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OGDEN — The Republican challenger for the District 10 seat in the Utah House, Jill Koford, has overtaken Rep. Rosemary Lesser, the Democratic incumbent, as new vote totals are counted.
Likewise, races for two Salt Lake County House seats have tightened — to the detriment of Democrats — since Tuesday's preliminary totals came out as vote counting continues.
According to the updated numbers as of Thursday afternoon, Koford had 7,578 votes compared to 7,373 for Lesser, a 50.7%-49.3% split. Lesser had the advantage Tuesday night after the initial batch of totals came out — 5,215 to 4,935 — a 51.4%-48.6% split.
Weber County Clerk-Auditor Ricky Hatch said provisional ballots, which include votes by those who registered to vote on Election Day, have yet to be counted. Likewise, Hatch said his office is still processing ballots with questions about the voter signatures on them.
Both women are from Ogden, and the District 10 seat — the only legislative post held by a Democrat outside Salt Lake County — serves part of Weber County. Republicans have pushed hard to unseat Lesser, the only Democrat in Weber County's legislative delegation, and Koford unsuccessfully challenged Lesser in 2022.
"Obviously we're really happy with the trend, closing the gap and taking the lead," Koford said. Still, she awaits counting of the rest of the ballots.
Lesser said she remains hopeful in an Instagram post soon after the vote totals were updated. "We are incredibly encouraged by the results we've seen so far and I remain optimistic about the final outcome. We believe in the importance of every single vote and we are committed to seeing this process through with patience and respect," she said.
Meanwhile, the preliminary totals in the races for the District 30 and District 35 seats in the House, both serving Salt Lake County, have tightened, though the Democrats who have been leading in each contest are still on top.
In the District 30 contest, Democrat Jake Fitisemanu had 5,419 votes compared to 5,086 for Republican Fred Cox, a 51.6%-48.4% split. That compares to 4,463 votes for Fitisemanu and 4,012 votes for Cox, a 52.7% to 47.3% margin, on election night. Rep. Judy Weeks Rohner, a Republican, now holds the post, but she ran this cycle for the District 12 seat in the Utah Senate and is trailing Sen. Karen Kwan, the Democratic incumbent, in that race.
In the District 35 race, Democrat Rosalba Dominguez had 6,863 votes to 6,387 for Republican Mike Bird, a 51.8%-48.2% split, according to updated numbers Thursday. That compares to 5,865 votes for Dominguez and 5,210 votes for Bird, a 53% to 47% margin, on election night. Rep. Mark Wheatley, a Democrat, now holds the seat but didn't seek reelection.
The races for the District 10, 30 and 35 posts are the closest legislative contests and were among the top priorities of Democratic and Republican officials.
