As Tuesday’s unofficial primary election results roll in, two key races in Summit County are all but decided.
Only Democratic candidates entered the race for Summit County Council districts 4 and 5 — the Snyderville Basin, and Jeremy Ranch and Pinebrook areas, respectively — with no Republican or unaffiliated candidates. While the deadline to file as a write-in candidate is in August, the top vote-getters in the primary will likely be heavily favored during the general election and are expected to secure a spot on the council.
Snyderville Basin attorney Christie Babalis appeared to have the most votes for District 4 as of 11:45 a.m. on Thursday morning, according to preliminary election results. She recieved 427 votes, or 53% of the vote. Former Snyderville Basin Planning Commissioner Chair John Kucera received 378 votes, or around 47% of the vote.
Longtime County Councilor Chris Robinson currently occupies the District 4 seat and announced late last year that he would not seek reelection.
Incumbent County Councilor Canice Harte had a lead over challenger Meredith Reed, the president of the Park City Board of Education, for District 5, according to Tuesday’s preliminary election results.
Harte collected 357 votes, or 51%. Reed earned 343 votes, or 49%.
This was the first election using the newly drawn County Council districts rather than at-large seats.
Republican voters also had primary elections for U.S. House District 3 and state House District 59, which includes Summit and Wasatch counties.
U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy earned more votes than Phil Lyman for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District, according to unofficial results as of Thursday morning. Maloy had 2,284 votes, or about 62%, while Lyman had 1,384 votes, or 38%. The winner will go up against Democratic candidate Kent Udell in the general election.
In House District 59, Jeffrey Pierce received 508 votes, or 67%, compared to Luke Searle with 252 votes, or 33%.
Total voter turnout in Summit County was 36%, specifically Republican turnout was 29.5% and Democrat turnout was almost 34%.
The Summit County Clerk’s Office will continue processing ballots throughout the week, updating the vote count.
Official results will be certified on July 7, two weeks after the primary. The general election takes place on Nov. 3.
According to state law, a recount can be requested if the difference between the number of votes cast for a winning candidate in the race and the losing candidate is equal to or less than .25%.