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- The Utah Legislature may see 16 new House members and two new Senate members when the dust settles from Tuesday's voting.
- Republicans would maintain their wide majorities in both chambers.
- Most of the races for posts likely to see newcomers are uncontested or show clear front-runners, indicating minimal likelihood for change once final vote counts are tabulated.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Legislature is in line to get a fresh crop of lawmakers — 16 in the House and two in the Senate — if the current front-runners after preliminary ballot counting maintain their leads.
The partisan makeup, however, won't look much different. Presuming the current leaders as of Wednesday afternoon hold on as the remaining ballots are counted, the Republican Party will maintain its 23-6 majority over Democrats in the Senate. The GOP majority in the House would slip from 61-14 to 60-15.
In the House, where the 16 newcomers would represent 21.3% turnover in the 75-member body, 11 new Republicans and five new Democrats are potentially poised to take office. The bulk of the outstanding ballots are to be counted by the end of the week, but four of the 16 races are uncontested while the leaders in nine others are ahead by more than 10 percentage points, suggesting little likelihood of change. The three leaders in the three other contests hold leads of more than 5 percentage points.
Here's a look at the potential slate of newcomers, subject to finalization of vote counting:
House District 3: Republican Jason Thompson would replace Rep. Dan Johnson in the District 3 seat in Cache County. Johnson, also a GOPer, didn't seek reelection, and Thompson leads unaffiliated hopeful Patrick Belmont as of Wednesday by a 55.2%-44.8% gap.
House District 9: Republican Jake Sawyer, former head of the Weber County Republican Party, would replace Rep. Cal Musselman, who ran for Utah Senate this cycle, in the District 9 post in Weber County. Sawyer leads his closest contender, Democrat Angela Choberka, a member of the Ogden City Council, by a 57.3%-38.4% margin.
House District 23: Democrat Hoang Nguyen would replace Rep. Brian King in the District 23 post, which serves parts of Salt Lake and Summit counties. King, also a Democrat, vied for Utah governor this cycle while Nguyen leads her nearest competitor, Republican Scott Romney, by a 74.2%-24.3% margin.
House District 24: Democrat Grant Miller, a public defender, is the only contender for the District 24 seat in Salt Lake County. He beat incumbent Joel Briscoe in the June primary.
House District 28: Republican Nicholeen Peck would replace Republican Rep. Tim Jimenez, who withdrew from the race for the District 28 seat in Tooele County. She was leading Democrat Fred Baker by a 67.8%-32.2% gap.
House District 30: Democrat Jake Fitisemanu, a member of the West Valley City Council, would replace Rep. Judy Weeks Rohner, a Republican, in the District 30 seat in Salt Lake County. Rohner vied for a Utah Senate seat this cycle, and Fitisemanu led GOP contender Fred Cox, a former House member, by a 52.7%-47.3% margin. If Fitisemanu holds on, the seat would flip from GOP to Democratic control.
House District 31: Democrat Verona Mauga would replace Rep. Brett Garner, a fellow Democrat, in the District 31 post in Salt Lake County. Garner lost in the Salt Lake County Democratic Party convention while Mauga led Republican Bill Swann by a 60.1% to 39.9% margin.
House District 35: Democrat Rosalba Dominguez, a member of the Murray City Council, would replace Democrat Rep. Mark Wheatley, who didn't seek reelection to the District 35 post serving Salt Lake County. She led Republican Mike Bird by a 53%-47% gap.
House District 42: Republican Clint Okerlund would replace fellow Republican Rep. Robert Spendlove, who didn't seek reelection to the District 42 seat in Salt Lake County. Okerlund led Democrat Travis Smith by a 52.9%-47.1% gap.
House District 45: Republican Tracy Miller would replace fellow Republican Rep. Susan Pulsipher, who didn't seek reelection to the District 45 post in Salt Lake County. Miller led Democrat Sara Cimmers by a 65.9%-34.1% margin.
House District 46: Republican Cal Roberts would replace Rep. Jeffrey Stenquist, also a Republican, in the District 46 seat in Salt Lake County. Stenquist defeated Roberts in the GOP primary and didn't face a contender on Tuesday.
House District 48: Republican Doug Fiefia would replace fellow Republican Rep. James Cobb, who didn't seek reelection to the District 48 seat in Salt Lake County. Fiefia led Democrat Stephen Middleton by a 61.8%-38.2% margin.
House District 58: Republican David Shallenberger would replace fellow Republican Rep. Kevin Stratton, who vied for Utah Senate this cycle, in the District 58 seat in Utah County. Shallenberger led Democrat Joshua Sorensen by a 76.4%-23.6% margin.
House District 61: Republican Lisa Shepherd would replace Republican Rep. Marsha Judkins in the District 61 seat in Utah County. Judkins didn't seek reelection, and Shepherd isn't facing a contender.
House District 66: Republican Troy Shelley would replace Republican Rep. Steven Lund in the District 66 seat, which covers parts of Juab and Sanpete counties. Lund didn't run again, and Shelley isn't facing a contender.
House District 69: Republican Logan James Monson would replace Republican Rep. Phil Lyman in the District 69 seat, which covers parts of Emery, Garfield, Grand, Kane, San Juan and Wayne counties. Lyman vied for Utah governor this cycle, and Monson was leading Democrat Davina Smith by a 62.6%-37.4% margin.
Just two Utah Senate seats will see newcomers — at least, newcomers to the upper legislative body:
Senate District 4: Musselman, the current House District 9 representative, would take over from fellow Republican Sen. David Buxton in the District 4 seat, which serves parts of Weber and Davis counties. Buxton isn't running again, and Musselman is the only contender for the seat.
Senate District 24: Stratton, the current House District 58 representative, would take over from fellow Republican Sen. Curtis Bramble in the District 24 seat, which covers parts of Utah and Wasatch counties. Bramble isn't running again, and Stratton led unaffiliated hopeful Lori Andersen Spruance by a 65.3%-34.7% margin.
