Updated: Butte-Silver Bow, Anaconda-Deer Lodge county races set for November (2024)

J.P. Gallagher and Bill Foley have cleared primary hurdles in the race for chief executive of Butte-Silver Bow County and will face each other in the Nov. 5 general election.

Gallagher is seeking a second term as the county’s top political official and finished first in a four-way primary on Tuesday, getting 45% of 11,225 votes cast, according to unofficial results.

Foley finished second with 25%, Rayelynn Brandl got 22% and Cathy “Moe” Goodwin got 8%, but only Gallagher and Foley advance.

Gallagher was pleased with his primary showing.

“I think people spoke with confidence in the leadership of the chief executive’s office so we’re going to continue to work every day for the people of Butte and I look forward to the general election,” Gallagher said Wednesday morning.

Foley, a longtime sportswriter and columnist in Butte, had a different take on the results.

“Fifty-five percent of the voters voted against the incumbent last night and I think that’s telling,” he said. “I feel really good about my position right now, because I think what I stand for is the same thing that Rayelynn Brandl and Moe Goodwin stand for.”

In neighboring Anaconda-Deer Lodge County, incumbent Bill Everett finished first in a four-way primary for chief executive, capturing 49% of the vote. Greg Bahr, the county’s building inspector, finished second with 33% of the vote.

In local races with three or more primary candidates in Butte-Silver Bow and Anaconda-Deer Lodge counties, only the two two vote-getters advance to November. That means Everett and Bahr will square off in the fall.

Kevin Morley finished third in that chief executive race with 12% of the vote and Daniel Goddard got 5%.

In another four-way primary Tuesday in Butte-Silver Bow County, prosecutor Ann Shea finished first in a bid to replace longtime state District Court Judge Kurt Krueger, who is retiring at the end of the year.

Shea got 3,030 votes, or 27%, while Butte attorney Frank Joseph finished close behind with 2,966 votes — also 27%. William Joyce had 2,904 votes, or 26%, and Michael McKeon had 2,217 votes, or 20%.

If the results hold, voters will choose between Shea and Joseph in November. Shea attributed her first-place finish Tuesday to friends and family.

“I have a lot of good people around me who were helping me and pushing me all the way and I think that’s a big deal,” Shea said Wednesday. “Hopefully the community recognized my experience and work ethic.”

Shea said it is time to reflect a bit then look ahead to November.

“We have to regroup and take a look at the results and sit down with the team that was helping me and look where we need to put our focus,” she said.

Joseph said he was also pleased with the results and advancing to November.

“Obviously we would have liked to have been in first place and have other people chase me, but I’ve got my work cut out for me and I am looking forward to that race for the general,” Joseph said.

“Ann is a good opponent. She’s a smart lady and comes from a big family and it’s going to be a tight fight,” he said.

There were two other local races impacted by the primary on Tuesday in Butte-Silver Bow.

In a three-way contest to replace outgoing Clerk and Recorder Linda Sajor-Joyce, Cindy Sherman got 52% of 10,083 votes cast. Amy Shadow had 25% and Rachel Roberts Boyd had 23%. That means Sherman and Shadow advance.

In a race for a District 5 seat on the Council of Commissioners, Russell O'Leary had 31% of 1,425 votes cast. Incumbent Justin Fortune had 28%, Tom Cronnelly had 24% and former Commissioner Dan Olsen trailed the field with 18%. O'Leary and Fortune face off in November.

In another Anaconda-Deer Lodge County race, incumbent Bill Sather finished first with 53% of the vote in a three-way primary for police chief. Kyle Staley had 33% and Stephen Ernbsberger had 15%.

There are several races in Butte-Silver Bow that had only two candidates going into Tuesday and both advanced regardless. Candidates can look at primary results to gauge strengths and weaknesses but they have no official bearing on the general election.

Sheriff Ed Lester is seeking a fifth term and faces Mike Gage, an insurance agency manager and former Kansas City police officer, in November. Lester got 65% of the primary votes to 35% for Gage.

In a race for Butte-Silver Bow county attorney, Matt Enrooth and Kelli Fivey will square off in November. They were separated by only 43 votes out of more than 10,700 cast in the primary. Enrooth got 5,402 votes and Fivey got 5,359 votes.

Jim O’Neill and Margie O’Connor Willhite will be on the November ballot for county school superintendent.

In council races this fall:

In District 3, Kevin Cullen is running against Commissioner Hattie Thatcher.

In District 8, Commissioner John Riordan faces Trudy Healy.

In District 12, Christy Hays Pickett is challenging Commissioner Dan Callahan.

Nobody challenged District 6 Commissioner Jim Fisher, who is seeking a fourth term.

Longtime Commissioner John Sorich did not run again in District 4 and this November, William “Bill” Boyle faces Matt Moore.

Several incumbent county officials faced no primary opposition and will win their posts outright unless a write-in candidate gets in. They are:

Timothy Cassidy, a budget rate analyst for Butte-Silver Bow, is the only one who filed for assessor. Longtime Assessor Dan Fisher is not seeking reelection.

Debbie Ferris is the only person who filed for public administrator, who administers estates of deceased people who have no relatives or heirs to do it.