Sheriff, commissioner tussles lead local elections

With the passage of the March 4 candidacy filing deadline, Jefferson County residents can now look ahead to several political competitions, led by a three-way battle for sheriff and a challenge to a longstanding county commissioner. 

Vying for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office are incumbent Tom Grimsrud of Jefferson City, David Kosola of Clancy and Tom Voigt of Boulder. Grimsrud grew up on a ranch in northeastern Montana and served in the Montana Army National Guard before beginning his law enforcement career, according to his campaign Facebook page. 

He served as a police officer in northeastern Montana from 1992 to 1999, four of those years as chief of police, before joining the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy in April of that year. Elected sheriff in 2022, in seeking reelection he views staffing as his central focus.