ST. GEORGE — Election night in southwest Utah saw Republicans retain public office from the local to the federal level and continue to keep a majority of the state red.
Federal races
Perhaps one of the more closely-watched races this season was between incumbent Republican Sen. Mike Lee and independent challenger and former presidential candidate Evan McMullin.
Preliminary results have Lee at 55% of the vote to McMullin’s 41%.
In an emotionally raw victory speech, Lee said his victory was a rebuke of Democrats who have controlled Washington for the past two years. He said it put Republicans in a good position heading toward the next presidential election when voters will be asked whether to give Democrats another four years in the White House.
“I look forward to 2024 when even the blue states are going to be saying ‘Heck no!’ And that’s strong language in Utah,” Lee said on a stage alongside his family.
Lee, who was originally elected in 2010, will return to Washington, D.C., for a third term.
McMullin’s formal backing from the Democratic party, which opted to back him instead of choosing a candidate, and attempts to exploit anti-Trump sentiment ultimately weren’t enough to unseat Lee. But in his concession speech, he commended them for making the race competitive.
McMullin thanked the Democrats, Republicans and independents who supported him and said their unity made the race Utah’s most competitive in a half-century. He said he hoped more voters, candidates and campaigns would focus on unifying people rather than leaning into politics of division “because America does stand at the crossroads of democracy and despotism.”
He mostly refrained from pointed remarks against Lee, yet he repeated his campaign trail message against divisiveness and threats to democracy.
In Washington County, Lee took 70% of the vote to McMullin’s 27%.
“I truly hope he upholds his oath to the Constitution in his upcoming term,” McMullin said of Lee.
Rep. Chris Stewart secured a sixth term in Congress representing Utah’s 2nd Congressional District with 63% of the vote statewide to Democratic challenger Nicholas Mitchell’s 30%
“I am honored and humbled to once again receive the support of so many Utahns,” Stewart said in a statement Tuesday night. “I consider the trust that you’ve placed in me to be sacred, and I will work tirelessly to justify your faith … Whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you. I have learned from you, and you’ve made me a better representative for our great state.”
Stewart also thanked his opponents in the race who all “fought hard and fair” while on the campaign trail.
Mitchell also issued a statement Tuesday night thanking those who supported him.
“To every voter who supported a first-time candidate with a dream of a better Utah, thank you,” he said. “While things didn’t go my way in this race, I’m proud of the coalition we’ve built in this election cycle and grateful to the people of Utah for the opportunity.”
In Washington County, Stewart took 75% of the vote to Mitchell’s 20%.
Senate District 28
Sen. Evan Vickers returns to the Utah Senate next year with 81% of the preliminary vote over third-party challengers Barry Short and Patricia Bradford who each took 9%.
“It is always gratifying to win re-election and I sincerely want to thank the voters in Utah Senate District 28 for having the confidence to allow me to continue serving them,” Vickers told St George News.
“We will have some big challenges in the upcoming legislative session: looking for ways to be efficient with our water, develop more water storage capacity, find new sources of water, continue to adequately fund public and higher education, encourage construction of affordable housing, maintain and expand our transportation infrastructure, deal with abortion and transgender issues, and much more. I encourage my constituents to be engaged and contact me with questions and suggestions.”
Senate District 28 covers a sliver of Washington County running along Interstate 15, along with Iron and Beaver counties and parts of Millard and Juab counties.
House 71
Rep. Rex Shipp will continue to represent Utah House District 71 with 76% of the vote. Democratic challenger Dallas Guymon took 16% of the vote and United Utah candidate Piper Manesse took 7%.
“Thank you to all those that voted for me!” Shipp posted on Facebook. “I really appreciate it and I look forward to representing you for the next 2 years! Please contact me any time!”
The House 71 district covers the southeast corner of Iron County.
House 72
Republican Joseph Elison won House 72 with 80% of the vote to Democrat Ila Fica’s 19%.
