Chad Whetzel, who was appointed as a Whitman County Commissioner, currently shows an early lead in the election for the position. As of Tuesday night, Whetzel has received approximately 53% of the votes, leading fellow Republican Cody Finch by about 500 votes. Whetzel was appointed to the role last winter after the retirement of longtime Commissioner Michael Largent.

The Whitman County Auditor’s Office is expected to continue processing a significant number of ballots in this countywide election. Another batch of ballots will be counted on Friday night from the vote-by-mail election held on Tuesday.