Incumbent mayor and City Council member bolt to big leads
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Downtown St. George. Voters there voted primary election races Tuesday.
St. George • The headliners in St. George’s mayoral primary — incumbent Mayor Michele Randall and City Council member Jimmie Hughes — jumped to sizable leads Tuesday night in a bid to see who will lead Utah’s fifth-largest city.
Randall, who is seeking a second full term, and Hughes, the mayor pro tem and a longtime council member, far outpaced the other two candidates, with 43% and 38% of the vote, respectively, according to early unofficial primary results.
Rounding out the field were Aros Mackey, the self-billed “only true conservative” in the race, with 16.5% of the vote, and Brannon Razo, a cook at Black Deseret Resort who hails from the Shivwits Band of Paiutes, with almost 3%
As the two top vote-getters, Randall and Hughes appear poised for a fall runoff — and a rematch. In 2021, Randall bested Hughes by more than 2,100 votes in the general election.
There were few surprises in the City Council races as well. Of the seven candidates vying for two seats, incumbent Michelle Tanner garnered 22.6% of the vote, and Natalie Larsen had 20%, according to early unofficial returns. Political novice and small-business owner Jamie Leavitt tallied 18.2%, and former business owner Greg Aldred racked up 14.8%.
Utah Tech University professor Nathan Caplin, airline pilot Shane Losee and Five Counties Executive Director Bryan Thiriot all registered less than 10%.
The four with the most votes will advance to the November finale.