Iron County GOP delegates nominate candidates

Iron County Republican Party Chairman Blaine Nay addresses delegates during nominating convention, Cedar City, Utah, April 18, 2020 | Video screenshot courtesy of Iron County GOP, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — At the Iron County Republican Party nominating convention Saturday, some 170 delegates voted to place GOP candidates on the ballot for the upcoming county commissioner and county assessor elections. 

Vying for a seat on the three-member Iron County Commission are Marilyn Wood and Cindy Bulloch. They are both seeking to fill the seat currently occupied by Alma Adams, who is not running for reelection. Wood received 102 of the 170 delegate votes cast Saturday, or 60%, thereby ensuring herself a spot on the ballot. However, Bulloch, who has been the Iron County Assessor for the past decade, has gathered enough voter signatures to still force a primary election runoff against Wood in June.

In the race for Iron County Assessor, Karsten Reed and Rex Dungan were both seeking to fill the position being vacated by Bulloch. Reed garnered 134 of the 170 delegate votes cast, or 78.8%, ensuring himself a spot on the general election ballot in November, where he will likely be unopposed. Dungan was eliminated.

Candidates for three other races received their party’s nomination by acclamation, namely Rep. Rex Shipp of Utah House District 72, Iron County Recorder Carrie Jeffries and Iron County Treasurer Nicole Rosenberg.

Due to coronavirus-related concerns and restrictions, Saturday’s convention was markedly different than usual, with delegates first participating online via a live streaming session that included short speeches by each candidate. Click here to watch the full video on YouTube.

Following the online meeting, the delegates drove to the parking lot of Canyon View High School, where they marked their ballot choices inside their vehicles. 

Delegates remained in their cars where we checked their IDs, ensured they were delegates, then gave them their ballots,” said Iron County Republican Party Chairman Blaine Nay, who added, “This voting process worked smoothly and to the satisfaction of all.”

Nay said despite the challenges posed by the online format, turnout was high, with 136 of 215 appointed delegates participating in the online Zoom meeting and 170 casting votes. 

“The online format made it a bit more difficult to conduct the meeting in the normal parliamentary manner, especially knowing that some of the online attendees were likely intimidated by using software they’d never seen before,” Nay added. “Most of the people I spoke to said they missed the fellowship and chances for face-to-face meetings between candidates and delegates that come with a traditional convention.”

The GOP candidate for House District 71, a seat currently held by Rep. Brad Last, will be decided at the upcoming state convention, as the district covers parts of both Iron and Washington counties. Hurricane resident William Billings is challenging Last

Candidates for state and federal-level offices will also be chosen at the state convention, which is scheduled for next Saturday, April 25. It also will be held in an online-only format this year. Check the Utah GOP website for details. The GOP’s various county caucuses have also been postponed, but rescheduled meeting dates are expected to be announced soon.

Also on April 25, the Utah Democratic Party will be holding its own state convention. Leading up to that event will be a series of virtual town halls for all major statewide races. Check the Utah Democrats Facebook page for details. Click here for additional details about the Utah Democratic Party’s state convention.

Earlier this month, on April 4, the Iron County Democratic Party held its own county convention, nominating candidate Lonnie White for Utah House District 72, where he’ll face incumbent Shipp.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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