Primary election results for four Salt Lake City Council seats show that challengers to two incumbents have a lot of ground to make up, while two candidates in each open race appear to be locks for November’s general election.
In Tuesday night’s final unofficial tally — which excluded mail-in ballots received after Monday — Councilwoman Erin Mendenhall had received 75 percent of the vote in District 5, and James Rogers had 78 percent in District 1, though their challengers in the fall were far from decided.
Third-time candidate Phil Carroll (33 percent) and attorney Chris Wharton (32 percent) fairly evenly split about two-thirds of the vote in Salt Lake City’s open District 3 race, with Laura Cushman (20 percent) trailing Wharton by nearly 500 votes.
”There’s going to be more votes tallied, for sure, but I think it’s going to be Chris and myself,” Carroll said. ”I really respect the other candidates. Cushman worked incredibly hard and is a wonderful young woman.”
Wharton said he slept well Monday night, but not because he wasn’t nervous — Tuesday’s returns exceeded his expectations.
”It was because I was exhausted,” he said, after knocking on thousands of doors and raising more than twice as much money — nearly $30,000 — as any council candidate.
Asked how he differs from Wharton, Carroll pointed to a lifetime of experience in affordable housing and the more than 100 nights that he’s spent volunteering at the shelter at 210 S. Rio Grande St. He would be ready to contribute from the outset, he said.
Wharton, 40 years younger than Carroll at 33, said he has ”both the energy and the experience” and is a proven advocate for civil rights and those who have been discriminated against.
Public defender Amy Fowler captured 41 percent of the vote in a crowded District 7 field, while Abe Smith — the choice of outgoing Councilwoman Lisa Adams — was second with 23 percent. Ben Haynes, an experienced campaigner who had marshaled a bevy of volunteers, was third, at 11 percent.
Fowler said she was on the phone with a friend discussing a legal issue when she saw her fellow volunteers begin to cheer the early results.
“I was like, ‘Can I call you right back?’ ” she said, laughing. ”It’s this overwhelming feeling of just being humble and knowing that there’s a lot more work to do.”
Fowler said Smith is a “great guy,” but believes she benefits from having lived in the district for longer. Smith, who moved to the area two years ago, said he has yet to frame the differences between himself and Fowler.
”Both of us have work to do,” he added.
In District 1, David Atkin narrowly led Arnold Jones, 12 percent to 10 percent, in the race for second place and a spot against Rogers in November.
Meanwhile, Noah Rosenberg (8 percent) had a razor-thin 10-vote edge over George Chapman (8 percent) in their bids to challenge Mendenhall. Carol Goode-Rogozinski had 6 percent of the vote.
“Actually they are very dissimilar candidates,” Mendenhall said, ”and I don‘t think we will know until the 29th who comes out of this second-place spot.”
Rogers said that even with the huge lead, he will continue to campaign: “I love getting out and meeting the people. It‘s just part of the gig.”
City Council terms are four years. Adams and District 3 Councilman Stan Penfold decided against seeking re-election, while Andrew Johnston (District 2), Derek Kitchen (4) and Charlie Luke (6) are up for re-election in 2019.
Turnout in this year’s city primary had already far exceeded the final tally in 2013, even though the county had yet to count mail-in ballots received after Monday.
In District 3, 29 percent of more than 14,000 voters had cast ballots, compared to 12 percent in 2013. More than 20 percent of nearly 13,000 District 5’s registered voters had weighed in, up from 11.5 percent, and in District 7, it increased from 16 percent of nearly 14,000 voters to 22 percent.
District 1 turnout was at almost 18 percent of nearly 8,000 voters, roughly the same level as it was in 2013 after all the votes were counted.
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