Joe Gish emerged as the winner in a four-way Republican primary Tuesday for the District 3 seat on the Nez Perce County Commission.

A total of 1,181 voters cast ballots for Gish, 61, who resides in Waha and is a corporate pilot for DeAtley Crushing.

The next-highest vote-getter was Bob Hasenoehrl with 900 votes followed by John Roy with 705 votes. Robin Ackerman received 615 votes.

Gish will proceed to the general election and face Democrat Pete Gertonson, of Waha, in the November general election for a four-year term.

The incumbent, Doug Zenner, didn’t run for his present position on the three-seat commission.

Gish’s competitors were three entrepreneurs. Hasenoehrl, 65, of Lewiston, owns Lewiston MW & Appliance. Roy, 61, of Lewiston, owns John Roy & Associates, an advertising agency. Ackerman, 54, of Lenore, owns Z-A, an online seller of mostly nonfiction books on platforms like Amazon and eBay.

The candidates brought varying degrees of government experience to the race.

Gish holds appointed positions on the boards of the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport Authority and on Lewiston’s Urban Renewal Agency and has pledged to resign from those posts if he wins the commission seat.

He was a chairperson of Lewiston SMART, a group that led the successful effort for the city of Lewiston to switch to a strong mayor form of government with voter approval.

Hasenoehrl has been on the board of the Lewiston Orchards Irrigation District for 12 years.

Roy and Ackerman have not previously held elected offices.

Anyone registered to vote in the Republican Party in Nez Perce County as well as unaffiliated registered voters who affiliated Republican on election day could vote in the Republican primary.

County commissioners earn $80,828 per year plus medical and retirement benefits.

Gish had more financial support than anyone else in the primary with more than $6,500 in contributions documented on the Idaho secretary of state’s website as of Tuesday.

The Nez Perce County Republican Central Committee gave $1,000 to Gish and no money to the other three candidates, according to the Idaho same website.

Individuals with ties to the airport represented the majority of Gish’s contributions.

Among them were Gary Peters and his wife, Jill Peters, of Clarkston, who gave $1,000 each. Peters is the chairperson of the airport authority board.

Keith White and Gale Wilson, both of Lewiston, gave $1,000 each. White is vice president and Wilson is president of Hillcrest Aircraft Company, a business at the Lewiston airport.

Airport authority board member Katie Seekins, of Lewiston, gave Gish $250. Doug Black, of Lewiston, a longtime airport supporter, donated $200.

No campaign contributions were listed for Hasenoehrl on the secretary of state’s website. Roy had $3,500 in contributions and Ackerman had $850.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.