According to the partial results tallied on Tuesday, Summit County residents cast their ballots for Democrats in the two major Utah House races covering the county.
But their Republican opponents are in the lead, based on voter support in areas outside Summit. There’s a relatively close race in House District 54, which encompasses Park City and Wasatch County.
Almost all of Summit County falls into House Districts 53 and 54. The incumbents, Logan Wilde and Tim Quinn, respectively, retired this year, leaving open contests for their positions.
Summit County had a partial vote count—even more than expected-- since a Covid-positive case found in the County Clerk’s Office has led to a quarantine. The staff was only able to count the ballots they had received up to Friday.
Summit County’s current vote total shows Democrat Meaghan Miller, a Park City resident, leading Republican Mike Kohler by about 3000 votes.
But in his native Wasatch County, Kohler has a two-to-one lead. Overall, he has nearly 55 percent of the vote, to Miller’s 45 percent. At this point, about 2000 votes are separating the two.
For the District 53 race, in Summit County, local Democrat Cheryl Butler leads Republican Kera Birkeland by over 900 votes. But in the overall District, Birkeland has 63 percent of the vote, thanks to the support from Morgan, her home county, as well as Daggett, Duchesne and Rich.
For Senate District 19, which includes northeastern Summit County, Democrat Katy Owens won in the county, but overall Republican John Johnson has 53 percent of the vote to Owens’ 46 percent.
Finally, for Salt Lake’s House District 25, which includes a sliver of the Snyderville Basin, Democratic incumbent Brian King easily beat GOP challenger Carol Hunter—both locally and in the entire District.
