Regan loses precinct race, raising questions about KCRCC leadership

Brent Regan’s defeat in Precinct 205 put a small but potent number on a larger fight for control of the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee. Rick Montandon edged Regan 286 votes to 272, a 14-vote margin that leaves open a blunt question inside the county GOP: can Regan still lead the party he has helped steer for years?

The answer is not automatic. Under the KCRCC bylaws revised Aug. 26, 2025, the committee is made up of precinct committeemen elected in the state primary and the officers elected by those committeemen. That structure matters because KCRCC officers do not have to be elected committeemen themselves, which means a defeated precinct candidate can, in some circumstances, remain in leadership if the committee keeps him there. Regan, first elected a precinct committeeman in 2014, now faces that test in full view of a county party that has become a battleground over rules, representation and control.

The result landed in a committee that says it has 74 members and describes itself as the heart and soul of North Idaho. It also came as the committee’s precinct roster still listed Regan as the Precinct 205 committeeman, underscoring how quickly the internal paperwork and the political reality may diverge after a close race.

For critics, the race sharpened a long-running argument that the county party’s direction has drifted from the voters who choose precinct committeemen in the first place. Marc Stewart, who lost his own precinct reelection bid by five votes, used the moment to argue that unelected officers voting on party matters cuts against voter intent. Jack Riggs, a former Idaho lieutenant governor, has said the North Idaho Republicans PAC wants to restore honor and credibility to the KCRCC by electing new committeemen.

That divide helps explain why precinct contests in Kootenai County are now treated as governing fights, not clerical ones. North Idaho Republicans presents itself as an alternative to the official county GOP structure and says it aims to create an organized, welcoming space. With the May 28 organizing meeting approaching, the question is no longer just who won Precinct 205. It is whether a 14-vote loss can ripple through endorsement fights, candidate recruitment and the faction that sets the KCRCC’s course in Coeur d’Alene and across Kootenai County.