Low Utah County voter turnout in midterm elections

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Tiffany Frandsen | News Editor | @tiffany_mf

 

In Utah County, 32.82 percent of registered voters cast votes at the polls (this doesn’t include all mail-in ballots). 85 percent of all Utah County voters that chose a straight-party ticket voted Republican.

Incumbent Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) will serve a fourth term for Utah’s fourth district (which covers Orem and Provo) in the United States House of Representatives after receiving 72.35 percent of the vote. His Democratic opposition, Brian Wonnacott, received 22.63 percent of the vote.

Utah State Legislature

Val L. Peterson (R), who also serves as UVU’s vice president of finance and administration, ran unopposed in House District 59, which covers northwest Orem, Lindon and Vineyard.

Kevin J. Stratton (R) ran unopposed in House District 48, which covers east Orem.

Dean Sanpei (R) ran unopposed in House District 63, which covers northwest Provo.

Bradley Daw (R) won 85.11 percent against Archie A. Williams III (D) in House District 60, which covers Orem from 400 North to University Avenue.

Keith Grover (R) won 80.62 percent against Robert C. Patterson (D) in House District 61, which covers some of southeast Orem and east Provo.

Norm Thurston (R) won 67.40 percent, with Scott Ellis Ferrin (D) taking 21.39 percent and Jason Christensen (I) taking 11.21 percent of House District 64, which covers south Provo and parts of Springville and had previously been represented by Speaker Becky Lockhart (R).

Margaret Dayton (R) won 81.44 percent against Emmanuel Kepas (D) in Senate District 15, which covers parts of Orem.

Five of the seven state legislature races for districts in Orem and Provo were won by incumbents: Peterson, Stratton, Sanpei, Grover and Dayton. Daw had represented District 60 from 2005 to 2013, before being replaced by Dana Layton (R), who lost to Daw in the primary. Of the 75 races for Utah state House of Representatives, 15 were single-candidate races. Three of the fourteen Senate candidates ran unopposed.

 

Sean Reyes (R), who had been appointed Attorney General by Gov. Gary Herbert in December 2013, had 62.70 percent of the vote with 98 percent of all precincts reported. His Democratic opponent, Charles A. Stormont, conceded the race just before 10:00 p.m. Reyes will serve the last two years of former AG John Swallow’s  four-year term.

Mia Love (R), former mayor of Saratoga Springs, won by 3 percent over newcomer Doug Owens (D) and became the first black, Republican woman to win a seat in the US Congress.

 

Additional Utah County Results:

Utah County Commissioner Seat A: Gregory James Graves (R)  – 71.97 percent (unopposed)

County Commissioner B: Bill Lee (R) – 96.90 percent (unopposed)

Utah County Assessor  – Kris W. Poulson (R) – 100 percent (unopposed)

Utah County Attorney  – Jeffrey R. Buhman (R)– 100 percent (unopposed)

Utah County Recorder – Jeffery Dean Smith (R) – 100 percent (unopposed)

Utah County Sheriff – James O. Tracy (R) – 100 percent (unopposed)

Utah County Surveyor – Gary Ratcliffe (R) – 100 percent (unopposed)

Utah County Treasurer – Kim Jackson (R) – 100 percent (unopposed)

Judge of Orem Justice Court – Reed S. Parkin retained his office, with 81.09 percent of the vote.

 

Find more election results at electionresults.utah.gov/elections/