Jenny Wilson leads race for SL mayor

The polls are closed, votes are being counted, and Salt Lake County’s Democratic Mayor Jenny Wilson holds a comfortable lead over GOP challenger Erin Ryder in a race that will determine who will to lead Utah’s most populous county for the next four years.

By Wednesday evening, early unofficial returns Wilson, who is running for a second full term, showed with 57.6% of the vote. Ryder, a corporate lawyer from Salt Lake City, received 42.4% of the vote.

Wilson surged ahead of Ryder when the first results were released Tuesday night. Those results were strong enough for the incumbent mayor to claim victory, but as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, Ryder had not conceded.

“I’m very dedicated to the work I do. (I) made a choice a year ago to do it again,” Wilson said. “It’s like any interview, you have to try your best and hope for the best, and it looks like I’ll be back and I’m glad. I’m very happy to be back.”

Ryder said Wednesday afternoon there were still too many ballots outstanding for the results to be final.

“At this point,” she said, “we’re just watching the results and waiting for something to come along.”

Wilson became Salt Lake County’s first female Democratic mayor in January 2019 after serving 10 years on the County Council. She replaced former Democratic Mayor Ben McAdams when he left office to represent Utah’s 4th Congressional District. Wilson was elected in 2020 to a full four-year term.

Rider ran unsuccessfully against former U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart in an attempt to win the GOP nomination for the state’s 2nd Congressional District in 2022. If elected, Ryder would be Salt Lake County’s first Republican mayor since 2005.

Salt Lake County Council

Salt Lake County voters also weighed in on four County Council seats that were up for bid. Right now, Republicans hold a 5-4 advantage.

In a race to determine who will represent overall council rank “C” — one of three seats on the nine-member county party board — Democrat Natalie Pinckney was led by Republican Rachel Morris. The seat is currently held by longtime Democratic councilman Jim Bradley, who declined to seek another six-year term.

Pinckney, a South Salt Lake City Council member, had 52.6% of the vote as of Wednesday morning. Morris, co-founder of Utah-based venture fund RevRoad Capital, received 47.4% of the vote.

In the race for representation District 2 On the council, unofficial results showed Republican Carlos Moreno leading Democrat Katie Olson with 51.9% of the vote.

The district, which includes Magna, Kearns and parts of West Valley City, West Jordan, South Jordan and Herriman, is currently represented by Republican Dave Alvord, who has decided not to seek re-election to a second four-year term.

In the race to replace outgoing Democratic Councilwoman Ann Granato in District 4which covers parts of Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake City and Murray, as well as all of Holladay, Millcreek and Emigration Canyon, unofficial results showed Democrat Ross Romero ahead of Republican Roger Livingston and Utah Forward candidate Nolan Cruz.

Romero received 65.1% of the vote, Livingston trailed behind with 31.5% and Kruse followed with 3.4%.

In a competition that will decide who will represent District 6In the district, which covers the southeastern part of the county and includes Sandy and parts of Cottonwood Heights, unofficial results showed Republican incumbent Dea Theodore leading her opponent, Democratic Sandy City Councilman Zach Robinson.

As of 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Theodore had 51.3% of the vote in her bid for a second term.