Republican candidates John McCain, Bob Schaefer and Marilyn Musgrave scored victories in Bent County Tuesday.
But all three lost their wider campaigns for the U.S. Presidency, Senate and the House respectively.
Incumbent Congresswoman Marilyn S. Musgrave, R – Colo., scored a decisive victory in Bent County, beating Democratic challenger Betsy Markey in the county with a 60 – 40 margin.
However late Tuesday night both KCNC Channel 4 and the Denver Post declared Markey had taken the House seat away from Musgrave.
By 9 p.m. local time McCain had conceded the Presidential election to Barack Obama. McCain had defeated Obama in Bent County by a 56 to 41 percent margin.
Likewise, Udall was declared an early winner on election night, although he lost to Schaefer in Bent County by a more narrow 49 to 45 percent margin.
Unopposed on the ballot, Bent County Commissioners Bill Long and Lynden Gill were returned to office for second terms. District Attorney Rodney Fouracre was also re-elected without opposition. All three are Democrats.
However, Long and Gill will serve their final terms as local voters rejected eliminating term limits for commissioners.
There were more than 1,800 votes cast in Bent County this year.
A thousand votes had already been received by the County Clerk’s office Monday morning and hundreds more came in by Tuesday morning as most voters preferred to submit mail-in ballots or do early voting at the County Courthouse.
County Clerk and Recorder Patti Nickell said Monday morning that early voting actually was down a bit for this election but mail-in voting “was huge.”
Tuesday evening Nickell said the election had gone very well without any glitches or problems.
Contacted by the Democrat, District Attorney Rodney Fouracre confirmed this would be his second term in office.
He said his biggest goal for the next four years is to “provide service to the citizens of the three counties and try to give victims and defendants the justice they deserve.”
Asked for a comment, Commissioner Lynden Gill said he wants to help complete the current County Courthouse project “and continue to develop a strong financial foundation for the county budget.
“We have had some opportunities from the wind farm and prisons to have some additional tax base. We want to build up the financial strength and hope it will provide some opportunities for citizens in the future.”
Commission Chairman Bill Long said economic development will be one of his priorities in his second term.
‘It will be more challenging than it was four years ago but there are still opportunities in energy.”
With a lengthy ballot due to numerous proposed amendments to the Colorado Constitution, it was feared the voting process would go slow statewide.
But there was heavy voting before election day throughout the state.
At 10:30 a.m. the waiting time at St. Mary’s Hall was about half an hour for voters. Virgie Robb said the pace of voting slacked off around the noon hour, but then picked up again later in the day.
Amelia Avila, who left the polling place shortly before 5 p.m., said she had waited 15 or 20 minutes to vote. Some after-work late comers had to wait up to an hour for their turn at a voting machine.
Avila said she has skipped some of the amendments when she voted. “It was too much to read,” she noted.
A high school senior. Zach Goldsberry worked the entire day as a judge. He said the experience was interesting. But he did not get to vote, his birth date was eight days too late.
“It went real well,” said Frances Skiles, one of the election workers.
“For the most part people were ready to vote and had their cheat sheets with them.
“It was extremely well organized.”
Patti Nickell had preliminary election results soon after 8 p.m. and Lynda Moss began recording the results, precinct by precinct, on large sheets of paper hanging on a bulletin board.
By 9 p.m. the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News announced that Obama had carried Colorado and Congressman Mark Udall, D – Colo., had won the Senate race over Schafer..
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Republican candidates John McCain, Bob Schaefer and Marilyn Musgrave scored victories in Bent County Tuesday.
But all three lost their wider campaigns for the U.S. Presidency, Senate and the House respectively.
Incumbent Congresswoman Marilyn S. Musgrave, R – Colo., scored a decisive victory in Bent County, beating Democratic challenger Betsy Markey in the county with a 60 – 40 margin.
However late Tuesday night both KCNC Channel 4 and the Denver Post declared Markey had taken the House seat away from Musgrave.
By 9 p.m. local time McCain had conceded the Presidential election to Barack Obama. McCain had defeated Obama in Bent County by a 56 to 41 percent margin.
Likewise, Udall was declared an early winner on election night, although he lost to Schaefer in Bent County by a more narrow 49 to 45 percent margin.
Unopposed on the ballot, Bent County Commissioners Bill Long and Lynden Gill were returned to office for second terms. District Attorney Rodney Fouracre was also re-elected without opposition. All three are Democrats.
However, Long and Gill will serve their final terms as local voters rejected eliminating term limits for commissioners.
There were more than 1,800 votes cast in Bent County this year.
A thousand votes had already been received by the County Clerk’s office Monday morning and hundreds more came in by Tuesday morning as most voters preferred to submit mail-in ballots or do early voting at the County Courthouse.
County Clerk and Recorder Patti Nickell said Monday morning that early voting actually was down a bit for this election but mail-in voting “was huge.”
Tuesday evening Nickell said the election had gone very well without any glitches or problems.
Contacted by the Democrat, District Attorney Rodney Fouracre confirmed this would be his second term in office.
He said his biggest goal for the next four years is to “provide service to the citizens of the three counties and try to give victims and defendants the justice they deserve.”
Asked for a comment, Commissioner Lynden Gill said he wants to help complete the current County Courthouse project “and continue to develop a strong financial foundation for the county budget.
“We have had some opportunities from the wind farm and prisons to have some additional tax base. We want to build up the financial strength and hope it will provide some opportunities for citizens in the future.”
Commission Chairman Bill Long said economic development will be one of his priorities in his second term.
‘It will be more challenging than it was four years ago but there are still opportunities in energy.”
With a lengthy ballot due to numerous proposed amendments to the Colorado Constitution, it was feared the voting process would go slow statewide.
But there was heavy voting before election day throughout the state.
At 10:30 a.m. the waiting time at St. Mary’s Hall was about half an hour for voters. Virgie Robb said the pace of voting slacked off around the noon hour, but then picked up again later in the day.
Amelia Avila, who left the polling place shortly before 5 p.m., said she had waited 15 or 20 minutes to vote. Some after-work late comers had to wait up to an hour for their turn at a voting machine.
Avila said she has skipped some of the amendments when she voted. “It was too much to read,” she noted.
A high school senior. Zach Goldsberry worked the entire day as a judge. He said the experience was interesting. But he did not get to vote, his birth date was eight days too late.
“It went real well,” said Frances Skiles, one of the election workers.
“For the most part people were ready to vote and had their cheat sheets with them.
“It was extremely well organized.”
Patti Nickell had preliminary election results soon after 8 p.m. and Lynda Moss began recording the results, precinct by precinct, on large sheets of paper hanging on a bulletin board.
By 9 p.m. the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News announced that Obama had carried Colorado and Congressman Mark Udall, D – Colo., had won the Senate race over Schafer..
