Kootenai County precinct races draw scrutiny amid voter frustration and low turnout

“The most important election is not in November. It’s in May,” former Idaho Lt. Gov. Jack Riggs said of Kootenai County’s precinct races, a reminder that a few dozen neighborhood contests can shape much more than their ballot line. The county is divided into 74 precincts, and precinct committee races are decided every two years during the May primary, where small margins can determine who helps form the county Republican central committee.

That central committee does more than count votes. It chooses which candidates to support, sends delegates to the state convention, and can help shape party rules and legislative conversations. Local reporting has said Kootenai County Republican Central Committee-backed candidates often win their primaries and usually go unopposed in the general election, which makes the May contests the real gatekeeper in many local races.

Low turnout has given those precinct-level contests unusual leverage. The county says primary turnout has averaged about 27% of registered voters since 2000, while general-election turnout has ranged from 54% in non-presidential years to 89% in presidential years. In 2022, the county said only 45% of adults 18 and over voted in the general election. In the May 20, 2025 consolidated election, official results showed 21.9% turnout, 24,076 ballots counted and 110,058 registered voters, with all 74 precincts reporting.

The Kootenai County GOP said its 2025 election analysis found turnout at 28%, compared with 8.5% in 2017. It also said the grassroots conservative candidates recommended by the KCRCC swept most county offices outside Coeur d’Alene and Hayden. In a county where a few hundred votes can decide precinct seats, those numbers help explain why party insiders are watching the May primary so closely.

The political undercurrent has also widened into questions about church influence. Hosts Dan Wilson and Dawna Wilson used the Liberty Without Compromise platform to discuss voter frustration, questionable candidates and what they described as coordinated influence systems in Kootenai County. Promotions for the show pointed to Pastor Paul Van Noy of Candlelight Christian Fellowship, Watchmen Ministry North Idaho voter guides and claims that political messaging is being pushed through church networks. Another episode description said the hosts were investigating Stefanie Fetzer as a figure shaping the county’s political and religious landscape.

Some of that overlap is already visible in candidate biographies. Wilhelm Jostlein was described as having served as an usher and security team member at his church while also door-knocking for local Republicans. The county clerk also held a public logic-and-accuracy test of tabulators on May 1 at the Kootenai County Elections Department, 1808 N 3rd St in Coeur d’Alene, as election officials prepared for the May 19 primary.