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SALT LAKE CITY — Democratic incumbent Sim Gill leads Republican challenger Steve Nelson in the race for Salt Lake County district attorney, a new poll shows.
A UtahPolicy.com survey shows Gill ahead of Nelson 51 percent to 42 percent less than a week from next Tuesday's election. Seven percent of respondents were undecided.
Dan Jones & Associates conducted the poll of 342 active voters Oct. 20-23. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.3 percent.
Though it has been mostly under the radar, the race for district attorney is shaping up to be a nail-biter on election night.
"That could be close," Jones said.
It could come down to Republicans in Salt Lake County getting people to the polls, and GOP congressional candidate Mia Love could help pull them to the ballot box, the longtime pollster said.
It's about having a vision about the office, about having a policy relationship with other elected officials as well as moving us in the right direction.
–Sim Gill
"Everybody has seen Sim Gill, but he's a Democrat," Jones said, adding Salt Lake County is "the best county for the Democrats."
Gill is often in the spotlight with some of the state's most high-profile cases, including the prosecution of former Utah Attorneys General Mark Shurtleff and John Swallow and the criminal case against former West Valley police officer Shaun Cowley.
Jones said that both helps and hurts Gill. "It gives him name identification," he said.
No one knew Nelson, who heads the violent felonies unit in Gill's office, when he announced his candidacy in January.
"We are a campaign that went from basically nothing, no name recognition, no nothing, to this point, which I feel good about in terms of our message being able to get out there," Nelson said.
He believes the race is about experience, which he said distinguishes him from Gill. He said he has handled 70 to 80 felony jury trials, including homicides, gang crime and sex offenses.
"I'm the person who has the working experience of what this office does," he said, noting he has endorsements from police, firefighter and public employee associations.
But Gill said being district attorney isn't just about prosecuting cases.
He said he beefed up the civil side of the office, which includes dealing with tax litigation, county ordinances and being legal counsel to the county mayor and council.
"It's about having a vision about the office, about having a policy relationship with other elected officials as well as moving us in the right direction," said Gill, who has the backing of Republican Sen. Bob Bennett and 12 mostly GOP mayors in Salt Lake County.
Acknowledging criticism from police unions over some of his decisions, Gill said the job isn't about serving one particular interest group.
"I work with law enforcement, not for law enforcement," he said.
Both Gill and Nelson said they don't put a lot of stock into poll results. They both said they plan to campaign hard through Election Day.
