The interim clerk is poised to win after local Republicans had hoped to break up Democratic leadership in Summit County.
Democrats chose Malena Stevens, a former county councilmember and planning commissioner, to replace Clerk Eve Furse after she retired before the end of her term in April.
Stevens faced Republican Suni Woolstenhulme, a business owner from Oakley who served eight years on the South Summit Board of Education.
As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, Stevens had garnered 4,832 votes to Woolstenhulme’s 3,495 — a 16% margin.
The two candidates clashed over a controversy from Furse’s tenure, in which the Summit County Clerk’s Office rejected numerous signatures supporting a referendum on development in Kimball Junction.
Stevens also faced logistical hurdles in the run-up to Nov. 3, fielding dozens of voter challenges in the contentious West Hills incorporation election and correcting 50 ballots missing the $71 million Basin Rec bond question. Stevens has said she would not handle ballots this election since she is in the running.
Other Democrats in Summit County ran unopposed, including Canice Harte and Christie Babalis for Summit County Council in the Snyderville Basin area.
Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson and Auditor Cindy Keyes, also Democrats, were unopposed for reelection. Democrat Kacey Bates, who succeeded retiring Sheriff Frank Smith last year, didn’t have a challenger either.
More election results are expected Wednesday.
Election results are preliminary until the Summit County Council makes them final in the canvass Nov. 17.
