Republicans send clerk race to primary

The San Juan County Republican party met at Monticello High School on April 10 to select candidates for the 2014 general election.
Republican candidates were finalized in all but one race. Clerk candidates John David Nielson and James Francom will face off in a June 24 primary election.
Since neither clerk candidate was able to secure the 70 percent of delegate votes that are needed to avoid a primary, they will meet in the primary election.
Nielson secured 60 percent of the 60 delegate votes, while Francom secured 40 percent of the votes.
In the race for Commissioner representing District 2, incumbent Phil Lyman won 78 percent of the delegate votes and secured the nomination. He was opposed by Norman Johnson, who secured 22 percent of the delegate votes.
In other races, delegates selected a number of additional candidates who are unopposed in the party.
Incumbents who were unopposed in the party include Treasurer Glenis Pearson and Attorney Craig Halls.
Two incumbents, Recorder Louise Jones and Surveyor David Bronson, are not seeking reelection. The Republican candidate for Recorder is David Carpenter and the candidate for Surveyor is Sam Cantrell.
Shelby Seely is the Republican candidate for San Juan County Assessor.
Sheriff Rick Eldredge is seeking a second term as Sheriff. He ran as a Democrat in 2010, but will seek the office as a Republican in 2014.
Manuel Morgan secured the Republican nomination for Commissioner representing District 3. Several years ago, Morgan served two terms as Commissioner for that district as a Democrat. He will face the winner of Democrat primary election between Rebecca Benally and Roger Atcitty.
Voters who are registered party members will receive a primary election ballot in the mail. Since the Democratic primary is open to non-party members, voters who are not registered Democrats must request a ballot from San Juan County in order to participate in the Democratic primary election.