Stutsman County voters decide rural races in primary election
Melissa Gleason and Steve Veldkamp were unopposed for two rural school board seats as Stutsman County cast 3,417 primary ballots and turnout rose.
Voters in Stutsman County settled the county’s rural primary races with a mix of unopposed seats, write-ins and a turnout bump that outpaced the last two primaries. Among the clearest outcomes, Melissa Gleason and Steve Veldkamp ran unopposed for two rural seats on the Jamestown Public School Board, giving rural residents representation on a board that helps shape school decisions across the district.
Unofficial county results showed 3,417 total ballots cast in the June 9 primary. Republicans accounted for 2,323 ballots, Democrats-NPL for 915, nonpartisan voters for 179 and crossover ballots for 58. The Stutsman County Auditor’s Office also reported 170 absentee ballots requested and 114 returned by the Thursday before Election Day.
Early voting helped drive the higher participation. Stutsman County recorded 671 early voters from June 1-4, topping the early-voting totals from both the 2022 and 2024 primaries. County auditor and chief operating officer Jessica Alonge said the turnout may have been helped by contested local races and a statewide push to emphasize primaries.
The rural results were part of a broader local election cycle that also decided contested races for Jamestown City Council, the Parks and Recreation Commission and public school board seats. While the city races drew attention in Jamestown, the county’s rural ballots still carried weight for residents outside the city limits, where school representation and other down-ballot offices can be decided by relatively small vote totals.
Some of those contests were effectively settled by narrow margins and write-ins, according to the June 9 results page, which showed multiple unopposed or lightly contested races down the ballot. The official results will not be final until the Stutsman County Canvassing Board reviews the unofficial totals and certifies the count at the Stutsman County Courthouse.
The primary also set the stage for the next phase of local government in Jamestown. The new Jamestown City Council is scheduled to take office on July 6, 2026, closing out one election cycle even as county officials move to lock in the final rural results.
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