Blake Moore widens lead in tight 1st District congressional race

Businessman Blake Moore tripled his lead in Utah’s still-tight 1st Congressional District race with updated vote counts released Thursday afternoon.

He now leads Davis County Commissioner Bob Stevenson by 2,669 votes, widening an 811-vote margin that he held on Wednesday.

Moore has 30.9% of the vote compared to 28.8% for Stevenson, 23.6% for dairyman and former Weber County Commissioner Kerry Gibson, and 16.7% for Kaysville Mayor Katie Witt.

They are competing to replace retiring nine-term Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, in a district that Republicans have held for 40 years.

Democrats also have a primary in the race.

Darren Parry, the moderate former chairman of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, had 51% of that vote while progressive Jamie Cheek, a vocational rehabilitation manager for the state, had 49% in Thursday’s updated totals.

The final vote canvass is not until July 21.