Iron County primary election recap: 2 incumbent county commissioners win, other highlights

Voting booths inside Cedar City Council chambers, Cedar City, Utah, June 28, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — Each of Iron County’s incumbent elected officeholders who faced intraparty challengers successfully emerged from Tuesday’s GOP primary election.

A voter places his ballot inside designated drop box inside Cedar City Council chambers, Cedar City, Utah, June 28, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Iron County Commissioners Paul Cozzens and Mike Bleak will retain their seats on the three-member commission, as both will appear unopposed on the November general election ballot.

According to updated results released Wednesday afternoon by the Iron County Clerk’s office, Cozzens received 4,034 votes (55.7%) to challenger Steve Miller’s 3,211 (44.3%). 

Meanwhile, in the other county commission race, Bleak received 5,339 votes (64.4%) as of Wednesday, while challenger Destry Griffiths received 2,952 (35.6%).

Tuesday night’s initial vote count showed turnout to be just under 40% for the GOP primary, with 7,800 of Iron County’s 18,565 registered Republican voters casting ballots. However, after the addition of nearly 1,300 additional ballots tabulated on Wednesday, the overall turnout bumped up to 46.4% among the county’s registered GOP voters.

Another results update is expected to be released Friday, Iron County Clerk Jonathan Whittaker said.

The closest local race of the primary was also the most expensive, as Miller and Cozzens combined to spend approximately $160,000 on their respective campaigns, with Miller accounting for 72% of that total.

Iron County Commission candidates Steve Miller and Paul Cozzens at debate at Southern Utah University’s Hunter Conference Center, Cedar City, Utah, June 13, 2022 | File photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

According to his most recent campaign finance report filed with the county on June 21, Miller had received a total of $137,750 in donations and spent $115,309. Of those contributions, a total of $135,000 came from Steve and Cyndi Gilbert of Hurricane, or from business entities registered to or otherwise associated with them.

Cozzens, by comparison, received $44,849 in contributions and spent $44,154, according to his finance report filed June 21.

Dividing each candidate’s expenditures by the number of votes they received as of Wednesday shows that Miller spent more than $35 per vote, while Cozzens spent just under $11 per vote. 

“I am very grateful for the opportunity to work full time as a commissioner for another four years,” Cozzens told Cedar City News via text message on Wednesday. “I am especially grateful that most voters took the time to get to know the real Paul Cozzens, despite an unprecedented amount of outside money and resources devoted to convince them otherwise. For those who have their reservations, I look forward to earning your trust by serving beside you in the coming years.”

In contrast, the other Iron County Commission race, known as Seat A, proved to be far less expensive for the candidates , with Bleak receiving $8,325 in contributions and spending $8,166 as of June 21. Griffiths’ totals were even lower, with him receiving $7,850 in contributions and spending just under $5,863.

Bleak, therefore, spent just $1.52 per vote, while Griffiths spent $1.98 per vote.

Campaign signs along state Route 56, Cedar City, Utah, June 2, 2022 | File photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

“I’m excited to continue serving,” Bleak told Cedar City News on Wednesday. “We are in a great place as a county. We have some crazy growing pains. I’m excited to take the challenge of growing our county and staying true to our conservative values.”

Besides those registered GOP voters already mentioned, an additional 475 voters cast nonpartisan-only ballots in the two school board races that required primaries.

In the Iron County School Board District 4 race, challenger Stephanie Hill received 316 votes (40.6%) while incumbent Dale Brinkerhoff received 246 (31.6%). Coming in third place with 217 votes (27.9%) was Mary Foremaster, who was thereby eliminated from the race.

Meanwhile, in the race for the District 5 seat currently occupied by school board president Michelle Lambert, who is not seeking reelection, Tiffiney Christiansen received 1,130 votes (52.4%), with Billy Davis coming in second place with 850 votes (39.4%). Eliminated from contention was Steve Merrill, who received 175 votes (8.1%).

Hill and Brinkerhoff advance to face each other on the Nov. 2 ballot, as will Christiansen and Davis. Additionally, as the Iron County School District board will be expanding from five to seven seats, there will be two new school board members added, effective January 2023. In the newly created District 6, Lauren Lewis is running unopposed, as is Megen Ralphs in the new District 7.

Also in Tuesday’s primary, in the race for Utah state Senate District 28, incumbent Sen. Evan Vickers (R-Cedar City) held off fellow GOP challenger Patrick Larson. Vickers garnered 5,534 votes (76.5%) to Larson’s 1,701 votes (23.5%).

The primary win advances Vickers to the Nov. 2 general election, where he’ll face two challengers, Libertarian candidate Barry Short and United Utah Party candidate Patricia Bradford.

For more information, visit the Iron County Clerk elections page.

Click here for a report on Washington County primary results.

Updated July 12, 12:30 a.m. to include the following final primary election results, as confirmed in the canvass during the Iron County Commission meeting on July 11:

County Commission Seat A

  • Michael Bleak 5,658 (64.2%)
  • Destry Griffiths 3,156 (35.8%)

County Commission Seat B

  • Paul Cozzens 4,995 (55.4%)
  • Steve Miller 4,026 (44.6%)

State Senate District 28

  • Evan Vickers 6,775 (75.3%)
  • Patrick Larson 2,228 (24.7%)

School Board District 4

  • Stephanie Hill 345 (41.0%)
  • Dale Brinkerhoff 266 (31.6%)
  • Mary Foremaster 230 (27.4%)

School Board District 5

  • Tiffiney Christiansen 1,221 (53.0%)
  • Billy Davis 900 (39.1%)
  • Steve Merrill 182 (7.9%)

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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