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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Utah County Republicans voted out several incumbents Saturday during their party convention, while GOP activists in Salt Lake County are mostly sticking by their current incumbents.
In Utah County, Rep. Margaret Dayton defeated Sen. Parley Hellewell to earn the Republican Party's nomination for the Orem Senate seat. Dayton will face Constitution Party candidate Gordon Mella and Democrat Bethanie Newby in the general election for the heavily Republican District 15 seat.
Republicans will hold a primary to pick a GOP replacement for Dayton in House District 61, with Garr Judd and Keith Grover failing to get 60 percent of the vote needed to secure a nomination.
Rep. Dave Cox, a school teacher, was defeated by Kenneth Sumsion for the Republican nomination for the Lehi House seat. Cox sponsored a bill this year that was signed into law allowing Utah's largest cities to create their own school districts. There is no Democrat vying for the District 56 seat.
And Rep. Jim Ferrin, of Orem, was forced into a primary with Orem City Councilman Stephen Sandstrom for the District 58 seat.
In Salt Lake County, Rep. Peggy Wallace of West Jordan will face off with challenger Jim Bird in a June 27 primary for the District 42 seat.
But other sitting lawmakers fared well.
Rep. Kory Holdaway, of Taylorsville, defeated former county party leader Milton Witt to earn the party nomination for the District 34 seat. Holdaway is co-chairman of the executive appropriation committee's higher education subcommittee. South Jordan Rep. Merlynn Newbold also defeated challenger Michael Walters for the party's nomination for the District 50 seat.
In one of the Salt Lake County GOP's most competitive legislative races, Sandy's Senate District 9 seat, developer Bryson Garbett fell just two votes short of the 60 percent needed to secure the nomination. He will face Wayne Niederhauser, hand-picked successor of retiring Sen. Al Mansell.
Other Utah County races saw incumbents winning their party's nomination to be on the ballot in November, likely assuring victory for most in the Republican stronghold.
Rep. Brad Daw, of Orem, and Aaron Tilton, of Springville, beat opponents to claim the party's nominations.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
