GOP gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell, the former elk rancher and militia movement backer whose campaign trademark this year was a giant inflatable T-Rex he towed behind his brightly decorated campaign RV, took 26 percent of the vote to incumbent Gov. Butch Otter’s 54.6 percent in the primary, with the remaining challengers in single digits. But in two counties, Rammell beat Otter: Benewah and Idaho counties, while in Boundary County, Otter edged Rammell by just two votes. In Idaho County, Otter got just 40 percent of the vote to 47 percent for Rammell; in Boundary County, both were at 43 percent; and in Benewah County, Rammell made his best showing, winning the GOP primary for governor with 57 percent of the vote, while Otter drew just 34 percent.

So is Benewah County T-Rex country? That’s one possible interpretation. Another: Very few people voted. Rammell got 603 votes there, while Otter had just 358./Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise

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