SALT LAKE CITY — In the off-year between the 2024 presidential election and the 2026 midterms, Utah’s municipal election on Tuesday drew voters out to cast votes for their local leaders.
Nationally, one of the hottest races occurred in New York City, where an ambitious 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa to become the city’s new mayor.
In California, voters approved a new congressional district map on Tuesday, which is expected to give Democrats a chance to potentially win control of the U.S. House in 2026.
Overall, the Associated Press reported Democrats “dominated” the election day around the country, with wins in both governor’s races in Virginia and New Jersey. Likewise, in a Pennsylvania Supreme Court race, voters sustained three Democratic justices, keeping a 5-2 majority.
In Utah’s races, candidates were mostly nonpartisan and largely at the city council and mayoral levels.
According to results gathered by the state of Utah, only 28% of registered voters submitted ballots across the state, or 54,585 out of 192,438 registered voters.
Below is an alphabetically-ordered list of some of the hottest races in Utah. As of Wednesday evening, not all ballots had been counted and all results were still preliminary.
For a complete list of results in the state, visit KSL TV’s LIVE election results page.
Bluffdale mayor
In one of the closest races this election cycle, incumbent Natalie Hall is leading in the Bluffdale mayoral race by just 13 votes.
Incumbent Natalie Hall. (Courtesy Natalie Hall)
As of Wednesday, Hall earned 1,112 votes compared to her competition, Connie Pavlakis, who earned 1,099 votes.
Hall has been serving as Bluffdale’s mayor since 2022.
Cottonwood Heights mayor
Incumbent Mike Weichers conceded the mayoral race on Wednesday, opening the door for Gay Lynn Bennion to take over as Cottonwood Heights mayor.
Rep. Gay Lynn Bennion, who is leading in the race for Cottonwood Heights mayor, speaks with KSL TV on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (Stuart Johnson, KSL TV)
Before Weicher’s concession, Bennion was in the lead with 4,128 votes, while Weichers trailed with only 3,185 votes to his name.
Bennion represented Cottonwood Heights as a House legislator and ran on a platform of “stronger representation of common values, greater transparency, and a solid long-term vision to city leadership.”
Grantsville mayor
Heidi B. Hammond had pulled ahead in the Grantsville mayoral race, which means if she is elected, she will become the city’s first female mayor.
Heidi Hammond is running in the November 2025 election for Grantsville mayor. (Courtesy Jolene Mair Jenkins)
Hammond ran against Jolene Jenkins and Todd Stewart initially, and had won 42.6% of the primary vote earlier in the year. During Tuesday’s election, Hammond earned 66.19% of the votes running against Jenkins.
During an Oct. 20 “Meet the Candidates” meeting held in Grantsville, Hammond recalled what made her want to run for public office in the first place. After seeing the growth of Grantsville and the need for more services for citizens, she thought to herself, “We can do better. We can do better for our youth and for the people of this community.”
Hurricane mayor
Clark Fawcett upset incumbent Nanette (Dutton) Billings in the Hurricane mayoral race, with Fawcett landing at 3,256 votes against Billings’ 1,556 votes, as of Wednesday evening.
Clark Fawcett is running in the Hurricane mayoral race. (Courtesy Clark Fawcett)
Fawcett has more than 37 years of experience working with the city of Hurricane as City Manager. In a statement he shared with Hurricane on the city website, he said, “I want Hurricane to grow but not at the expense of losing our quality of life. I want to keep the small town feel and the community spirit that now exists.”
Lehi mayor
The Lehi mayoral race between Paul Binns and Paige Albrecht came down to just a few hundred votes by Tuesday evening, with Binns pulling ahead.
According to the state’s 2025 election results, Binns received 4,096 votes while Albrecht received 3,770 votes.
An image of Paul Binns, a candidate in the 2025 Lehi mayoral race. (Courtesy Paul Binns)
Binns, a local business owner, only received 36% of the vote in the June primaries after current mayor Mark Johnson declined to run again for a third term.
Albrecht had received 41% of the vote in the primary while serving as a Lehi City Council Member.
Binns had volunteered in local HOAs and served as a board president. His campaign website said he believes Lehi needs more than management; it needs leadership rooted in transparency, accountability and a deep respect for the people who already call Lehi home.
Murray mayor
Incumbent Brett A. Hales and challenger Bruce E. Turner are still waiting for the final two precincts to submit their final reports.
By 12:33 p.m. Wednesday, only 51 of 53 precincts had reported their votes.
Hales earned 4,885 of the reported votes, with Turner only securing 2,927 votes.
Hales had earned 4,425 votes in the June elections, more than double the number votes that Turner earned.
Before serving as mayor, Hales served on the Murray City Council for 10 years and has a background in finance and business.