Prior to the election, Elison’s being the Republican nominee for House 71 was a hotbed of controversy for some as they claimed his position was the result of potential election irregularities involving the county’s vote-counting machines. He was originally in a very close primary with follow Republican Willie Billings who demanded a recount.
Despite the recount being given, the results still did not sit well with Billings and his supporters who have questioned the results and the Washington County Commission’s unwillingness to hold a second recount done by hand rather than machine.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to serve,” Elison told St. George News. “I have big shoes to fill from the great leadership we’ve had. The learning curve will be learning the process … Running a campaign was fun and very educational. I’m very happy to represent the community. I feel very confident there. I aim to keep our liberties intact and keep government for being too big for our britches.”
Elison also thanked his family for their support as they have been heavily involved in this campaign.
“My family’s been awesome,” he said. “They’re so supportive anyway.”
As for how Fica sees the election results, she said was glad she was able to provide voters with an alternative on the ballot where they may not have had one otherwise.
“One in five people voted for me,” she said. “There are some people out there who liked having a choice. That was my goal for people to have a choice. There are too many times on the ballot where there is no choice.
And concerning the 25% who voted for her, Fica added it “helps to make Joseph responsible to that 25% of people to answer to since he also represents (them).”
Elison replace long-time Rep. Brad Last who has served as House 71’s representative for 20 years and did not seek re-election.
House 72’s district covers most of eastern Washington County and a small part of Iron County.
Washington County races
A number of Washington County races were decided during the Republican primaries in June and ran uncontested in the general election, the results of which can be found here. What follows are the races that had one or more challengers for political office running into the general election.
Washington County Commission A
For the second time, incumbent Gil Almquist defeated Democrat challenger Robert Ford for Washington County Commission Seat A. Almquist took 76% of the vote over Ford’s 25%. That amount mirrors the results had between the two in 2018.
“I appreciate all those who voted for me,” Almquist said. “In a big picture, we are a very conservative area and those conservative voices spoke.”
The commissioner then praised Ford.
“I do want to say I appreciated my opponent, Robert Ford has always been a good man with good ideas. And I like him. We’re friends,” he said. “But I know that the majority of people here ascribe to conservative principles that are not necessarily held positively as they are in other parts of the nation. I’m just glad that it turned out the way it did because I look forward to serving for another four years.”
Washington County Commission B
Victor Iverson won his third term on the County Commission with 74% of the vote to Democrat challenger Chuck Goode’s 25%.
“It’s it’s a great honor to receive the vote of confidence from your fellow citizens in these elections, it means a lot,” Iverson said.
“It means that the voters feel confident, or at least they approve, of the direction that we’re going as a county,” he said. “And more than that, we just, we have some of the greatest citizens ever in this county. And these elections are important, it’s important to engage with people and hear about their concerns. And so, more than anything, it’s really a great honor. I love this county and I love its voters. And I really appreciate their voter confidence.”
Iverson said that the way people voted in the county shows it has a majority that still cares about conservative Republican values.
Washington County Commission C
Adam Snow was originally appointed to the County Commission in July 2021 following the pending retirement of then Commissioner Dean Cox. He was sworn into office to fill the remainder of Cox’s term following the late commissioner’s death from cancer.
Snow won with 75% of the vote to Democrat challenger Rebecca Winsor’s 24%.
“I’m humbled and grateful for the support of the voters,” he said. “Many people in Washington County put their faith in me, a relatively unknown person. They acknowledge the good work that I’ve been able to do in the last 14 months and for another two years to continue working on those issues that are that I’m most passionate about, namely water, economic development, and protecting personal liberty.”
Washington County Attorney
Eric Clarke won his bid to remain the Washington County Attorney with 79% of the vote over Libertarian challenger Robert Latham.
Clark was appointed to the county attorney’s position in February 2020 following Brock Belnap’s stepping down to join the staff of the Washington County Conservancy District.
According to a post of Clarke’s Facebook page, Tuesday turned out to be a unique experience for the county attorney as his birthday fell on Election Day.
Washington County Clerk/Auditor
Washington County Clerk Auditor Susan Lewis was originally appointed to the position in July 2021 following the retirement of then-Clerk/Auditor Ken Hafen. She won the election for the remainder of the term with 92% of the vote.
