Incumbents win big in statewide Republican primary balloting

CACHE COUNTY – There were few surprises in the GOP primary balloting here on Tuesday.

For a change, the polls were right. Incumbents in the races for the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives in Washington won big and the hopes of their challengers for upset victories were dashed.

As expected, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) easily defeated his challengers, former Utah lawmaker Becky Edwards and Salt Lake businesswomen Ally Isom.

In statewide voting results, Lee captured nearly 60 percent of the ballots cast by Republicans. Edwards was favored by more than 102,00 voters (about 30 percent) and Isom drew about 28,000 votes (8 percent).

The results in balloting here in Cache County were similar. Of more than 11,000 ballots cast, Lee took 64 percent compared to 30 percent for Edwards and 8 percent for Isom.

Utah Republican voters have spoken,” Lee said. “Let’s make sure that what they spoken tonight holds true in November.”

Lee will face independent candidate Evan McMullin in the midterm election in November. A former case officer for the Central Intelligence Agency and congressional staffer, McMullin is a former Republican who ran an anti-Trump campaign for president in 2016.

In the northern Utah’s 1st Congressional District, incumbent U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) won by an equally comfortable margin.

Of more than 87,000 ballots cast across the 1st District, Moore collected over 51,000 (60 percent). Former civilian intelligence officer Andrew Badger garnered about 25 percent of the vote and former Morgan County commissioner Tina Cannon won the remaining 14 percent.

Ballot totals here in Cache County nearly mirrored the Republican vote counts in the rest of the 1st District.

Moore will face Democrat Rick Jones, a Weber State University professor and a relative political unknown, in the midterm election in November.

In the hotly contested House District 3 race here, incumbent Rep. Mike Petersen defeated former lawmaker Val Potter.

Petersen captured 3,234 votes, just 51 percent of the vote, compared to Potter’s vote total of 2,742 (47 percent).

Petersen will face Democrat Holly Gunther in the November midterm election.

In the race for Cache County Council northeast seat, Mark R. Hurd won the seat currently occupied by council member Gina Worthen.

Hurd garnered 1,650 votes, 52 percent of 3,167 votes cast. His opponent, former Cache County GOP chair Chris Booth, was favored by 1,517 voters.

Katherine A. Beus was the winner in the race for the Cache County Council southeast seat being vacated by longtime council member Gorden A. Zilles.

Beus secured 1,800 votes, also 52 percent of 3,309 votes cast. Ladd Kennington, who ran as a “principled conservative,” won 1,509 ballots.

Cache County Clerk Jess Bradfield said about 44 percent of the county’s 37,481 registered Republicans turned out for the primary balloting.

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