ST. GEORGE — While victory has been claimed in the Utah Republican primary races for governor and U.S. Senate, a few thousand votes separate the incumbent and challenger for the state’s 2nd Congressional District.
In Iron County, a new member of the County Commission was elected while in Washington County, the incumbent for Senate District 29 presently leads, according to preliminary returns.
Prior to the primary election, the Washington County Republican Party sent an email to members encouraging them to vote for the candidates who won the state party’s convention nomination in May. This included Trent Staggs for Senate, Rep. Phil Lyman for governor and Joann Brinton for School Board District 15.
While Lyman and Staggs have been defeated in their respective races, according to preliminary results, they led the races in Washington County. However, Brinton went on to win by a wide margin against incumbent Kristan Norton in the overall state school board race.
The race between Rep. Celeste Maloy and challenger Colby Jenkins has yet to be called due to how close it has been. Though she is is currently in the lead overall, Maloy came in second in Washington County to Jenkins who led with 58% of the county vote.
Federal races
The Associated Press predicted Rep. John Curtis as the winner of the senate race shortly after numbers began to be reported Tuesday night. Preliminary returns put him at just over 50% of the vote to the 30% Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs garnered. Former Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson came in third in the race followed by entrepreneur Jason Walton.
“Tonight is a night to celebrate, but tomorrow we go back to work,” Curtis said in a victory speech before supporters. “Our message is unity—’in unity there is strength.’ If we unify, we can beat any foe and solve any problem. Thank you for believing in me and for your continued support.”
Among those to offer their congratulations to Curtis was Wilson.
“I congratulate John Curtis on winning the nomination,” Wilson said in a statement while also thanking those who supported his own campaign. “It’s been a wonderful experience to campaign across the state and meet so many incredible people along the way. I’d like to thank my family, especially my wife Jeni, for being by my side the entire time. I also extend a heartfelt thanks to all the friends and supporters who worked hard to spread our message.”
Curtis will go on to face Democratic candidate Caroline Gleich in the general election. Whoever wins will go on to replace outgoing Republican Sen. Mitt Romney.
As for the race for Utah’s 2nd Congressional District, Maloy leads in the district with 51% (47,131 votes) of the vote to Jenkins’ 49% (45,224 votes) as of late Wednesday afternoon. Jenkins posted over social media that he is not conceding the race due to there being many outstanding ballots yet to be counted.
“Because the results are still very close and there are several thousand outstanding ballots to be counted, we are looking forward to watching as more updates come in,” Jenkins posted Wednesday afternoon.
“I’ve enjoyed getting to know so many new Utahns from across the district during this campaign and I’m humbled by the strong support we received in such a short amount of time,” Jenkins continued. “I also want to congratulate Congresswoman Maloy for the strong support she received and for running a good campaign. We will make additional comments as more updates come in and when the final outcome becomes clear. As it stands the race is still too close to call.”
While at an election night watch event in northern Utah Tuesday, Maloy thanked her supporters and those who voted for her, yet said she wouldn’t make any announcements as it “was too early for that.” She also noted having to leave the festivities early due to the need to return to Washington D.C. to vote on upcoming appropriation bills in Congress.
If Maloy can maintain her lead, she will be the only one among the handful of Utah candidates endorsed by former President Donald Trump to win their primary race.
Governor and other state races
Not long after the Associated Press called the senate race for Curtis, it went on to call the gubernatorial race for Gov. Spencer Cox.
“I love this state and her people,” Cox said in a statement following his claim the win in the primary race. “Thank you to my fellow Republicans for your overwhelming support. I am honored to represent my party on the ballot in November. Let’s work together to keep Utah the greatest state in the nation.”
Preliminary returns have Cox at 197,253 votes (55%) to Lyman’s 154,091 votes (43%) statewide.
Among the people and groups offering their congratulations to Cox was the Republican Governors Association.
“From historic tax relief to increasing education opportunities for students, Governor Cox has delivered significant results for Utah, and we look forward to his next four years as governor as he continues to keep Utah strong,” association chairman and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said in a statement.
According to KSL.com, Lyman has chosen not to concede the race and is calling for an independent audit of the results. Cox has subsequently decried Lyman’s attempts to cast doubt on the election process.
KSL.com further reported that Lyman was asked by reporters following the gubernatorial debate if he would accept the results of the election. He declined to commit to respecting the results and said “win or lose” he would seek independent investigations of the voting system.
In other state races of note, Derek Brown has taken the Utah Attorney General race while Tina Cannon took the winning majority in the State Auditor race.
State School Board District 15
Joann Brinton won against incumbent Kristan Norton with 65% of the overall vote, with similar totals had in Iron and Washington counties.
Among those congratulating Brinton on her win over social media Tuesday was St. George City Councilwoman Michelle Tanner.
“BIG CONGRATS to my girl Joann Spence Brinton!!!” she posted on Facebook. “She will represent us on the state school board so well! Big win for Utah!
Senate District 29
As of early Wednesday evening, the race between incumbent Sen. Don Ipson and challenger Chad Bennion is close with Ipson leading at 51% and Bennion at 48%
Ipson told St. George News that he is honored that thousands of voters in Washington County want to send him back to the Legislature for another term. He has previously stated that if elected, his next term in office will be his last.
As there are many outstanding votes in Washington County yet to be counted, Bennion told St. George News he would hold off on commenting until more results were reported
Iron County Commission Seat C
Meanwhile, in the GOP primary race for Iron County Commission’s Seat C, political newcomer Ken Robinson defeated former Cedar City Mayor Maile Wilson Edwards by nearly a 2-to-1 margin.
Click here for full story of Iron County.
St. George New / Cedar City News reporter Jeff Richards contributed to this story.
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