Murray City Council
Three seats on the Murray City Council were also up for grabs this election cycle, in Districts Two, Three and Four.
Pamela Jane Cotter was projected to win District Two, with 1,037 of the votes in 11 out of 11 reported precincts.
Clark Bullen pulled ahead in District Three after a two year term, though only 12 of 14 precincts reported their votes by Wednesday. Bullen has 1,003 votes from the reported precincts, with approximately 58.11% of the vote.
Diane Turner is the projected winner of District Four, with no other candidate running against her.
Orem mayor
In a close race between incumbent David Young and newcomer Karen McCandless, as of Wednesday afternoon, McCandless appears to have the edge.
Newcomer Karen McCandless is a candidate in the 2025 Orem mayoral race. (Courtesy Karen McCandless)
McCandless earned 8,078 of the votes, compared to Young’s 7,467 votes.
She was the former Executive Director of Community Action Services and Food Bank in Provo and currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board for the College of Health and Public Services at Utah Valley University. McCandless also served as a member of the Orem City Council from 2001 until 2014.
Price mayor
By a margin of 825 to 790, citizens in Carbon County appeared potentially ready to elect Price’s first female mayor, with Terry Willis taking the lead.
Newcomer Terry Willis challenged incumbent Michael G. Kourianos in the race to become Price’s mayor. (Courtesy Terry Willis)
Willis challenged Michael G. Kourianos, the current mayor of Price who had served for a single term.
Willis posted a message on Facebook Tuesday morning shortly before voting officially started: “As your next mayor, I’ll continue to listen, lead, and serve with transparency, accountability, and collaboration at the forefront of every decision. Together, we can keep Price moving forward — strong, united, and committed to community.”
Provo mayor
FILE — Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi speaks at a news conference on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Stuart Johnson, KSL TV)
Former State Representative who represented West Provo, Marsha Judkins will begin her term by a slim margin, with just 50.21% of votes.
According to the state’s election results, current Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi fell behind Judkins, with 7,094 votes. Judkins received 7,153 votes.
Judkins received 45% of the votes in June’s Primary Election, while Kaufusi earned 48% of the votes.
Kaufusi’s second term as mayor of Provo saw the city win the distinguished Milken Institute award for “the nation’s Best-Performing City for an unprecedented three consecutive years from 2021-23.”
In a statement issued Thursday night, Kaufusi conceded the race.
It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve my hometown as mayor. It was trusted friends and associates who pushed me to do this, and I’m forever grateful they did. My administration has been marked by teamwork and partnerships—and together we’ve accomplished so much. I’m very proud that during my time, Provo has:
—Added more than ten police officers and ten firefighters and built a police and fire headquarters, a city hall, and two new fire stations,
—Tackled our biggest infrastructure problems, by building a state-of-the-art sewer treatment plant and a new water treatment plant, and
—Built the nation’s fastest growing airport, making international travel a reality and boosting both quality of life and the economy
—All while submitting 8 balanced budgets, not one of them proposing a tax increase and while doubling the amount in the rainy day fund!
How did we accomplish this? By helping businesses thrive, so that we’ve seen a $10M increase in annual sales tax revenue and by tapping four times more in outside funding than during any prior administration. Generational Provo projects built off non Provo-resident dollars: that’s been a hallmark of my administration.
From day one, my goal was not to survive politically; it was to lift to Provo in ways that will be felt not only now and but 30 years on. I feel we’ve accomplished that. Being recognized as the best run city in the nation was only a cherry on top.
Thank you again for allowing me this phenomenal experience. What I will miss most will not be the projects and meetings; it will be the great people I have worked with through these eight years. You will always be in my heart.
With gratitude and love,
Mayor Michelle Kaufusi.
Salt Lake City Council
Victoria Petro reacts as results are posted showing her in the lead for the District 1 Salt Lake City Council seat at Brickyard Bar in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
Among the most-watched races in the state were the Salt Lake City Council Districts 1, 3, and 5. District 7 was also on the ballot, which elected incumbent Sarah Young as an uncontested candidate.
In District 3, new candidate Chris Wharton had the best election night, with over 50% of the votes by Wednesday morning, passing the closest of his four competitors by more than 20 percentage points.
In District 5, Erika Carlsen had nearly 66% of the votes by Wednesday, pulling ahead of her two competitors by over 30 percentage points.
District 1 incumbent Victoria Petro had held a narrow lead from the beginning over challenger Stephen Otterstrom. On Wednesday morning, the race had not yet been called, with Petro earning 52.15% of the votes and Otterstrom just behind at 47.85%. By 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, only 11 of the 12 precincts had fully reported their votes.
Erika Carlsen gets a hug after winning the election for the Salt Lake City Council District 5 seat on election night at Publik in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
This is a developing story. It may be updated.