Write-in candidate Patricia Kent took 6% of the vote. Kent represented a facet of the county that wants a return to in-person voting over mail-in ballots and believes the County Commission and Clerk/Auditor’s office are not being transparent and truthful about the House 72 primary election results.
Washington County School Board
Washington County School Board Districts 5 and 6 ran in the general election this year with Districts 4 and 7 running uncontested.
In District 5, incumbent David Stirland took 65% of the vote to Edyth Lang’s 34%.
“I am grateful to continue to serve on the Washington County School Board,” Stirland said in a statement to St. George News. “Thank you to all those who continue to support education and our students’ success. I will strive to help ensure that our schools are safe, that parents and families can have confidence that their children have the best opportunities for academic achievement. I will continue to be innovative, and to be available to any concerns in our educational process. Public education in Washington County schools are great, and with work and efforts from all stakeholders, it will continue to be the best opportunity for our children’s future.”
In District 6, Burke Staheli garnered 61% of the over over Kelly Blake’s 38%.
“I love the amazing things that are happening in the schools in Washington County,” Staheli said. “I love the teachers and the hard-working staff members that give their all to help our students. I have the time, the enthusiasm, and the experience to help make a difference for our school children.”
Iron County races
The majority of Iron County’s political offices were decided during the Republican primaries in June and ran uncontested in the general election, the results of which can be found here.
Iron County School Board
The Iron County School District Board of Education will have four new faces when the new members take office in January.
Stephanie Hill and Tiffiney Christiansen each won their contested elections on Tuesday night, as did Lauren Lewis and Megen Ralphs who ran unopposed.
In District 4, incumbent Dale Brinkerhoff was defeated by Hill by a margin of 62% to 38%.
“My opponent has a long and successful history of community service, so I knew that it would be a tough race,” Hill told Cedar City News on Wednesday morning. “I was a little bit surprised by the margin that I was able to hold 62%.”
“What it says to me, that the importance of literacy is something that people really believe in,” she added. “And that is incredibly gratifying.”
Hill said she’s looking forward to serving with the other school board members.
“I think we’re going to be able to get some really great work done,” she said. “I’m excited to work with all of them. I have a lot of respect for all of them.”
Meanwhile, in the District 5 seat being vacated by the outgoing board president Michelle Lambert, who didn’t seek reelection, Christiansen defeated Billy Davis by a margin of 57% to 43%.
“I’m truly honored to represent District 5,” Christiansen told Cedar City News after the results were announced. “This was a group effort and I’m grateful for the team of people who made it possible. A sincere thank you to the many voters who took time to meet me and share their thoughts about our schools and most of all, for getting out to vote.
“I hope we can come together as a board and make ICSD a beacon for quality education,” Christiansen added.
The other two new board members, Lewis and Ralphs, will represent Districts 6 and 7, respectively, when the school board expands from its current five-member board to seven members in January. The change was mandated by Utah law, once the district had reached the threshold of 10,000 enrolled students.
Other races of note
Garfield County Sheriff
In the main contested race on Garfield County’s ballot, former deputy Eric Houston defeated incumbent Sheriff Danny Perkins, thereby ending Perkins’ 16-year tenure as county sheriff.
“I would like to thank all of the citizens of Garfield County,” Houston said after the results were announced showing him receiving 1,226 votes (54.3%) to 1,032 for Perkins (45.7%).
“I look forward to working with everyone moving forward,” Houston added.
State School Board District 14
In the race for State Board of Education District 14, Cedar City resident Emily Green defeated Richard Jensen of Enoch by an 85% to 15% margin. The race was somewhat unusual in that Jensen, who is a member of Enoch City Council, openly endorsed and supported Green’s school board candidacy.
To see the area District 14 covers, visit the Utah State Board of Education website.
The Associated Press, as well as St. George News reporters Nick Yamashita, Jeff Richards, Chris Reed and Stephanie DeGraw contributed to this story.
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