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SALT LAKE CITY — With provisional and mail-in ballots finalized, Republicans trailing by only a handful of votes on Election Day have won seats previously held by Democrats, painting the GOP-held state House even redder.
West Valley City Republican Sophia DiCaro unseated Rep. Larry Wiley, D-West Valley, winning 52 percent of the vote in House District 31. This is DiCaro's first time elected to office. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Utah and has worked in the state budget office.
Republican Fred Cox, who served in the state Legislature from 2011 to 2012, received 50.4 percent of the vote to defeat Democrat Michael Lee for the House District 30 seat that had been held by retiring Rep. Janice Fisher, D-West Valley. Cox, a West Valley architect, is also a member of the Utah Republican State Central Committee.
Bruce Cutler, a Republican from Murray, defeated Democrat Christine Passey for the House District 44 seat vacated by retiring House Minority Whip Tim Cosgrove, D-Murray. Cutler works for a South Jordan software company.
James Evans, chairman of the Utah Republican Party, said the three victories represented "a clear choice this election between Utah values and bigger government."
With the final tally of 29,042 votes that were counted Tuesday, turnout in Salt Lake County reached 52 percent, a fairly average number for a midterm election, Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen said. It still beat most state numbers, however.
Among the final provisional ballots were 1,058 votes cast by residents who registered on the same day as part of a pilot project, Swensen said.
Overall, almost 79,000 Salt Lake County voters mailed their ballots in.
Swensen emphasized that all ballots are tallied in an election, even without a close race that needs to be decided.
"Sometimes voters think we only count (mail-in and provisional ballots) in a close contest. No, we count every eligible ballot," she said.
