Aldrich wins Baker County commissioner race, Rilee heads to runoff

Casey Aldrich turned Baker County Commission Position 2 into a landslide, taking 59.73% of the vote, or 3,097 ballots, and leaving little doubt about who will help shape the county’s next fights over taxes, roads and land use.

Dan Johnson finished a distant second with 28.43%, or 1,474 votes. Peter Hall received 6.31%, James Marcrum took 4.98%, and 29 write-ins were recorded in a race that drew 5,185 total votes. Aldrich’s margin was built on a field that never coalesced around a single challenger, letting him separate early and stay far ahead to the finish.

The county’s other commissioner contest stayed unsettled. Whitney Rilee led Position 3 with 42.61%, or 2,423 votes, ahead of Kody Justus at 24.44% with 1,390 votes, Bill Harvey at 22.88% with 1,301 votes, Shane Alderson at 9.93% with 565 votes, and eight write-ins. Because no candidate cleared 50%, the race was headed to a Nov. 10, 2026 general election runoff, keeping the county’s full-time chair and administrator seat in play.

That matters in Baker County because Position 3 is not just another commission seat. Under the county’s current structure, the chair serves as the full-time county administrator, while the other two commissioners serve part-time. Whoever wins that seat will have a central role in steering day-to-day county operations and the major decisions that follow.

The May 19 primary also showed how the county’s electorate broke down. Officials reported 6,038 ballots processed, including 3,658 Republican ballots, 1,403 nonpartisan ballots and 977 Democratic ballots. The numbers reflected a county where the Republican primary remained the main battlefield for local power, even as internal splits opened the door for decisive wins and runoff politics.

Voters also delivered a clear rebuke to Measure 1-137, rejecting it 75.14% to 24.86%. The proposal would have shifted Baker County to a county administrator form of government, created an appointed administrator, required the board chair to be chosen annually and equalized duties and compensation across commissioner seats.

At the same time, the Baker County Library District levy renewal passed 70.31% to 29.69%. The measure keeps the current rate of $0.249 per $1,000 of assessed value in place for five years beginning in 2027-28 and is projected to raise about $3,049,642 over that period.