Tuesday’s primary election in Wasatch County showed Republican voters are ready for change, backing the challengers. Wasatch County Emergency Management Director Jeremy Hales had a significant lead against incumbent Wasatch County Sheriff Jared Rigby, and Park City Recorder Michelle Kellogg pu shed ahead of incumbent County Clerk-Auditor Joey Granger, according to preliminary election results posted Wednesday. Hales earned 66% of the vote for the Republican candidacy for Wasatch County sheriff with 3,442 ballots counted in his favor by Wednesday. Rigby earned 33% of the vote with 1,727 ballots. Hales is expected to face unaffiliated candidate Paul Moore for the sheriff’s post in the general election.  Though results are not finalized, it is unlikely that Hales will lose his lead in the race. That’s because nearly every ballot in Wasatch County has been counted, according to Granger.  Rigby, who will remain in office as sheriff until January, did not respond to requests for comment.  For Hales, the remainder of his campaign is centered around being “completely transparent and honest with the public.” “I told the public that if I’m elected and I’ve made it through the primary, that I’m going to be present. I’m going to be here for the people,” Hales said.  Hales will continue supporting the Sheriff’s Office through his work as the emergency management director in the meantime. He said there is “a lot of work to do” before November to further his campaign.  “Sheriff Rigby is still the sheriff,” Hales said. “Until January, we still will follow his command.” Hales’ win is in contradiction to the results of the Wasatch County Republican Party’s nominating convention in April. Then, with a nearly 90% quorum, Rigby was the party’s top vote-getter after two delegate voting processes.  Rigby, who was running for a third term in office, had 116 votes in his favor, while Hales had 89, and Summit County Detective Eric Mainord had 44 in the first round. A second vote did not consider Mainord and found Rigby with 115 ballots in his favor and Hales with 104.  It was a tight margin at the nominating convention, compared to the 66% difference among Republican voters. A primary election was triggered after the nominating convention because no candidate earned 60% of the vote, and because Rigby and Hales opted for both the convention process and signature gathering.  Hales said he is hearing that primary election voters want a sheriff who is “honest and transparent,” present and engaged with the community. He said that he is looking forward to earning the public’s trust in the coming months.  “Right now we’re just going to keep working hard to build and maintain and increase our trust in every different aspect,” Hales said. “I want to earn the trust of the people.” Hales said that includes building relationships with neighboring counties, municipalities and agencies.  Increased communication is also part of Kellogg’s plan as she looks ahead to the general election for clerk-auditor in November. As a candidate for clerk-auditor, Kellogg said public trust is essential. Kellogg secured 53% of the vote with 2,783 ballots in her favor by Wednesday, compared to Granger, who earned just under 47% of the vote with 2,452 ballots cast for her. Granger also had the unique position of working on the election while campaigning to remain in the role.  Granger said that working the election while campaigning could be frustrating at times.  “I didn’t feel like I was able to really put myself out there as much as I would have liked to,” Granger said. “But I did value my role as the clerk more than, I guess, being a politician, and took it seriously to make sure the election was fair.” Kellogg said she is excited about the results and grateful to the voters who gave her “the confidence to run.” “I’m thankful for the efforts that supporters made to get the word out, and just really grateful overall,” Kellogg said. “It’s just so exciting.” Kellogg, who received 59% of the delegate vote at the Wasatch County Republican Party nominating convention in April, said she believes her campaign was successful because she had a message that resonated with voters.  “It was very clear and direct,” Kellogg said. “I think a lot of people were wanting change, and I was offering that change and offering that vision of how the office could be improved.” Both Granger and Kellogg opted for both the convention process and signature gathering, which triggered a primary election. With only Republican candidates for the role, it is almost certain that Kellogg will become Wasatch County’s clerk-auditor after the general election. Knowing this, Kellogg said that she hopes to prepare as best as possible for the role.  “I’m going to start putting a list together of best practices, and I’m sure that I’ll be meeting with some county officials and learning from them,” Kellogg said.  While Kellogg likely won’t face a challenger come November, Hales will still face Moore in the sheriff’s election. Moore has echoed Hales’ desire for change in the Sheriff’s Office.  Though recent primary election results were updated on Wednesday, those results have yet to be finalized. Voter turnout for Tuesday’s election was 31%. Granger said Tuesday afternoon that’s about average in Wasatch County for a primary.  Final results will solidify a tight race for Wasatch County Council Seat A.  Former Heber City Councilor Rachel Kahler earned 51% of the vote with 2,694 ballots in her favor. William Brett Vance earned just under 49% of the vote with 2,566 ballots in his favor.  Kahler said she is generally pleased with the primary election results, even if she did not win in a landslide. “(It was) a tighter race than I had anticipated. I think it really represents that our community is very divided on every issue,” Kahler said. The winner of the Seat A primary election will go on to face Democrat Patrick Saucier in the November general election.  Outside of county-level races, Wasatch County Councilor Luke Searle led the primary election for House District 59, which serves Summit and Wasatch County. Searle faced Jeffrey Pierce in the Republican primary for the seat.  Searle won 228 votes in Summit County and 2,760 votes in Wasatch County. Pierce won 449 votes in Summit County and 1,959 votes in Wasatch County. The County Councilor said he felt his message resonated with voters.  “I think people knew that I called this place home and that we have something special here,” Searle said. “I think it resonated with them that I have had the experience locally and know that I can be the most effective person to win in this race and the most effective representative, if elected.” Pierce said that, though he trailed Searle in the primary, he would not have done anything differently. He has one message for voters going forward into the general election. “Just stay vigilant,” Pierce said.  Searle will go on to face Democrat Celeste Johnson, a former mayor of Midway City, for the House District 59 seat.  Primary election results will be finalized at the regular Wasatch County Council meeting on Wednesday. The post Wasatch County voters oust incumbents in primary election appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less