he wanted to continue the “good work and success” that the current administration has started.
Brooks is confronted by Richard Williams, a business owner in Nampa. Williams owns a pizza and sandwich shop and says he is concerned about provincial spending and property tax increases.
The winner of the District 3 GOP primary will face Democrat Kyle Thompson in the general election. Thompson is running unopposed in the primary. The District 3 Commissioner will serve a four-year term.
The commissioners earn $112,360.
The race for prosecutor is drawing attention across the country
The race for Canyon County prosecutor has drawn attention, endorsements and dollars across the state. It has become more controversial than the two candidates predicted, they recently told the Statesman.
Replacing Prosecutor Bryan Taylor, who decided not to run for re-election, are former Adams County Prosecutor Chris Boyd and former Idaho State Representative Greg Chaney. Boyd, a far-right Republican, was endorsed by Attorney General Raúl Labrador, while Chaney, who has long been critical of extremism in the Idaho Republican Party, was endorsed by former Attorney General Lawrence Wasden.
Boyd is running on a pro-law enforcement platform and has criticized Chaney’s “lack of experience prosecuting” crimes. Chaney, a private attorney, said his experience managing the attorneys in his office has prepared him to lead the prosecutor’s office.
The accuser will serve a four-year term and Taylor currently makes $164,000 per year.
PACs. Politicians. Province employees. See who contributes to Canyon GOP candidates
Polls are closing soon in Idaho’s Republican Party primaries. Find Ada County commissioner race results here
