Utah GOP gubernatorial race called for Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox

Bradford Mosteller cuts “I Voted” stickers on the first day of early voting at the Salt Lake County Clerk’s office in the Salt Lake County Government Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Lieutenant governor declared winner over former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s GOP gubernatorial primary was called Monday for Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox by the Associated Press after new results showed him holding onto a lead over former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

Cox had led in what was a four-candidate race since the primary last Tuesday. Some of the lieutenant governor’s supporters were ready to declare victory last week and his campaign was reportedly anticipating winning by about 7,000 votes.

Most of the additional ballots counted Monday came from Salt Lake County, enabling Huntsman to gain some ground after trailing by some 11,000 votes. But the former governor was still behind by 1.8 percentage points, with 34.6% of the vote to 36.4% for Cox.

Former Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes and former Utah GOP Chairman Thomas Wright, the other two Republicans in the race to succeed Gov. Gary Herbert, had both conceded by last Wednesday. Herbert is not seeking reelection after more than a decade in office.

Because of COVID-19, the election was conducted entirely by mail and ballots were allowed to be postmarked on Election Day instead of a day earlier. There are also changes to how ballots were processed, including quarantining them for at least 24 hours.

This story will be updated.

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