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Tuesday’s Republican primary for District 26 Seat A in the Idaho House of Representatives resulted in incumbent Rep.Mike Pohanka, of Jerome, defeating Jeff Emerick, of Sun Valley, with a tally of 914 votes, or roughly 64%, for Pohanka to 523 for Emerick.Pohanka will advance to the Nov.3 election, in which he will face Bella Schiffler, I-Jerome, and Anita Janis, D-Jerome, for the seat representing District 26, which encompasses Blaine, Lincoln and Jerome counties.Janis is chair of the Jerome County Democrats and secretary of the Idaho Democratic Party Rural Caucus.Schiffler has worked as an intern in the Idaho Legislature for the past four years.Pohanka has spent one two-year term in the seat already and is vying to maintain his position.He spoke to the Express over the phone while taking down campaign signs in Jerome County.“I’m extremely humbled by the win.[It was a] hard-fought race,” he said.“My hat’s off to Mr.Emerick as well.” He said he believes he won the race because of his incumbent status and the work he had done for constituents in District 26.Pohanka said he’s turning his attention to the November race and will continue to campaign and meet with city councils, county commissions and constituents.When asked by the Express what policies he would be campaigning on during the next roughly five months, Pohanka said he would focus on making sure students are prepared for college or career futures out of high school, protecting Idaho’s water rights, continuing to push for increased public safety measures to protect police, classifying Kratom as a schedule one substance, promoting safety and smoothness on Idaho’s roadways and affordable housing policies that allow buyers to receive reduced rates on property purchases.Emerick, in a Thursday call with the Express, said he was encouraged by the results, as he received an amount of votes he could be proud of.“I want to thank Mike Pohanka, my opponent, the incumbent.He’s a really good man, a good guy, and he ran a really good race,” Emerick said.“It was hard running against someone I highly respect, and I would have voted for him if I had not been running against him.” Emerick said that he could have done a better job campaigning as a new candidate in the District 26 race.For now, he said, he will turn his attention to school at the College of Southern Idaho, where he will graduate in November with associate degrees in political science and history.He is considering pursuing a temporary position as Bellevue city clerk to fill a gap left by a maternity leave.