POCATELLO — The names of Max Shaffer and Jason Dixon won’t appear on any election ballots in the Republican primary for Bannock County clerk.

But it’s a certainty that one of the certified write-in candidates will move on to represent their party in the Nov. 6 general election against Kelly “Martinez” Rodriguez, who is running uncontested in the Democratic primary.

Only the write-in candidates have filed on the Republican side.

The primary election is Tuesday, but early voting is already underway.

Neither Shaffer nor Dixon sought to be included on the ballot before the March 9 filing deadline because both believed the Democrat, Robert Poleki, was doing a satisfactory job as clerk. But they filed prior to the April 17 deadline for write-in candidates, after Poleki announced he wouldn’t seek re-election.

Shaffer, 58, is a longtime supervisor with Ash Grove Cement who formerly oversaw operations at the now-defunct Inkom plant. Shaffer has also served on the Inkom City Council for the past decade and has served both on his city’s Planning and Zoning Council and as a volunteer firefighter — including a stint as fire chief during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

“For over 20 years I’ve been supervising men,” Shaffer said. “I know what it means to have budgets, to set budgets and to live within the constraints of a budget.”

Dixon, 40, is a life-long Pocatello resident who graduated from Highland High School and has been a realtor with Remax for the past 17 years. Dixon has served on the Greater Pocatello Association of Realtors Board of Directors for seven years, including as its president in 2016. He was named local Realtor of the Year in 2017.

Dixon sees evidence of the local economy’s strength and growth in its tight housing market. He believes his skills as a realtor would translate well into the clerk’s office.

“I can bring people together, and I can build those relationships and trust, to the point that I can close the deal and help people work together,” Dixon said.

Dixon was among three finalists for appointment to the Bannock County Commission seat vacated last fall by Evan Frasure. The seat ultimately went to Republican Steve Brown, who encouraged Dixon to enter the clerk’s race.

Dixon noted the county clerk is charged with drafting a budget for the commission’s approval, and he prides himself in being fiscally responsible. He believes he would “think outside of the box in holding the line in working with the assessor on property taxes,” which he contends are too high in Bannock County due to the large percentage of major local employers that are either tax exempt or operate just outside of county boundaries.

“One of my philosophies is just because it’s legal for government to spend money in a certain fiscal year doesn’t always mean they should,” Dixon said.

Dixon is also a military veteran, who joined the Army National Guard’s 1-148th Field Artillery after high school, where he served for six years.

Shaffer grew up in Inkom and attended Marsh Valley High School, where he played as an offensive lineman on storied football coach David Treasure’s final team, which went undefeated. Shaffer later helped coach the Marsh Valley team, and served as head coach during 2005.

After high school, Shaffer served a mission in Tokyo, Japan, with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His first job out of school was at the Inkom Ash Grove Cement plant. He’s worked there ever since, including as supervisor in Inkom, for all but a 16-month stretch after the company closed the local plant. But he rejoined Ash Grove in 2010, commuting from Inkom to a plant he continues to supervise in Oregon.

Both candidates have been active in their campaigning — Shaffer has knocked on several doors and placed campaign signs throughout town. And Dixon has placed 10 large signs on prominent street corners, made campaign videos for social media and left a few thousand leaflets at the homes of registered Republican voters.

Local political pundits assure Dixon that a few hundred votes could be all it takes to win a write-in race.

Brandi McCarron, Bannock County’s assistant elections supervisor, said scanners used to tabulate election results only key in on the oval for write-in candidates in contests in which certified write-in candidates have filed.

The vote counters will flag ballots in which a vote has been cast for a write-in candidate, and one Democrat and one Republican will review the ballots. If names are misspelled, McCarron explained the two officials will do their best to identify the intended candidate.

Registered Democrats will not be allowed to request a Republican primary ballot as Republicans closed their primary in 2012.