Dennis Thornock won the Republican primary for Custer County Commissioner, District 2, on Tuesday, defeating former county prosecutor Justin Oleson by a wide margin in a race that was not called until early Wednesday morning.

Thornock took 924 votes, more than 80 percent of the total, against Oleson’s 216 votes. The longtime Challis-area resident campaigned as a rural-community advocate against an opponent whose name recognition came with baggage. Oleson was disbarred for professional misconduct last year, a fact that featured prominently in the race.

What Thornock ran on

Thornock’s campaign emphasized employment, rural healthcare and education access, and what he called multiple-use access on federal public lands — a perennial issue in a county where federal acreage dominates the map. He has also said he intends to work with state and federal lawmakers on Payment in Lieu of Taxes funding, the federal program that compensates rural counties for non-taxable federal land.

Custer County is reliably Republican, so Tuesday’s primary effectively decides the seat. Barring an unexpected independent or write-in challenge in November, Thornock will take the district seat in January.

Thornock told supporters after the result that he was already in conversations with current and former commissioners about the transition. The seat is one of three on the county commission and carries direct authority over the county budget, road and bridge work, and public-lands coordination with federal agencies.