When the final paper and electronic ballots were tallied at around 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, incumbent Mineral County Commissioner Janice LaRue narrowly came out on top, winning the Republican nomination by five votes, according to the unofficial totals.
The total for LaRue — who is completing her first term as Commissioner — was 1,102, while following close behind her was Roger Leatherman with 1,097 votes.
A third candidate on the Republican ticket for County Commissioner was Annette Favara, who received 834 votes.
LaRue will face Democrat Donald Ashby in the general election this November.
Ashby, a former Board of Education member for 6 years, garnered 3,058 votes.
Craig Fraley obtained the most votes of the four Democratic candidates for county sheriff, at 1,640, and will have his name placed on the general election ballot.
Fraley is the resource officer at Keyser High School, has been a deputy since 1989, and is the only D.A.R.E. instructor in Mineral County.
The remaining Democrat candidates for sheriff were: Pat Amoroso, 1,241 votes; Frank Smith, 465 votes; and Ringo Nelson, 381 votes.
On the Republican ticket, Paul Sabin ran unopposed and gathered 2,150 votes.
Sabin is presently the chief deputy in Mineral County, and has held that position for the past six years.
Prior before arriving in the county, he served as a law enforcement officer in Florida, with the Kenneth City police force and the State Highway Patrol.
Sabin will be running against Fraley in the general election.
In the District 1 nonpartisan race for a position on the Board of Education, incumbent Mary Aronhalt collected 3,179 votes, while her opponent William “Butch” Wahl received 2,306 votes.
Aronhalt has served on the Board of Education for nine years, and is currently president.
An additional position for the Board of Education was open in District 2, as Craig Rotruck topped the voting with 3,394 votes.
Rotruck is a former Mineral County school teacher.
Incumbent Todd Ellifritz, who was elected to the board in 2004, had 2,644 votes.
James “Jay” Courrier Jr. ran unopposed the office of Mineral County Prosecuting Attorney, and gained 2,599 votes.
In the race for assessor, newcomer to the political scene and running unopposed, Democrat Betty L. Reall, received 2,983 votes.
She will face incumbent Rose Ann Maine, a Republican, in the general election. Maine gathered 2,511 votes in the primary.
In the magistrate’s category, Democrat incumbent Sue Roby received 2,917 votes, while Tanya Bartlett, also a Democrat, gained 1,147 votes.
On the Republican side for the office of magistrate, incumbent David Harman gathered 2,450 votes.
A canvass of the votes, to determine the official outcome of the election, will take place this Friday at the Mineral County Courthouse.
This process is open to the public, and during this time provisional ballots will be counted.
According to Mineral County Clerk Lauren Ellifritz — among the provisional ballots — there are 61 Democrats, 30 Republicans, and 62 non-partisans.