Rodney Cox secured the local GOP nomination for county commissioner, according to a final tally of unofficial results released by the Montezuma County Clerk and Recorder’s office Wednesday evening.
In a second contested race for clerk and recorder, Jerri Frizzell won over Lenetta Shull, earning 70% of the Montezuma County Republican vote during Tuesday’s statewide primary election.
Cox, a retired, longtime Mancos resident, gained 55% of the vote. He ousted two other candidates Bonnie Anderson and Diane Fox-Spratlen.
Cox told The Journal he felt good about his monthslong campaign. He reflected on it as an “eye-opening learning curve” culminating Election Day.
Cox said he felt his private sector career and being a local business owner resonated with voters – that wearing multiple hats, bringing financial literacy and past experiences of working long hours show he is capable of stepping into the role and solving problems.
“I'm just going to bring that energy and mindset to every issue that comes up within the county. There are issues, but I think our county is sound,” Cox said Wednesday evening.
He spent months involving himself more in county government, attending regular commissioner meetings and some of the area’s local town and school board governance meetings.
“I've been involved with school boards, fair boards and water boards since my whole adult life and never really paid much attention to what the county commissioners do or what the county actually does for the community,” Cox said.
He said he learned a ton about various county departments and services provided that “most people don't have a clue” about and wants to continue to see those funded, whether it’s Veterans Services or youth, youths programs.
Anderson was the local GOP choice for 29% of voters while Fox-Spratlen received 16% of votes, as of Wednesday evening’s update posted 7:35 p.m.
Election officials from the clerk’s office received thousands of ballots within the past days and just as polling closed Tuesday evening. Officials began processing them while gathering the additional votes from the six countywide drop boxes.
The offices counted the ballots until 1 a.m. Wednesday morning. With the results unfinished the day of, County Clerk Kim Percell said election judges and staff continued processing the count early and all throughout the day Wednesday.
The entire GOP nomination process for commissioner District 1 seat originally had six candidates. The candidate pool was narrowed through local caucuses and the county general assembly. The three candidates then debated one another in several forum appearances during spring and winter.
The District 1 commissioner seat is currently held by Jim Candelaria.
Cox faces Democrat Rebecca Busic in the November general election. Busic, running unopposed, received 2,492 votes in Tuesday’s primary, according to the unofficial count.
“I want to say congratulations to all the Republican candidates. … Everyone ran a tough race,” Busic said in a Facebook video. “To all you voters out there, my race starts now.”
She added: “If you are looking for a candidate with vision and a campaign that focuses on the needs of Montezuma County in 2026, I hope I can earn your vote this November.”
Cox said in the upcoming fall race versus his Democratic challenger, he will continue his platform as a fiscal conservative who’s hard working and open minded.
“We're just going to talk about solutions. She's going to have a different path to solutions than I do and whatever the community thinks is best will be the winner in November,” he said.
A total of 7,652 Montezuma County voters cast ballots this primary – whether Democrat, Republican or for the Libertarian Party – putting this election’s turnout at 38.4% of registered county voters.
Wednesday’s results were uploaded to the Colorado Secretary of State’s website and accounted for all the ballots received before Tuesday’s 7 p.m. deadline. Percell said the next step is awaiting the signature curing period before certifying results, meaning any voter with a signature discrepancy has eight days to correct it for his or her vote to count.
“The results are unofficial. Nothing that Montezuma County adds to that will probably change much of a determination there,” Percell said.
Winning unopposed races for the GOP ticket includes Ellen Black for county treasurer, Tyson Cox for county sheriff and George Deavers for coroner.
awatson@the-journal.com
