Former Barton Clerk Donna Zimmerman was the winner in Tuesday’s Republican primary race for Barton County Commission, District 5.

The unofficial total Tuesday night showed 834 votes for Zimmerman, vs. 507 votes for challenger Rick Davis.

No Democrats filed, so at this point Zimmerman is unopposed in the November election.

Zimmerman had served as the Barton County Clerk/Election Officer since 1995, retiring on Jan. 1. But running for office was a new experience.

“I’ve never been in a race before; I never campaigned before,” she said.

“It’s been a really long day,” Zimmerman said after the election results were posted around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“I was really proud of the campaigns on both side and the professionalism on both side,” she said.

She campaigned on her experience in the county government.

The fifth commission district covers the western half of Great Bend and all of Buffalo Township, which is west of Great Bend, including the town of Heizer.

Both Zimmerman and Davis live in Great Bend. Davis is a businessman who oversees the day-to-day operations of MPIRE Companies.