Jackson pushes back Loranger; Olson loses bid for third term

Rep. Verdell Jackson, R-Kalispell, handily defeated challenger Don Loranger in Senate District 5.

Rep. Verdell Jackson, R-Kalispell, handily defeated challenger Don Loranger in the wake of a volatile Republican primary race for Senate District 5, and Republican voters ousted incumbent Rep. Bernie Olson, R-Lakeside.

Jackson, a four-term veteran in the Montana House who was making his first run for the Senate, was the clear winner with 41 of 42 precincts reporting at press time. Jackson had 54 percent of the vote, followed by Loranger with 31 percent and Daniel Griffin with 15 percent.

Loranger spent about $20,000 in campaigning, roughly three times more than Jackson in a race that got rough, punctuated by letter-writing volleys between the two campaigns.

Jackson attributed the win largely to an ambitious door-to-door campaign.

"I beat him on the ground, door-to-door," said Jackson, who estimate he visited 2,500 homes over two months. "It doesn't matter how much money you spend; it matters how many votes you get."

Jackson advances to face Democrat Ric Smith in the November general election.

In House District 10, meanwhile, Republican voters favored political newcomer Mark Blasdel over Olson, a two-term incumbent, by a 66 to 33 percent margin. Olson drew heavy criticism from Republicans for siding with Democrats on key votes last year. On a school funding bill, Olson's vote was the tiebreaker in a House divided 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans.

Blasdel advances to a race against Carla Augustad, who defeated Steven Davidson in the Democratic primary, 59 to 38 percent.

Rep. Bill Jones, R-Bigfork, prevailed over David Carlson, 57 to 43 percent, in his bid for a second term in House District 9. Jones will face Democrat Edd Blackler in the November election.

In the House District 6 Republican primary, Bill Beck was the winner over Harm Toren, 58 to 41 percent. Beck will face Democrat Scott Wheeler in the November election.

In the House District 8 Republican primary, Craig Witte was the winner over Keith Regier, 54 to 45 percent. Witte advances to face Democrat Randy Kenyon in November.

In other Democratic primary races, Doug Cordier defeated Bill Baum on a 84 to 15 percent margin in House District 3. Cordier will face incumbent Rep. Dee Brown, R-Hungry Horse, in November.

In Senate District 4, Gerald Reckin defeated Maxwell Battle by a 77 to 23 percent margin. Reckin will go up against incumbent Sen. Greg Barkus, R-Kalispell, in November.