SALT LAKE CITY (AP) —
The Latest on elections in Utah (all times local):
5 p.m.
Republican U.S. Rep. Mia Love remains locked in a tight race with Democratic challenger Ben McAdams as she fights to keep her House seat in a largely suburban, politically mixed district.
McAdams’ lead inched up Wednesday after blue-leaning Salt Lake County released more results, but the race was still too close to call following a hard-fought campaign in a district where many voters are uncomfortable with President Donald Trump.
McAdams has pitched himself as a moderate in the race that had been targeted by national Democrats pushing to re-gain control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Love has scoffed at that and appealed to voters to help keep the chamber in GOP hands.
Love became the first black Republican woman in Congress in 2014.
McAdams is a mayor a former state lawmaker.
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4:45 p.m.
A Salt Lake City councilman who rose to prominence when his lawsuit overturned Utah’s ban on gay marriage several years ago has won a state senate seat.
Democrat Derek Kitchen easily defeated Republican Chase Winder to replace outspoken and well-known Sen. Jim Dabakis in one of the state Senate’s most liberal districts.
Kitchen will be the only openly gay lawmaker in the state Legislature. The retiring Dabakis held that distinction for years.
A lawsuit filed by Kitchen and his now husband led a judge to overturn Utah’s prohibition on same-sex marriage in 2013. He was elected the city council in 2015.
Kitchen has said he shares Dabakis’s ideology but doesn’t plan to mimic his outsized personality.
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4:15 p.m.
A rural Utah county commissioner who became a cause celebre in the movement challenging federal management of Western public lands when he led an ATV protest ride has won a seat in the state legislature.
Republican Phil Lyman handily defeated an unaffiliated competitor for the seat left open by the retirement of firebrand Rep. Mike Noel after 16 years. Lyman has said he hopes to continue Noel’s advocacy for state control of federal public lands so it can be open to ranching, logging and mining in rural southern Utah.
In 2014, Lyman led ATV riders through a closed canyon home to Native American cliff dwellings to protest federal management of the lands. He served 10 days in jail after a jury found him guilty of illegal use of ATVs and conspiracy.
3:55 p.m.
The son of former NBA star and Boston Celtics executive Danny Ainge appears to have won a county commission seat in Utah County.
Election results show Tanner Ainge was leading Teri McCabe of the United Utah Party with about 82 percent of the vote. Results won’t be final for about two weeks.
Ainge was the heavy favorite for the commission seat that drew no Democratic challengers. He’ll replace Utah County Commissioner Greg Graves, who didn’t run for re-election.
This was Ainge’s second run for public office. The business consultant lost last year in a three-way special election race to replace former Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz.
11:37 a.m.
President Donald Trump is saying Republican U.S. Rep. Mia Love lost her bid for another term in Utah because she kept him at arm’s length, even though the race remains too close to call.
The president told reporters Wednesday that “Mia Love gave me no love and she lost. Too bad.”
He claimed others in his party could also have won if he they fully embraced him.
Democrat Ben McAdams is leading Love by nearly 3 percentage points. But many votes in Republican-leaning areas have yet to be tallied.
Love’s spokeswoman Sasha Clark responded to Trump’s declaration by saying that nothing in the race has changed.
Many voters in the district that includes the suburbs of Democrat-leaning Salt Lake City are wary of Trump.
Love has stressed her willingness to speak out when she disagrees with him.
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5 a.m.
Republican Mia Love and her Democratic challenger Ben McAdams knew their race could be close, and as expected they’re locked in a battle that may not be decided for days.
McAdams was leading Love by a narrow margin at the end of election night on the strength of a strong showing in his home county of Salt Lake County.
Love is hoping to flip the deficit by winning a large portion of the votes left to be counted in her stronghold of Utah County, where long polling lines and a lack of early voting led to slow vote tallies.
The race may not be determined until Friday. That’s the next time Utah County is scheduled to release more vote results.
Love, the only black Republican woman in Congress, is seeking a third term.
A hard-fought House race remained too close to call amid reports of long voting lines in a Republican-leaning county late Tuesday, hours after Mitt Romney cruised to victory in his bid for a Senate seat.
Republican U.S. Rep. Mia Love was trailing her Democratic challenger Ben McAdams, but many votes in her stronghold of Utah County remained uncounted at the end of the night.
Both candidates said they were hopeful as they made brief appearances at election night parties.
“It is not over, but everything is looking good,” McAdams said in a late-night speech. “I think it’s going to take a few days before we know the outcome of the election, but if we win, this will be a win for people over politics.”
The enthusiastic crowd, chanted, “Ben! Ben! Ben!”
Earlier in the night, his supporters smiled and posed in front of a cardboard cutout of the Salt Lake County mayor and former state lawmaker at a Democratic election night party in Salt Lake City.
Meanwhile, at Love’s election night party south of Salt Lake City, kids played with orange and white balloons that decorated the hotel conference room as their parents waited for results.
Love, the only black Republican woman in Congress, drew cheers from supporters when she made a quick appearance.
“It’s going to be a long night. A very long night. It always is,” Love said. “But we’re here for it. We’re up to the task and I believe that it’s looking really good for us.”
Spokeswoman Sasha Clark says some voters waited three hours or more to cast their ballots.
The state’s other three Republican congressmen — Rob Bishop, John Curtis and Chris Stewart — easily won re-election bids.
Bishop defeated Democrat Lee Castillo and Eric Eliason of the United Utah Party to win a ninth term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Curtis defeated Democrat James Singer to win his first full term after last year winning special election to replace Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who stepped down and is now a Fox News commentator.
Stewart beat Democrat Shireen Ghorbani, who was a first-time candidate who energized the Democratic base by criticizing President Donald Trump and GOP-backed tax cuts.
The Love-McAdams race triggered a seemingly endless stream of mailers and TV and radio ads with the two trading barbs over trustworthiness, campaign finances and health care.
Love had spent $5 million during the election cycle through Oct. 25, while McAdams spent $2.6 million, according to Federal Election Commission data.
McAdams touted himself as a moderate in hopes of appealing to independent voters who are narrowly outnumbered by Republican voters in the 4th Congressional District. GOP voters outnumber Democrats nearly 3-1 in the district that includes several politically mixed suburbs of Salt Lake City. He was hoping to siphon some GOP votes while riding Democratic enthusiasm this midterm election.
Love has been stressing her independence from President Donald Trump as she seeks a third term in the conservative state where many voters remain uncomfortable with the president’s demeanor and comments. She has touted tax cuts as a benefit of a Republican House majority while working to tie McAdams to national Democrats.
Lynn Snarr is a registered Democrat but said she voted for Love and has supported the politician since discovering the similarities in their stories. Both women’s parents are Haitian immigrants. Both women were born in Brooklyn, New York.
“I think all little girls look at her and say, ‘You know what, I could do what she’s done,'” Snarr said.
McAdams supporter Sawyer Cornelius, an 18-year-old Salt Lake Community College student, said having an adopted brother who is black opened her eyes to race and sparked a bigger interest in politics. She’s now begun participating in rallies against the family separations at the border and in favor of more gun control.
“I am really excited for the Democrats to take back the house an actually start moving forward to a better change for America,” Sawyer said.