2024 election sees Democrats holding ground in Utah while nation shifts to the right. 

Utah Democrats are on track to break even in the state Legislature—losing one incumbent and flipping an open, previously Republican seat—while holding their ground in Salt Lake County, according to preliminary results from the 2024 election.

The state's voting pattern is something of an outlier, as the nation broadly shifted toward the Republican Party and its candidates, returning former president Donald Trump to the White House and, potentially, awarding Trump's increasingly right-wing party with unified control of the federal government's executive, legislative and judicial branches, pending the outcome of a handful of as-yet-undecided U.S. House races.

But in Utah, the presidential vote effectively broke along the same lines as 2020—with Trump earning the support of roughly 59% of voters, compared to 38% for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee—and resulted in little change for Salt Lake County, where incumbent Mayor Jenny Wilson secured reelection with 55% of the vote against challenger Erin Rider and with Democrat Natalie Pinkney holding a narrow 51-49 lead over Republican Rachelle Morris for the at-large seat of outgoing Democratic councilman Jim Bradley.

“As this monumental election cycle comes to an end, I am so proud of the work done by Utah Democratic candidates, Democratic staffers, and our amazing volunteers," state Democratic Party chairwoman Diane Lewis said on Wednesday. "As of this moment, Democratic candidates hold leads in all the Salt Lake County-wide races, as well as several highly competitive state legislative races."

The 2024 election also saw slippage in the support for Gov. Spencer Cox, who secured re-election to a second term with only 56% of the vote, underperforming Trump at the top of the ticket and down from the 63% of ballots that went to Cox in 2020. While the Democratic candidate—outgoing Utah House Rep. Brian King—matched the 30% support won by his 2020 counterpart Chris Peterson, the dip in Cox's 2024 numbers coincided with roughly 9% of the statewide vote going to write-in candidates after his primary opponent, Blanding Republican Phil Lyman, refused to concede that loss and continued to dog the Cox campaign from the right.

"Serving the people of this great state has been the honor of a lifetime," Cox posted on social media on Wednesday. "We are humbled to have another four years to build Utah with you."

As of Friday afternoon, incumbent Ogden Rep. Rosemary Lesser, the lone Democratic lawmaker outside of Salt Lake County, had fallen behind challenger Jill Koford by roughly 200 votes. But in West Valley City's District 30, Democrat Jake Fitisemanu was ahead with 52% of the vote—a margin of less than 500 ballots—on track to replace outgoing Republican Rep. Judy Weeks Rohner, who simultaneously failed in her bid for a Democratic-held state Senate seat.

Mason Hughes, communications director for the Utah Democratic Party, said that outstanding ballots could continue to shift the results between now and the final canvas on Nov. 19.

"We’re going to have the same number of [legislative] seats," Hughes said. "I hope that we’re going to have one more seat, but it depends on how things go for Dr. Lesser in House District 10."

Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman said Friday that her office was still working to process roughly 90,000 outstanding ballots. The county's voter turnout rate was also roughly 85%, Chapman said, down slightly from the roughly 90% of eligible voters who cast a ballot in 2020.

"It takes a while to process," Chapman said. "We're crossing our T's and dotting I's."

The composition of the Utah Board of Education—made partisan in recent years by the state Legislature's Republican supermajority—also appeared on track to remain unchanged, with incumbent Democrat Carol Barlow Lear retaining her seat in the Salt Lake City-based District 6 and with Democrat John Arthur, a recent Utah Teacher of the Year awardee, falling roughly 5 percentage points short in his attempt to flip the District 7 board seat held by incumbent Republican Molly Hart.

Among the non-candidate ballot items, a Salt Lake County jail and public safety bond pushed by Wilson was on track to fail with only 48% support as of Friday afternoon, while a Salt Lake City School District bond and the recurring Zoo, Arts and Parks (ZAP) tax were headed for passage with 61% and 79%, respectively.

Remarking on the election results overall, Hughes flipped the prevailing sentiment of American politics and said that in Utah, Democrats ran effectively by focusing on "kitchen table" issues like affordable housing, quality schools and clean air while the state's Republicans were adrift in culture war grievances like ending birthright citizenship and policing which bathrooms people use. He added that while Salt Lake County has traditionally been seen as "purple"—or a competitive blend of red Republicans and blue Democrats—the 2024 results continue a trend of deepening Democratic strength on the Wasatch Front.

"We are in the middle of a nationwide red wave that really crashed over the rest of the country. Utah stood firm and we really broke that wave," he said. "When Democrats turn out in salt lake county, we win these county races."

The Utah Republican Party did not respond to a request for comment.

The state Legislature's majority caucuses wasted no time selecting their new leadership teams for the 2025 general session, with Republicans returning both House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, and Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, to their posts on Thursday evening. The remaining members of House majority leadership were also unchanged but in the Senate, Draper Republican Kirk Cullimore was promoted from assistant whip to majority leader, with Logan Republican Sen. Chris Wilson elected majority whip and Spanish Fork Republican Sen. Mike McKell elected majority assistant whip. Sen. Evan Vickers and Sen. Ann Milner, who previously served as majority leader and majority whip, respectively, will remain in the Senate but will no longer serve on its majority leadership team.

“With the nation’s strongest economy, the best state for the middle class, the best economic outlook and the happiest, most charitable people, Utah stands as a beacon of hope,” Senate President Adams said in a prepared statement. “This doesn’t happen by chance—it’s the result of careful foresight and strategic growth. However, we have more work to do. As the Senate, we will continue crafting sound policies that ensure Utahns and our great state thrive for generations to come.”