Latah County sheriff’s race tight early. Incumbent takes on former Moscow police chief

Voters in Latah County headed to the polls Tuesday to pick from a slate of candidates for several countywide positions, including choosing whether to retain Sheriff Richie Skiles for a third term.

The Republican incumbent faced two conservative-leaning challengers running as independents in James Fry, Moscow's former police chief, and Christopher Middleton, a former Idaho State Police trooper and Latah County sheriff's deputy.

Based on very early returns, Skiles, with 48% of votes, held a 50-vote advantage, over Fry, with about 45%. Middleton had received about 7% of votes so far. Results will continue to trickle in late into the evening. The race could see upward of 20,000 ballots cast.

Skiles, 59, who lives in Potlatch, served in the U.S. Marines before tenures as a Latah County Sheriff's deputy and the chief of policy for the city of Troy.

Fry, 55, of Troy, retired in May after 29 years with city's police department, including the last eight as its chief. He quickly announced his intent to run for sheriff, and Middleton, 55, of unincorporated Moscow, threw his name in the hat not long after.

Fry's other major law enforcement qualification includes overseeing the investigation of four University of Idaho students who were killed in November 2022, which instantly garnered national focus. After nearly seven weeks, Fry announced the arrest of Washington State University graduate student Bryan Kohberger on suspicion of murder.