Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill narrowly held on at Saturday’s Salt Lake County Democratic convention, advancing to the primary despite challenger Shawn Robinson receiving more delegate support.

Robinson’s larger share of delegate support fell just short of the level needed to block the incumbent from the ballot.

That means Gill, who has held the post since 2010, met the threshold required to move forward through the party’s caucus-convention system.

In Utah, candidates must meet a minimum level of delegate support at convention or qualify for the ballot by collecting enough signatures to advance to the primary.

Because both candidates got less than 55% of the vote, Nick Glenn, executive director of the county Democratic Party, announced on Saturday that they will both move on to the primary.

Glenn said Robinson narrowly missed the threshold to boot out Gill with about 52.5% of the vote.

The results came more than two hours behind schedule, and only about 40 people remained inside the Highland High School auditorium eagerly awaiting the outcome.

When Glenn took the stage to announce the results around 5:30 p.m., the remaining crowd members cheered and clapped.

By the time congressional candidate speeches wrapped up around 3 p.m., organizers had already begun clearing signs and tidying the auditorium as delegates waited.

Hours earlier though, more than a thousand people had packed into the school for the nominating convention, filling hallways and crowding into the auditorium.

Delegates wore bright colors, pinned campaign buttons to jackets and waved candidate signs, stopping at busy campaign tables before squeezing into seats to hear from candidates vying for nominations.

Inside the auditorium, some attendees held signs backing the longtime district attorney while others wore campaign stickers on jackets and shirts.

During his speech to the party delegates Saturday, Gill pointed to what he described as a record of advancing progressive policies in the office.

“The America I believe in, the America I have seen ... is an America where the color of your skin, where the accent of your voice is not an indictment of your character,” he said to applause. “An America where the life of every woman is her own choice.”

Robinson, a longtime trial lawyer, has campaigned on bringing a “fresh perspective” to the office, according to his campaign website, and has pledged to fully staff the district attorney’s office.

At the convention, Salt Lake County attorney Meghann Mills, who previously worked in the district attorney’s office under Gill, told delegates she resigned in 2024 due to concerns about “corruption” before introducing Gill’s challenger.

Robinson told the crowd that “friends” in the district attorney’s office have told him it is “understaffed,” and that they “do not feel supported by the current D.A.”

“They tell me that their caseload is absolutely unmanageable,” Robinson continued, “and that affects all members and residents of our county.”

He argued the office needs change, pointing to how some specific cases were handled and broader concerns about how the office is operating.

While the convention determined nominees for local and legislative races, it also served as an early proving ground for Democrats running for Congress — including those vying for a newly drawn 1st Congressional District.

At the convention, state Sen. Kathleen Riebe announced she was dropping out of the congressional race and endorsed former U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams, backing him over fellow state Sen. Nate Blouin, who is also seeking the seat.

Delegates will vote to determine the party’s nominees for congressional and statewide races at the state convention on April 25 at Jordan High School.