Kevin Van Winkle beat both Priscilla Rahn and John Carson in the Republican primary race for Douglas County District 3 Commissioner, according to the early, unofficial tally of ballots on Tuesday night.

As of 9:15 p.m., Van Winkle is ahead of the two candidates by over 10 points. Van Winkle received 40.5% of the vote, while Rahn sat at 30.48% and Carson secured 29.02%, out of 52,663 votes.

Outgoing District 3 Commissioner Lora Thomas ran for the state House seat, which means her county position is open. The seat represents the northwest corner of Douglas County is up for grabs.

A state senator representing District 30, Van Winkle describes himself as a “tax-cutting small businessman” and a Second Amendment defender.

Van Winkle’s top issues include illegal immigration, safe schools, affordable energy, jobs, cost of living and the Second Amendment.

“When people are freed from over-taxation and over-regulation, they will thrive,” he has earlier said. 

On his campaign site, Van Winkle argued that families in Douglas County work hard to make ends meet, while the focus in the state government is to “(find) new schemes, such as increasing vehicle registration fees or imposing hidden hospital bed taxes, in order to take precious dollars away from families and local small businesses.”

Van Winkle plans to oppose “any bill that infringes on your constitutional rights,” his campaign site said, adding he is also focused on protecting people’s Second Amendment rights.

Another focus for Van Winkle is education. Specifically, he said he is fighting hard to “empower Douglas County parents with the ability to choose the most effective education for their children, regardless of what economic class they come from.”

Rahn is campaigning on reducing property taxes and combating homelessness, while Carson said his biggest issues are affordable housing, illegal immigration and public safety.