Johnson, Dougall to primary in auditor's race

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

There will be a primary for state auditor between Auston Johnson, who has held the office since 1995, and state Rep. John Dougall.

Dougall, R-Highland, was running with the backing of leaders of the state Legislature, who said that the State Auditor, under Johnson's watch, had not met its constitutional duty as a watchdog.

Johnson, who did not have a Republican challenger, came out ahead in the balloting, winning 55 percent of the delegate support to Dougall's 45 percent, but he fell short of the 60 percent threshold needed to win the nomination outright.

The two will face off in a June 26 primary election.

— Robert GehrkeTwitter: @RobertGehrke